- Largest
independent, industry-leading marketing technology company in China
- Digital
advertising solutions reach 98% of China’s internet users
- Secured
more than $30 million in credit facility with HSBC’s GBA+ Technology Fund
- Financing
from Marine Central Ltd., backed by majority shareholder of Forbes Media
LLC, will be a catalyst for further high-potential opportunity and
synergies
- Strong
balance sheet and working capital management supercharging the growth of
marketing solutions
- Proprietary,
award-winning marketing technology transforms data into insight, action
and performance
- Over
the first three quarters of 2019, iClick set record high in revenue
($142.7 million) and gross profit ($39.5 million)
- Core
Marketing Solutions has reached economics of scale with the proved
positive adjusted EBITDA and will become an organic growth driver and
profitability contributor going forward
- Newly
launched Enterprise Solutions business segment quickly accumulated
revenues of $6.8 million
- Enterprise
Solutions business segment expected to become the top-line and bottom-line
growth driver in the future
- Focused
on its evolution into an enterprise and marketing cloud platform,
providing full consumer-cycle solutions to the brands
- Ten
locations worldwide with 450+ employees
iClick Interactive Asia Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: ICLK) is
an independent online marketing and enterprise data solutions provider
connecting worldwide marketers with audiences in China. Built on cutting-edge
technologies, iClick’s proprietary platform possesses omni-channel marketing
capabilities and fulfills various marketing objectives in a data-driven and
automated manner, helping international and domestic marketers reach their
target audiences. Headquartered in Hong Kong, iClick operates in 10 locations
worldwide, including Asia and Europe.
iClick aims to become a fully integrated Enterprise and
Marketing Cloud Platform in China, providing clients a full consumer-cycle
solution. This is facilitated by two pillars’ growth strategy through two
business segments: Marketing Solutions and Enterprise
Solutions.
Marketing Solutions
Using data and AI-driven technology to help brands
efficiently identify, target and acquire the right customers
As the leading programmatic marketing platform in China,
iClick’s proprietary platform collects a wealth of data from multiple sources
to precisely reach the right audience at the right moment, on the right channel
and right device. Cross-screen search solutions capture critical micro-moments
when users proactively search for what they need. This multi-dimensional
approach to marketing allows iClick to effectively understand internet users
and exponentially widen target audiences for its brand clients. Multiple
monetization models available in the Marketing Solutions segment allow iClick
to serve its clients in several ways, such as audience targeting.
Data-driven marketing is indispensable to marketers
targeting specific audiences in China. More than 825 million internet users in
China are anonymously profiled on iClick’s platform, which boasts cross-channel
and cross-screen capabilities.
Enterprise Solutions
Enabling brands to efficiently manage their consumers
through online and offline data integration and analysis, increase the
repurchase rate, and enhance consumers’ loyalty
iClick’s Enterprise Solutions segment addresses enterprise
needs in China, particularly focusing on “smart retail,” an expanding and
innovating market involving the combination of online and offline consumers’
behavioral information. Enterprise Solutions support detailed profiling of
customers, which facilitates data-driven business strategies, enhances business
processes at various levels, and increases operational and marketing
efficiency.
Enterprise Solutions leverages iClick’s proprietary platform
that incorporates Artificial Intelligence (AI) to learn, build and store
knowledge, enabling accurate predictions about consumer behavior that
ultimately provide marketing solutions derived from the large amount of
available data.
Through a strategic partnership with Tencent, iClick’s
Enterprise Solutions presents strong recurring revenue streams with tremendous
opportunities to upsell multi-national corporations (MNCs). Tencent’s
proprietary API connection enables brands to build 360-degree consumer profiles
based on the collection and integration of purchased behavioral information
from online and offline touchpoints, including WeChat Mini Programs, WeChat
Payment, WeChat Work and more.
As iClick continues to provide integrated marketing and
smart retail solutions targeting Chinese consumers, the company believes
Enterprise Solutions has strong long-term growth potential and will become a
major gross margin contributor in the future.
Partnerships
In 2019, iClick established various agreements and
partnerships with a number of leading southeast and northeast Asian companies
for regional diversification and in 2020 is focused on continuing to develop
additional partnerships and new business models globally. Many of the world’s
top companies are leveraging iClick’s proprietary data platform to precisely
identify and reach out to core target audience groups in China.
The company’s partnerships include:
- A
tri-partnership with BTG WELINK, an online retail services arm of Beijing
Tourism Group (“BTG”), and Tencent Holdings Ltd., China’s leading provider
of internet value added services. As part of this partnership, iClick
applies its upgraded solutions to build a private DSP (Demand Side
Platform) system for BTG. Using Tencent’s big data advertising platform,
iClick can assist BTG to develop precision marketing campaigns.
- An
Advertising Agency Authorization Certificate from Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ:
BIDU), under which iClick is designated the authorized agency for native
advertising of Baidu’s news feed ads. Native advertising is a
consumer-friendly, non-disruptive advertising format that has gained rapid
popularity among advertisers in recent years. Native advertising and
creative marketing content have become a more effective marketing method
among the Chinese young consumers. In 2019, the native advertising sector
was estimated to have an around 53.5% share of the online advertising
revenue, according to Statista.
