Havas S&E To Manage Kia Oval Rebrand

Having brokered the deal back in December for Kia Motors UK to become the headline sponsor of The Oval Cricket Ground, sports marketing agency Havas Sports & Entertainment has also been appointed to manage the brand changeover of the iconic London cricket ground.
Kia signed a five year deal giving the brand the brand full and exclusive naming rights to the ground and makes Kia the primary shirt sponsor for Surrey County Cricket Club. The deal is worth over £3.5m to the Club over its duration.
The agreement will see the continuation of Kia’s relationship with the Havas Media group as Havas Sports & Entertainment take responsibility for the delivery of the various benefits negotiated through the deal including both internal and external signage, branding on all Surrey playing shirts as well as a number of hospitality and promotional benefits throughout the season. The deal came into force on January 1st 2011, and the ground is now known as the Kia Oval.
Further support for the sponsorship will be provided by MPG Media Contacts. Following their recent negotiation of Kia’s broadcast sponsorship of ITV’s coverage of the FA Cup, the media planning and buying arm of Havas Media will provide additional support for the sponsorship with key media purchases throughout the local region.
Havas Sport & Entertainment COO Marcus Wight said “We are delighted to continue our work with Kia Motors UK. With HSE’s strong background in cricket we believe we can ensure their first foray into the sport is a resounding success”.
The deal is Kia’s first entrance into the cricket market; the company currently has worldwide commercial partnerships with the FIFA World Cup and Australian Tennis Open. Further to this, it employs current world number one Rafael Nadal as a brand ambassador and is also the Official Automotive Partner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the United States, sponsoring thirteen individual teams.
Kia is a major global player in the automotive industry and part of the fourth largest automobile manufacturing group in the world.