Choosing to propel the brand into the contemporary era last year, Kia underwent a significant transformation by modernizing its logo—an evolution from the traditional circular emblem to a more current design. However, a predicament arises: deciphering the logo on an actual car proves to be a challenge.
It might cross your mind that a single Reddit post does not conclusively demonstrate confusion. However, dear reader, it extends beyond a solitary Reddit post (there exist a handful, indeed). Surprising data from search engines reveals that approximately 30,000 individuals in the United States are actively striving to identify the mysterious “KN car” every month.
This fascinating observation was originally highlighted by Ashwinn Krishnaswamy on Twitter. Ashwinn detected a substantial surge in searches for “KN car” around March 2021 based on data from ahrefs, a time coinciding with the launch of the new logo. Concurrently, the rebadged Kia Stinger hit the market, causing individuals to spot Kias brandishing the new emblem on the streets without recognizing the affiliation.
The confusion is not limited to just the Stinger. As indicated in the related searches above, people correctly identify the vehicle model (for instance, the exquisite Kia Carnival minivan) but struggle to discern the manufacturer’s actual name from the logo.
If that wasn’t sufficient evidence, Google Trends also depicts a coinciding surge in searches for the same term.
It’s worth noting just how considerable a figure 30,000 represents. That’s 360,000 individuals yearly, 986 daily, 41 hourly, or one individual every half-minute endeavoring to uncover the mystery behind a car bearing the KN brand.
Despite the conundrum, the search engines appear to have embraced the misspelling. Searching “KN Car” yields Kia as the top result—Bing and DuckDuckGo place Kia a tad lower but still on the first page. One could argue that Kia intentionally leveraged the logo design to profit from marketing via keyword misinterpretations. Not only did the brand sufficiently alter the appearance of its vehicles for them to be unrecognizable as Kias from a completely fictional car make, but it also transitioned its reputation from a budget-level brand to a mainstream name.
Upon reflecting, it’s increasingly apparent that this constitutes an astute marketing tactic overall. It wouldn’t be surprising if the 2021 Kia logo refresh is eventually cited as a case study in marketing textbooks.
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