You may know Kia as an automobile brand, one which in recent years has pushed the boundaries of performance, tech and style. Where you may not expect to see the Kia brand show up, however, is in the online gaming community. Yet, that is exactly what is happening with a new sponsorship Kia recently announced.
Next year, Kia will begin a multi-year sponsorship of DAMWON Gaming. If you’re not familiar with the name, they are the 2020 League of Legends world champions. League of Legends (LoL) is a multiplayer battle arena video game that was originally released in 2009, retaining its popularity online for over a decade. In fact, roughly 100 million or more people play the game each month.
This isn’t the first time Kia has been involved in the gaming community, however, as the brand was an official partner of the LoL European Championship just last year. In fact, Kia plans to expand its involvement in esports, helping to develop its popularity globally with planned marketing campaigns.
In the case of DAMWON Gaming, the group will be rebranding as DWG KIA beginning in 2021. This, of course, reflects Kia’s sponsorship.
Head of Korea Business Division at Kia Motors, Hyugho Kwon, had this to say: “We will contribute to the revitalization of e-sports and actively communicate with fans through the naming sponsorship with DAMWON Gaming. In particular, we are aiming to promote the young and dynamic Kia brand to e-sports fans around the world through this new partnership.”
We aren’t gaming experts around here, but we are excited to see Kia’s popularity expand into the world of pop culture. If you’d like to see what else Kia has in store for the future, check back with us at the Kia of Irvine blog.