Toronto Kia Grand Opening Campaign
In 2013, Affinity Marketing entrusted us with the creative rollout of the Toronto Kia Grand Opening campaign. What began as a dealership launch quickly evolved into a multi-channel marketing initiative spanning digital, print, transit advertising, vehicle graphics, event promotions, and direct marketing across Toronto.
The campaign was developed during a period when responsive web design was still emerging and marketing teams relied heavily on coordinated execution across both traditional and digital channels. With a compressed timeline and multiple deliverables launching simultaneously, the project required careful planning, creative consistency, and rapid execution.
The result was a highly visible campaign that extended beyond the dealership itself, generating strong public engagement and helping support a successful grand opening event.
Brand Identity
Campaign Strategy
Marketing Collaterals
Hi Herbert,
We launched the Kia car in its wrapper this past weekend and had a huge response. In one weekend we received over 2,000 ballots and that was before the rain! We would have run out of ballots if it had not rained.
I had the photographer take lots of photos for you so that you can see your creativity being appreciated by so many here. I had to drive the car filled with soccer balls a short distance Saturday night. There were so many soccer balls, the police gave me a police escort with each police officer carrying a soccer ball!
I wish they would have let me take a photo!
Sue Graham-Nutter
Affinity Marketing
01
The Challenge
Launching a new dealership required more than a single advertisement or promotional piece. The campaign needed to create awareness across multiple audience touchpoints while maintaining a consistent message and visual identity.
The project included the development of a promotional website, transit advertisements, magazine placements, vehicle graphics, event invitations, direct marketing materials, and social media assets. Each component needed to work together as part of one unified campaign.
Adding to the complexity was the tight production timeline and the technical limitations of the time, particularly as responsive web design standards were still evolving and required additional planning and problem solving during development.
02
Our Approach
To maximize visibility and engagement, the campaign centered around a simple but memorable contest mechanic that encouraged public participation while promoting the dealership's grand opening.
A fully integrated creative approach was developed to ensure every campaign touchpoint reinforced the same message. From transit posters and magazine advertisements to vehicle graphics and digital promotions, the campaign maintained a cohesive visual identity that audiences could instantly recognize.
By combining traditional advertising, digital marketing, and experiential activation, the campaign was able to reach potential customers both online and throughout the city.
Contest Engagement
Unified Campaign Messaging
Multi-Channel Reach
03
The Solution
A coordinated suite of marketing assets was developed and launched to support the Toronto Kia Grand Opening campaign.
Deliverables included:
- Promotional campaign website
- Grand opening landing page
- Vehicle wrap design and production artwork
- Transit advertising materials
- Magazine and print advertisements
- Event invitations and promotional collateral
- Social media promotional graphics
- Contest marketing materials
- Campaign branding and visual assets
Each asset was carefully designed to support the overall campaign objective while maintaining consistency across all communication channels.
04
Key Features
Integrated multi-channel campaign strategy
Contest-driven customer engagement concept
Consistent branding across digital and print media
Transit advertising deployment across Toronto
Custom vehicle wrap activation
Event marketing and promotional support
Print, digital, and experiential campaign execution
Unified visual identity across all touchpoints
05
Creative Tools Used
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
HTML
CSS
JavaScript
Responsive Web Design Techniques
Print Production Preparation
06
The Impact
The campaign successfully extended awareness beyond the dealership and into the broader Toronto market through a combination of digital, print, transit, and experiential marketing.
One of the campaign's most successful activations invited participants to guess the number of soccer balls inside a specially wrapped Kia vehicle for a chance to win a three-year lease on a Kia Rio. The promotion generated significant public interest and engagement throughout the launch period.
According to client feedback, the campaign generated more than 2,000 contest entries during the opening weekend alone, exceeding expectations and helping create strong momentum for the dealership's grand opening. The response was so strong that the client reported they would have exhausted their supply of contest ballots had weather conditions not slowed participation, further highlighting the campaign's reach and effectiveness.
Beyond the contest itself, the campaign successfully transformed a dealership opening into a city-wide marketing initiative. Through coordinated transit advertising, vehicle activation, print promotions, direct marketing, digital assets, and event support materials, Toronto Kia was able to create a highly visible launch that connected with audiences across multiple touchpoints throughout the city.
More importantly, the project demonstrated the effectiveness of combining multiple marketing channels into a single coordinated campaign—an approach that continues to influence how integrated campaigns are executed today.
2,000+
Contest Entries Generated
Expanded
Toronto Market Awareness
Stronger
Public Engagement & Participation
City-Wide
Multi-Channel Campaign Reach
07
Project Gallery
Beyond The Work: A Campaign in Toronto. A Birthday in Tagaytay.
Discover the story behind the project and how a challenging campaign unexpectedly became part of a meaningful chapter that continues to influence our work today.