New model launches are getting to be regular events with Kia and the Venga launch was particularly crucial as the small MPV sector is more important than ever. The key thing with marketing the launch of a product like this is a consistency and clarity of message across all media during the launch campaign. We think we’re pretty good at this now and for Venga we took it across a model launch in national newspaper titles and motoring press, an online campaign and brochure design, right the way down to all the bits that Kia dealers on the ground need to start selling cars – showroom point-of-sale, localised advertising and product information.

In common with a lot of other European governments, the Irish government brought in a scrappage scheme to help kick-start the car market. We were briefed by Kia Ireland to develop an umbrella campaign to dovetail with the second wave of scrappage and highlight model price reductions. It needed to highlight Kia’s amazingly long warranty and the fact that, with or without the scrappage scheme, you could now pick up a really great car for a very reasonable amount of money.

The creative execution we settled on was ‘Smile’ – a cheery beacon of good humour that really jumped out from the depressing headlines in the newspapers at the time and really brought dealer showrooms alive with colour.