• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, May 23, 2012

Social media agency We Are Social (WAS) has been appointed by iconic car brand Jaguar to manage its global social media account after a formal review, the client has confirmed.

Other contenders were not disclosed. WAS has been awarded a two-year contract and will be responsible for developing and implementing Jaguar’s global social media strategy.  

In addition WAS will continue the day-to-day oversight of the client’s community engagement programs on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, and will work alongside Spark44, Jaguar’s creative agency, to support brand activity, product launches, events, and the integration of social media across Jaguar’s overall digital presence.

The new assignment follows project work that WAS completed for Jaguar, including a six-month social media program by the agency for the luxury car manufacturer’s global marketing team. Since that initial appointment, Jaguar’s Facebook page has reached over 1 million fans with no advertising spend.

Steven Cobelli, global digital manager for Jaguar, stated: “We Are Social has the global presence we were looking for in a social media agency. ... Since we first started working with [the agency] six months ago we’ve seen some truly impressive results.”

Clementine Hancox, senior account director at We Are Social, added that the agency "will help drive their brand and their business in both mature and emerging markets like China.”

WAS was founded in London by Robin Grant, global managing director and managing partner Nathan McDonald in 2008. Since then, the independent shop has grown to 180 employees across eight offices, including a recently launched operation in New York, its first outpost in the U.S. In addition to Jaguar, clients include Heinz, Smirnoff, HP, Moët & Chandon, Kleenex, Heineken, PayPal, Nestlé and Hotels.com.