PHA has been shortlisted for two categories at the UK Social Media Awards 2026 for our work on JAECOO UK’s Earning Our Badge campaign: Best Integrated Campaign and Best Long-Term Strategic Use of Social Media.
The UK Social Media Awards celebrate the campaigns, agencies, teams and brands setting the benchmark for excellence across the social media industry. Recognising work that successfully turns online engagement into measurable business impact, the awards highlight the very best social-first thinking and execution from across the UK.
Being shortlisted in two highly competitive categories is a fantastic recognition of the strategy, creativity and consistency that underpinned Earning Our Badge, a campaign designed to introduce JAECOO to UK audiences and establish credibility in a crowded and sceptical automotive market.
Built around a long-term social-first platform, Earning Our Badge brought together brand campaigns, partnerships, influencer collaborations, live events and content activations to demonstrate JAECOO’s capabilities, rather than simply talk about them.
Over the course of the campaign, social media became the engine driving awareness, engagement and consideration, helping to transform JAECOO from an unknown challenger brand into one of the fastest-rising names in the UK automotive sector.
These shortlistings are a testament not only to the results achieved, but also to the collaboration between PHA and JAECOO, and the commitment of every team involved in bringing the campaign to life.
The winners of the UK Social Media Awards will be announced later this year, and we’re incredibly proud to see Earning Our Badge recognised alongside some of the country’s most outstanding social media work.
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The dual shortlist reflects the ambition behind Earning Our Badge: a long-term platform built to create lasting brand value through social-first creativity.
Rather than relying on traditional automotive launch tactics, the campaign focused on earning attention and trust through meaningful audience engagement across multiple channels and touchpoints. Every activation was designed to reinforce JAECOO’s credentials while creating content that audiences actively wanted to engage with and share.
Throughout the campaign, social media served as both the strategic foundation and amplification engine for a range of high-impact activations, including:
- Earning Our Badge: A year-long social-first campaign created to introduce JAECOO to UK audiences, building credibility through authentic storytelling, product proof and cultural relevance.
- Enter the Extreme: A partnership connected to Universal’s Jurassic World Rebirth, bringing together social content, creator engagement, outdoor advertising and broadcast activity around a major cultural moment.
- Range Revolution: A creator-led YouTube challenge designed to showcase vehicle performance and range, with long-form content repurposed into a suite of social-first assets to maximise reach and engagement.
- Live events & experiential activations: From the London Pet Show Live to CarFest and the EPCR Finals, we created opportunities to demonstrate the brand in action, capturing authentic content and real audience reactions that fuelled ongoing social storytelling.
By combining integrated thinking with a long-term strategic approach to social media, the campaign helped establish JAECOO’s identity in the UK market while delivering meaningful audience growth, engagement and brand consideration.
We’re incredibly proud of what has been achieved with JAECOO UK so far and grateful to everyone who helped make the campaign a success.
If you’re looking to launch a new brand, transform perception, or build lasting impact through award-worthy social media, get in touch with our team of specialists today at hello@thephagroup.com.