- A
joint-venture partnership with VGI Global Media Plc (VGI.BKK), Thailand’s
No. 1 online to offline (O2O) solutions provider across advertising,
payment and logistics platforms, which enables brands in Southeast Asia to
capture the multi-billion-dollar Chinese consumer market through a range
of technology-driven marketing solutions.
Case Study: Armani Hotel Dubai
Dubai has been gearing up to welcome the growing wave of
Chinese visitors. Chinese nationals are eligible for a 30-day visa-on-arrival
into the UAE, which gives Chinese travelers tremendous convenience. In light of
this, Armani Hotel Dubai set the objective to increase its sales in this
market.
The challenge: What Aarmani Hotel Dubai lacked
in executing this goal was insightful understanding of Chinese travelers in
particular the demographics that were likely to be attracted to the hotel.
Challenged by the huge differences in the business practice, unique culture and
language barrier in running digital campaigns in China, Armani Hotel Dubai
turned to iClick’s know-how and expertise to guide its campaign to success and
meet its sales goal.
The solution:iClick tailored an optimal solution for
the hotel to increase brand awareness and booking rate from China – which is
the key market for the hotel – and successfully assisted Armani Hotel Dubai in
reaching its target Chinese audiences by using China’s most popular mobile and
internet sites, including WeChat and Weibo, to improve reach and booking
potential.
The results: Due to iClick’s unrivaled
technological and execution strengths, Armani Hotel Dubai’s ads were delivered
in an omnichannel manner, raising brand awareness and garnering interest
between Chinese consumers. Subsequently, Armani Hotel Dubai saw a surge in conversion
rate.
During the campaign, the Armani Hotel Dubai brand was
connected with 87% of Chinese mobile users.
Award-winning Provider
iClick, a Deloitte Technology Fast50, has received multiple
industry awards from the international marketing community. The company is
committed to helping clients access digital China with its omni-channel,
data-driven marketing solutions that deliver uniquely sharpened marketing
capabilities and outstanding advertising results.
Most recently, iClick subsidiary OptAim (Beijing)
Information Technology Co., Ltd was recognized by Tencent Ads as a 2019 Gold Service
Provider. Tencent Ads also named OptAim the winner of three major annual awards
for the second half of 2019: “Outstanding Contribution of the Year,” “Best
Technology & Data Application Award,” and “Best Branding Awards.”
In November 2019, company co-founder and CEO Sammy Hsieh
was chosen as the winner of the “EY Entrepreneur of The
Year China 2019 Award in Technology Category,” an award recognizing his
entrepreneurial acumen, innovative spirit and strong leadership. As one of the
world’s most prestigious business accolades, the “EY Entrepreneur of The Year”
awards program honors those who accomplish success by combining ability with
opportunity, and inspire others with great vision, leadership and outstanding
achievement.
iClick won the Annual Influential Platform Award and the
Innovation Golden Award in Marketing at the Creative Award 2019, as well as the
Best Tourism Marketing Agency. The company was also the recipient of the “Best Brand and
Performance Marketing Award” at the Performance Marketing Ecosystem Summit 2018
hosted by the Advertising & Marketing Service, a division of Tencent
Holdings Limited.
The company in 2018 was also recognized as “Platinum Service Partner of
Tencent Social Ads” at the Tencent Key Accounts Mid-Year Summit held in
Beijing. The mobile division of iClick, Optaim, received the same award
beginning in 2016. Optaim was also the “Best DSP Partner” and “Key Account Data
Partner” of Tencent, making it the only player in China with such unique and
deep level of cooperation with Tencent Social Ads.
Leadership
Sammy Wing Hong Hsieh, chairman of the board and co-founder,
was CEO from 2009 to 2019. Prior to co-founding iClick, Hsieh held senior
positions in several prominent technology companies. He was general manager for
Asia Pacific at Efficient Frontier (now an Adobe company), a leading digital
performance marketing company, and was director of Search Marketing at Yahoo
Hong Kong from 2000-2008. Hsieh received a bachelor’s degree in economics from
the University of California, Los Angeles.
Jian Tang, director, CEO and co-founder, has 20 years of
experience in digital advertising and is well-known in China for his expertise
in advertising technologies and big data. In 2012, he founded OptAim, which was
acquired by iClick in 2015, and has served key research, engineering and
management roles at Yahoo’s global research and development center. Tang
received his doctorate in computer engineering from Tsinghua University and was
named by Campaign Asia as one of the leaders in its Digital A-List in 2016.
Terence Chi Wai Li, chief financial officer, has 15 years of
experience in financial management, investment and business operations. He has
served in management roles and advisory capacities at several start-ups, in
addition to financial management and fundraising roles. He previously worked at
PricewaterhouseCoopers, specializing in M&A due diligence and cross border
tax and deal structuring projects. Li received an MBA from Oxford University’s
Said Business School. He is a Fellow Member of ACCA, a Member of HKICPA, and a
Chartered Financial Analyst.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.i-Click.com
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates
relating to ICLK are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/ICLK
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