OFF THE BACK of recent additions to its extensive basketball sponsorship portfolio in the US, Korean automotive giant Kia has signed on as presenting sponsor of the 2011 FIBA Asia Championships to be held this month in Wuhan, China.
Kia’s presence at the biennial championship, which it first sponsored in 2009, is good news for the event and for Asian basketball.
“We didn’t have Kia on board six years ago so for us to have a brand like Kia as presenting sponsor is a real boost,” says FIBA Commercial Director, Matthew Osmon.
Audience figures will be swelled this year by the Championships’ status as a qualifying tournament for the 2012 summer Olympic Games, giving Kia even greater exposure in Asia’s major markets for basketball – China, Japan and Korea.
Kia is also a major sponsor of the NBA in the United States, where the brand has seen market share grow to a high of more than three per cent.