2 Articles for 'KIA'
- 2008/05/07 Microsoft to work with Hyundai-Kia Motors on "in-vehicle infotainment"
- 2007/09/12 Kia Buzz - the latest addition to a corporate PR blog (4)
Microsoft to work with Hyundai-Kia Motors on "in-vehicle infotainment"
Web 2.0 | 2008/05/07 20:05 | Web 2.0 Asia
Bill Gates, after meeting with Korean President Lee, announced Microsoft will invest $100M+ in setting up the "Automotive IT Innovation Center" jointly with Hyundai-Kia Motors, the nation's premier auto company.
According to Reuters, the first product under the partnership would be a voice-controlled system linking mobile devices to car stereo systems; Later versions are expected to include multimedia and navigation-related features.
In plain English: the US-bound Hyundai and Kia vehicles will soon have Microsoft-powered gadgets inside the cars. Which means those cars will be the first models that come with the integrated Ctrl + Alt + Del keys on dashboard. :)
As evidenced by Ray Ozzie's "Mesh" plan, Microsoft is working hard on its new corporate vision to provide ubiquitous connected experience across all devices and environments, including the driver's seat. Meanwhile, other companies like Apple should also be looking at similar opportunities.
According to Reuters, the first product under the partnership would be a voice-controlled system linking mobile devices to car stereo systems; Later versions are expected to include multimedia and navigation-related features.
In plain English: the US-bound Hyundai and Kia vehicles will soon have Microsoft-powered gadgets inside the cars. Which means those cars will be the first models that come with the integrated Ctrl + Alt + Del keys on dashboard. :)
As evidenced by Ray Ozzie's "Mesh" plan, Microsoft is working hard on its new corporate vision to provide ubiquitous connected experience across all devices and environments, including the driver's seat. Meanwhile, other companies like Apple should also be looking at similar opportunities.
(Via Junycap) Kia Motors launched an official blog called "Kia Buzz", apparently in partnership with the famous PR firm Edelman.
Here's a quote from the blog:
For those who aren't familiar with the car brand, Kia is a sister company of Hyundai, Korea's largest and world's top 10 car company.
Kia tries to distinguish itself from its older sibling by putting on a more younger and sportier image. That could be a reason why Kia is launching this blog marketing initiative before Hyundai did. But frankly, most of the times, it's pretty darn difficult to separate Kias from Hyundais, because they share many parts.
The blog is actually surprisingly good. For starters, the CEO himself wrote a post. Assuming from the lack of ponytail, Mr Chung isn't exactly Jonathan Schwartz, and I'm thinking it was probably his secretary rather than Mr Chung himself who wrote this post. But the fact that there's a post from the Big Man himself adds a lot of credibility to this blog and sends out the message that Kia is pretty serious with its blog.
It looks that various Kia insiders from around the world will pick up the slack and chime in with a post or two. And the real-life stories from Kia men could perhaps be the most powerful and resourceful marketing messages. For example, the post written by Michael Choo, International PR manager, made me actually want to buy the Pro_Ceed.
The site however tries to preload video clips, which can make the site look frozen while the videos get loaded. But that's the problem from the video hosting company not Kia's.
Here's a quote from the blog:
Kia BUZZ is Kia’s official blog for sharing information on Kia vehicles, news, information and opinions. Kia BUZZ is written by a wide range of Kia experts and management from across the organization to help bring Kia closer to its customers, industry opinion leaders and car enthusiasts.
For those who aren't familiar with the car brand, Kia is a sister company of Hyundai, Korea's largest and world's top 10 car company.
Kia tries to distinguish itself from its older sibling by putting on a more younger and sportier image. That could be a reason why Kia is launching this blog marketing initiative before Hyundai did. But frankly, most of the times, it's pretty darn difficult to separate Kias from Hyundais, because they share many parts.
The blog is actually surprisingly good. For starters, the CEO himself wrote a post. Assuming from the lack of ponytail, Mr Chung isn't exactly Jonathan Schwartz, and I'm thinking it was probably his secretary rather than Mr Chung himself who wrote this post. But the fact that there's a post from the Big Man himself adds a lot of credibility to this blog and sends out the message that Kia is pretty serious with its blog.
It looks that various Kia insiders from around the world will pick up the slack and chime in with a post or two. And the real-life stories from Kia men could perhaps be the most powerful and resourceful marketing messages. For example, the post written by Michael Choo, International PR manager, made me actually want to buy the Pro_Ceed.
The site however tries to preload video clips, which can make the site look frozen while the videos get loaded. But that's the problem from the video hosting company not Kia's.
