In April 2021, Hyundai and Kia took a lesson in the power of social media when they issued a free anti-theft update in response to a challenge created on the popular app, TikTok. Dubbed the “Kia Challenge,” the online challenge has garnered significant attention in recent weeks, leading Hyundai and Kia to respond with the update.
The Kia Challenge originated from user @stehelle who posted a short video about the challenge on TikTok. In the video, @stehelle demonstrated how easy it is to open the hatch of his Kia with a tennis ball. He then issued the challenge for other users to try the same thing. Other users on the app began to to do so, and before long, the challenge went viral, leading to more and more people attempting to open the back door of their own Kia vehicles and sharing their success on the app.
In response to the viral success of the challenge, Hyundai and Kia issued a nationwide recall of vehicles covering 1.2 million models manufactured in 2016 and 2017. The recall enables owners of these models to download a free software update that will provide additional protection and prevent a driver-side door from being opened using a tennis ball hack.
While some have called the Kia challenge a harmless demonstration of ingenuity, others have argued that Hyundai and Kia didn’t respond quickly enough to potential security risks. Still, the app is a reminder of the power of social media—namely, its ability to spur companies into action. Whether one views the Kia Challenge as a harmless prank or as something more serious, it has certainly proven that companies must be aware of what is being said on social media and respond quickly to shape the public’s perception of their brand.
