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Kia is turning to TikTok — and top creators — to give people a novel, interactive way to customize and purchase its new 2025 Kia K4.
Why It Hits: Kia is already getting plenty of positive buzz for the marketing campaign. It’s a microcosm of the shift to interactive, gamified marketing across Gen Z’s favorite platforms, including Fortnite and Roblox.
Behind the Showroom: Kia is changing what it wants to go viral for (aka not hotwiring and joyriding).
- The “TikTok Creator Car Configurator” lets users customize a 3D rendering of the K4, including body color and interior type.
- During the build process, animations made by creators such as Sir Wrender, Miranda Morey, Alain Bui, and Hallie Tut “splash” across the car, per Tubefilter.
- When a user is done building the car of their imagination, they can do a “walkaround” of the car as if they were in a showroom.
- Users can then be redirected to Kia’s site to buy the car. That’s a pretty big purchase to do through TikTok!
Final Touches: Automakers are suddenly rushing to compete with Tesla in the DTC market. First was Hyundai’s team-up with Amazon. Now, it’s Kia and TikTok. With traditional car commercials heralded as one of the marquee forms of marketing, car brands seem to be making sure that they don’t lose that creative torch in a more creator-focused, interactive landscape.
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