NEW YORK — Godiva has awarded Lippe Taylor its US PR and social media business in a move aimed at furthering the Belgian chocolatier as a multidimensional brand.

The assignment includes bolstering awareness of Godiva as a café, retail and e-commerce brand as well as for the high-end chocolates for which it is best known. Lippe Taylor will be responsible for integrated communications including social media strategy and creative content, influencer marketing and earned media.

The agency was named Godiva’s US consumer agency of record following a competitive review. US public relations had been handled by M Booth.

Godiva’s partnership with Lippe Taylor comes in conjunction with the company’s global 5x strategy, which calls for increasing its Godiva Café business fivefold by adding 2,000 new outlets around the world by 2024.

It also comes amidst other changes in Godiva’s marketing operation and as the company pursues agency partnerships best equipped to bolster the company's image as a lifestyle brand amid growth and expansion into new categories, Godiva said.

In June, Godiva handed Hill+Knowlton Strategies its global corporate PR business, which was the first time the company hired an agency for global responsibilities. It simultaneously handed its global ad business to McCann.

In October, the company hired John Galloway, formerly Hard Rock International’s CMO, as its chief marketing and innovation officer.