Chrysler Group is terminating its contract with New Media Strategies a day after one of the social media agency’s employees distributed an inappropriate message via Twitter to Chrysler followers.
“NMS has agreed to support us with an orderly transition until a new agency has been named,” Chrysler said today in a statement. “We thank them for the work they have provided to us and wish them the best as they move forward.”
On Wednesday, a NMS employee with access to the Chrysler brand’s Twitter account issued the following tweet using the f-bomb to some 8,000 followers:
“I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to f****** drive,” the tweet said.
It was quickly deleted and replaced with an apology. “Our account was compromised,” Chrysler retweeted.
The unidentified agency employee was dismissed by New Media Strategies on Wednesday, Chrysler said.
“New Media Strategies regrets this unfortunate incident. It certainly doesn’t accurately reflect the overall high-quality work we have produced for Chrysler,” Pete Snyder, founder and president of the agency, said in a statement today. “We respect their decision and will work with them to ensure an effective transition of this business going forward.”
The agency, based in Arlington, Va., has handled social media duties for the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram Truck and Fiat brands since February 2010.
Following reports of the tweet, numerous social media sites and blogs expressed dismay that someone would lose their job over the error and that Chrysler responded in an overly heavy-handed, corporate manner.
The company has enjoyed enormous support since the airing of a Super Bowl commercial featuring Eminem and the city of Detroit to tout the new Chrysler 200 sedan.
The reaction to the commercial, the catchphrase “imported from Detroit,” and the overall positive messages it sent has been tremendous, Chrysler says.
“With so much goodwill built up over a very short time, we can’t afford to backslide now and jeopardize this progress,” Chrysler’s Ed Garsten said in a blog post on the automaker’s media Web site today. “We need to keep the momentum going — rebuilding a region and an industry, and not let anything slow us down. It’s what we do.”
AN
