"ROBO DOG" STAR OF KIA AMERICA'S SUPER BOWL SPOT IS NOW FEATURED IN AN NFT COLLECTION TO HELP ANIMALS IN NEED FIND FOREVER HOMES

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- Kia America announced its first NFT series, based on "Robo Dog", the robot puppy and star of Kia's Super Bowl spot. Partnering with NFT platform Sweet and The Petfinder Foundation, the series is available in three unique and accessible collections with 90-percent of all primary sales proceeds benefiting The Petfinder Foundation to help animals in need find their forever homes. In addition, a 10-percent royalty is written into the smart contract on the blockchain, so whenever a Robo Dog NFT across the series is resold on a participating secondary market, The Petfinder Foundation will again benefit from funding for additional pet adoptions. The Robo Dog NFT series is minted on the Tezos blockchain and is made up of the following:

• Launching on February 11^th, 10,000 Robo Dog Adoption Pass NFTs will be made available for free. People who claim one of these Robo Dog Adoption Passes will get presale access to one of 10,000 generative Robo Dog NFTs Kia America is making available for sale on February 18^th.
  
  
• On February 13^th, coinciding with the big game, six, one-of-a-kind, art inspired Robo Dog NFTs will be made available at a starting bid of $299, the original MSRP of the robotic pup before he escaped the electronics store. The auctions run through February 18^th at 12pm ET.
  
  
• Then on February 18^th, to coincide with the NBA All-Star weekend, Kia will make 10,000 generative Robo Dog NFTs available for purchase at sweet.io. People holding a Robo Dog Adoption Pass NFT will gain early access at 3pm ET to purchase one of these unique Robo Dog NFTs for $20.22. The public sale will start at 7pm ET for anyone without an adoption certificate who wants to adopt a Robo Dog NFT of their own.

10,000 Robo Dog NFTs are being made available on a first-come, first-served basis just prior to the weekend of the Big Game. An auction of six rare Robo Dog NFTs starts at 12pm ET, just before game-time, Sunday.

"Many of us are aware of the increase in pet adoptions as a result of the pandemic," said Russell Wager, vice president, marketing, Kia America. "Although tens of thousands of animals have found their forever homes, pet surrenders to shelters are increasing as people return to work and there are many pets whose stories deserve to end as happily as Robo Dog's did in our Super Bowl spot."

The final collection of this NFT Series opens on February 18^th just as the NBA All-Star weekend begins in Cleveland as 10,000 generative Robo Dog NFTs are made available for purchase at purchase at sweet.io. Kia and Sweet have designed this specific collection to achieve scarcity through a list of rarity traits that mimic the traits people use as filters to find their best dog adoption match on Petfinder.com. Each generative Robo Dog NFT comes preprogrammed with traits such as breed, age, size, gender, coat length and color and since older dogs and larger dogs tend to be a bit less desired in the real world. Robo Dog NFTs programmed with traits such as older or large might become even more scarce and sought after.

"After sports, the automotive Marketing space is an obvious area where NFTs can thrive and engage people. There is a long history of people loving their car brands and loving their cars. And what I love about the Kia Robo Dog NFT series is how well it ties into our mission here at Sweet and that is: to empower brands like Kia to deploy NFTs to broader consumer bases through engaging experiences," said Tom Mizzone, CEO of Sweet. "As a dog owner myself, I can't think of anything more engaging than the chance to have a Robo Dog of my own as a digital collectible and the opportunity to use NFT technology to help pets find loving homes."

Kia America - about us

Headquartered in Irvine, California, Kia America continues to top automotive quality surveys and is recognized as one of the 100 Best Global Brands. Kia serves as the "Official Automotive Partner" of the NBA and offers a range of gasoline, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electrified vehicles sold through a network of nearly 750 dealers in the U.S., including several cars and SUVs proudly assembled in America.

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About Sweet

New York-based Sweet is a highly flexible, Non-Fungible Token (NFT) platform and marketplace used by top creators, sports, entertainment, and consumer brands worldwide. Sweet delivers immersive NFT programs driving revenue, consumer engagement, and gamified experiences reaching both sophisticated and novice NFT collectors in ways never before possible. For more information, please visit: https://sweet.io/.

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SOURCE Kia America