Kia’s strategy: a sports-marketing blitz! Rafael Nadal won the Australian Open tennis championship on Feb. 1, but execs at the Seoul headquarters of Kia Motors couldn’t have been happier… his victory marked the culmination of Kia’s aggressive promotion of itself during the two-week tournament in Melbourne.The Australian Open is one of several sports sponsorships for Korea’s second-largest automaker. “Sponsorship of sporting events will be an important part of our marketing blitz this year,” says Lee Soon Nam, director in charge of the South Korean company’s overseas marketing. At a time when many sporting events face problems as troubled banks and corporate sponsors cut back, Kia is spending millions of dollars in sports marketing this year including National Basketball Assn., the World Cup and the Asian Games.

As the likes of GM struggle to survive, execs at Kia, which is 39% owned by Hyundai, are upbeat about their chances for 2009. “The current economic crisis is a once-in-a-century opportunity for us to expand our presence,” Lee declares. “The focus this year will be gaining bigger market share.” www.businessweek.com