Forward thinking.
That’s what drives the philanthropic efforts of Irvine-based Kia Motors America Inc., even in a pandemic.
The automaker, with more than 300 local workers, not only navigated a global health crisis, but continued investing into the communities it does business in, with Orange County a focus of its efforts.
Nearly $1.8 million of the $2 million it donated to charities addressing youth homelessness was directed into those directly serving Orange County this year, officials said.
Kia also donated more than 56,000 face shields to OC hospitals over the course of 2020, as part of a much larger national PPE donation push.
In addition, it provided scholarships under its Great Unknowns program and sponsored the B.R.A.K.E.S. program to support safe driving education for teens among other initiatives.
For those reasons and more, Kia is one of five companies honored by the Business Journal this week, for the paper’s inaugural Companies That Care awards.
Addressing Housing Insecurity
Notable endeavors taken up by the automaker this year tied in its existing Great Unknowns scholarship program with the immediate needs that began surfacing as a result of the pandemic.
The automaker enlisted Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs, who grew up homeless, for the program.
Jacobs starred in a Super Bowl spot this year aimed at creating awareness around youth homelessness. The messaging proved all the more meaningful, as shelter-in-place orders followed not long after around the country.
“The idea was to help the customers of tomorrow for Kia. We started with the scholarships and from there we started saying ‘How else can we help the youth?” said Russell Wager, Kia Motors America vice president of marketing.
“When [the pandemic] started kicking in in March and April, [we asked] ‘How can you shelter in place if you don’t have a shelter? How can you wash your hands if you don’t have soap?’”
That led to donations to local charities such as StandUp for Kids, Family Promise and Covenant House.
Standing for Something
The company was quick to pivot to PPE work at the onset of the pandemic.
When Kia’s Georgia manufacturing plant was shut down due to COVID earlier this year, volunteers at the company set up a production line inside the facility to help address the shortage of face shields for healthcare workers and first responders.
Some 550,000 masks were made and distributed nationally, with a large portion directed to area hospitals.
The company continued making face shields up until early July, even after vehicle production had resumed at the plant.
“The way we look at it is we are investing in the future of the country,” Wager said of the overarching pillar driving philanthropy at the company.
“The youth is our future and in one way or another they will shape where this country goes so that’s why we focus on that,” he said.
With Millennials and younger generations pressing on companies and brands to stand for something during the tumultuous year, it’s made giving back all the more important in consumer considerations of buying from a brand.
While Kia dealers have always been engaged with their local communities, Wager pointed out, it’s not necessarily something that has defined the automotive brand by the general public.
Figuring out, from a marketing perspective, how to tell those stories in what Wager called an unobtrusive way has become all the more important.
“Kia and our over 700 dealers had been doing that in our local communities. People just didn’t know,” Wager said of much of the dealer networks’ efforts historically, not just this year.
Balancing Marketing, Philanthropy
Communicating a clear message during a global health crisis wasn’t exactly easy.
“Back in February/March, we were in the middle of launching our new SUV, the Seltos. It was starting out great. People were very interested in it. We had just done a Super Bowl spot and then COVID hit,” Wager said.
“We couldn’t just continue a launch campaign for a vehicle, even if it was new in the marketplace. We had to figure out ways of helping our customers, letting them know what we stand for. We quickly came up with the communications around the Accelerate the Good program, which was not in our plans at the beginning of the year. Then we quickly morphed into trying to show we were part of that good.”
It’s not been an easy year and business plans have tottered from being shelved to revised, with a wait-and-see approach. Luckily, Wager said, the broader Kia organization is well prepared.
“We’re only as strong as our 750 Kia dealers and they’ve been doing good in their local communities. Every single one of them has a specific organization, charity or cause that they’re all giving towards,” Wager said. “We’re very proud of the coordinated effort that us and our dealers have been able to do to help the nation.”
