Friday, January 11, 2008

Bill Walton: Manu Ginobili, 2008 6th Man of the Year

We sell cars, all of us.


The National Basketball Association and Kia Motors America unveiled a multi-year marketing pact yesterday, with Kia presenting sponsor of annual NBA player awards.

The MVP, defensive player of the year, sixth man and most improved player awards will be included under a marketing umbrella as “NBA Performance Awards Presented by Kia.” Kia will also be presenting sponsor of NBA Tip-Off Week for next year’s season openers.

“By teaming up with the NBA, we know we’ll be reaching the right audience,” said Kia CEO Len Hunt.

That’s a distinctly younger demographic that is easily drawn to the sporty, economic subcompacts and compacts that are Kia’s mainstays.

NBA Commissioner David Stern called Kia “a natural fit” as a marketing partner because of its youthful appeal.

Bill Walton, an NBA MVP and sixth man award winner, and a designated spokesman, said his pick to win the next sixth man, the San Antontio Spurs Mano Ginobli, personified what Kia is all about: Globalization.

The NBA deal is with Kia Motors America, but the door is open to a global deal, according to Mark Tatum, NBA senior vice president of marketing partnerships, who said the league is exploring that possibility.

“We’ll definitely continue to have those discussions,” he said.

Kia also has gone local in marketing deals with 16 NBA teams to go along with its first big league multi-year pact.





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