The deal includes on-air and online sponsorship of Eurosport's coverage of the first Grand Slam tennis event of the year and an event of which Kia is the major on-site sponsor.
Kia has chosen tennis as a global property which fits with the brand's image and target market. The brand's choice of tennis is endorsed by the SportMarket study released last year, which showed the sport attracted more viewers across the Big Five European economies than Formula 1 and was second only to football.
The Australian Open receives more than 100 hours of coverage around Europe on Eurosport and, while the time difference poses scheduling problems for terrestrial channels, Eurosport broadcasts live games during the night and morning, delayed coverage in the afternoons and highlights in primetime.
Tennis fans will also be able to follow the tournament from the office thanks to the multilanguage online coverage and news bulletins; and updates are broadcast 24 hours a day on Eurosportnews. In addition, Kia features as sponsor on specially produced vignettes -- featuring the best moments and broadcast daily on Eurosport. The 2002 competition was watched by 38m Europeans on Eurosport alone.
The 2003 deal follows a similar one last year when Kia was on-site sponsor and on-air sponsor of the event. Last year was particularly successful for the brand, breaking the 1m units sales barrier for the first time.
The deal with Eurosport takes the association with tennis even further and includes WTA and ATP tournaments, broadcast throughout the year on the channel in between Grand Slam events on Eurosport.
The spots currently on Eurosport feature Andre Agassi, who is aiming for his fourth Australian Open title. Agassi is seen driving the Kia Sorento, Kia's entry into the lucrative SUV market launched last year and also featured on the channel's 'Test Drive' programme.
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