Kia Motors America Inc. in Irvine hired Saad Chehab as vice president of marketing communications. Chehab steps in for Tim Chaney, who left in August. He will oversee strategy and execution for marketing, advertising and communications activities.
Chehab comes to Kia from Maserati, where he served as global chief marketing officer. He was also president and chief executive of the Chrysler and Lancia brands from 2011 to 2013, director of FCA Group’s advertising and retail marketing, and director of creative services at Ford Motor Co.
“Saad Chehab is a recognized innovator with a proven track-record of success,” Kia President and Chief Executive Justin Sohn said in a statement. “His wide range of experience will strengthen our efforts to raise awareness and improve perception of the Kia brand and increase demand for our world-class products.”
Hyundai Rookies
Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America Inc., entering its third season as an official NFL sponsor and the league’s official car and SUV, developed mini-documentaries about Mitchell Trubisky, O.J. Howard, Mike Williams and Haason Reddick, four NFL rookies who were selected in the first round of the draft.
The automaker’s crews “filmed the prospects in their hometowns and talked with the people that helped make their dreams a reality, capturing their unique stories, from pee-wee football to high school through college.” Each player featured in the Rolling with the Rookies campaign also worked with cleat designer Marcus Rivero to design a custom vehicle wrap for a Hyundai Santa Fe.
“The NFL draft is where it all begins for the league’s future stars, and we wanted to give fans a better and more immersive experience by telling the incredible stories of these four top prospects,” Chief Marketing Officer Dean Evans said in a statement.
Retreads
ASICS America Corp. in Irvine marked Earth Day by launching a pilot clothing and shoes recycling program. Consumers can drop off any brand of clean, dry clothing and shoes in collection boxes at 10 participating Asics stores and receive a reward coupon for 15% off a single item in store. Items collected are sent to a recycling facility run by Newton, Mass.-based I:Collect USA Inc., which will find their next best use.
“Wearable items find new homes as second-hand goods, while un-wearable items are processed to become secondary materials for new products such as cleaning cloths, insulation material and even new clothing,” according to the company.
ASICS also said it will donate proceeds from the program to philanthropic partner Girls On The Run.
Seeing Red
RED Digital Cinema in Irvine will provide the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts with state-of-the-art digital cinema cameras and accessories valued at $700,000. Students enrolled in the Division of Film & Television Production will use the cameras.
The company also posted a behind-the-scenes video featuring a production crew from Irvine-based Lost Enterprises as it uses RED cameras to film the apparel brand’s spring line.
“Even with a tight crew, they are able to seamlessly shoot all of the content for their delivery platforms in-house and therefore keep total creative control of their brand,” the company said.
Bits & Pieces
Profit Recovery Partners LLC in Costa Mesa said William Fowler, who previously was its vice president of business development, will take a new role as the vice president of marketing. … Ambry Genetics in Aliso Viejo is national sponsor of Standup for the Cure’s fundraising event held on May 6 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Newport Dunes in Newport Beach. The nonprofit support organization “that introduces the breast cancer community to the healthy, active lifestyle of standup paddleboarding while raising money and awareness for early breast cancer detection, treatment, research and education.” … Forge 54 is looking for its next project. The fifth annual event—organized by Torrey Tayenaka of the Sparkhouse creative agency in Irvine and scheduled for October—brings together volunteers who put in hundreds of hours to create marketing materials for a local nonprofit group. Submissions are due May 19. … Yokohama Tire Corp. in Santa Ana added public relations duties to Kovel Fuller in Culver City, its ad agency of record since 2006. … Madison Alexander PR in Tustin added several clients to its roster: Cyphort in Santa Clara; CipherCloud in San Jose; ManagedMethods in Boulder; Prevalent in Warren, N.J.; Veracity Network Security and FFRI Inc. in Aliso Viejo; and Prevoty in Los Angeles. … Renee Borsack left her position as director of marketing and PR at Cypress-based Manhattan Beachwear Inc. and joined RAJ Swim in Tustin as vice president of digital and integrated marketing.
