Saab Automobile hires Aussie blogger who ‘saved’ the company

On Tuesday, Saab Automobile announced it was adding Australian Saab-enthusiast Steven Wade to the company’s global social media marketing team.

For the last six years, Wade has run the independant SaabsUnited blog from his home in Melbourne, Australia.

Since its founding, the site gained popularity with Saab enthusiasts around the globe and become known as a source of some of the most detailed and up-to-date information about the company.

When troubles at US carmaker General Motors (GM) threatened to put Saab into bankruptcy, Wade led a campaign to rally fans of the uniquely designed Swedish-made cars to demonstrate that, despite dismal sales figures, there were many people around the world who cared deeply about Saab.

“It is a given that you have played a key role in saving Saab last year by mobilizing tens of thousands of enthusiasts to rally in support of the company,” Saab chair Victor Muller wrote to Wade in a letter posted on SaabsUnited.

“You have single handedly proven the importance social media has nowadays in situations like the one Saab went through. You became one of my most powerful allies in those trying times which now are fortunately behind us.”

As a part of Saab’s global social media marketing team, Wade will now help the company communicate with customers through various social media channels.

Source: http://www.thelocal.se/32612/20110316/