DETROIT -- Chrysler Group has chosen Ignite Social Media of Raleigh, N.C., as its lead agency to market autos on Facebook, Twitter and other social media, the automaker said today.
Ignite replaces New Media Strategies, which Chrysler fired in March after an employee distributed an f-bomb message via Twitter to Chrysler followers.
Ignite, founded in 2007, will work on the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Fiat and Ram brands.
Other clients listed on Ignite's Web site are Microsoft Windows, the Bing search engine, Nature Made vitamins and supplements, and the Body Shop, which makes beauty products.
Jim Tobin, president of Ignite Social Media, is the co-author of a 2008 book, Social Media is a Cocktail Party.
"Carried out in the right manner, social media can engage the consumer to the point where they want to not only participate in the conversation but to lead it and encourage others to do the same," said Olivier Francois, CEO of the Chrysler brand and the automaker's marketing chief.
