Handling customer expectations vis-à-vis a changing world (due to COVID-19) takes on new meaning with Hong Kong’s best known marketing and data solutions provider. So, if its targeted on-line, data-based marketing you need, iClick is the answer!


Frankie Ho, President, International Business.

iClick Interactive Asia Group Ltd (NASDAQ:ICLK) established in 2009 and headquartered in Hong Kong is an independent online marketing and enterprise data solutions provider connecting worldwide marketers with audiences in China. Built on cutting-edge technologies, its proprietary platform possesses omni-channel marketing capabilities and fulfils various marketing objectives in a data-driven and automated manner, helping both international and domestic marketers reach their target audiences in China.

iClick is currently operating in 10 locations worldwide including Asia and Europe.

The COVID-19 global pandemic has adversely caused changes to advertising, marketing, promotional campaigns and media spend, adverse market conditions and global economic slowdown could affect the overall sentiment and advertising budgets of customers.

Thus, enterprises and brands are forced to re-evaluate their strategic thinking about the current and future advertising and marketing approaches to maintain their businesses.

Ever since March 2020, the Hong Kong government launched and extended social distancing rules, so people have been spending more time at home instead of hanging out. The media consumption habit of consumers is then being affected, people tend to go online for news, socialising, schooling and working while staying home.    

Precision Targeting

Though it is not difficult to foresee a continuous decrease of marketing budget in 2020 Q3-4 with the ramification on businesses caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic, “it is evident that shift in consumer behaviours and demands has urged businesses to explore and invest in online presence and digital marketing efforts, that benefits solutions providers with mobile-centric and performance-driven like us,” says Frankie Ho, President, International Business.

He notes that some sectors such as e-commerce, online-gaming, and online education, have shown resilience as homebound consumers shift their purchasing activities online. Brands seek to enhance the cost-effectiveness of their marketing tactics via online and offline consumer behavioural data integration and analysis. The coronavirus crisis may seem like a huge threat to businesses as well as health, yet digital marketing may in fact take a great leap forward as a result of COVID-19.

Solutions Approach

iClick’s proprietary “iAudience” market intelligence platform provides unique real time insights of audiences and competitive landscape to marketers for analyzing, and using massive amounts of digital information to improve business operations. The market intelligence platform mainly aggregates PC & mobile real-time data to unlock Chinese audiences’ cross-device online behaviour.

  • Reaching 98.7% Mobile & PC Internet users in China
  • Covering 930.8M Monthly Active Netizens in China
  • Search, social and shopping data from media partners are being covered

“We are proud to announce that iClick has formed an advanced strategic collaboration with Tencent International Business Group (Tencent IBG), a leading provider of Internet value-added services in China. The collaboration unify our strong multinational clients’ coverage worldwide and Tencent IBG’s advertising technology to deliver customised and premium digital marketing solutions to international advertisers” Ho explains.

“We are well positioned to capture new growth opportunities from the emerging trends and consumption patterns in the next 2 years,” he adds.

“Our one-stop integrated marketing solution continues to see great demand in a highly fragmented and localized digital market and this is a huge window of opportunity for us.” – Frankie Ho, President, International Business.

China’s Digital Paradigm Shift

Ho notes that the e-commerce penetration in China has leapfrogged regional peers and has been further boosted by the pandemic.  “China’s massive digital market continues to grow rapidly with over 1.4 billion population and over 70% digital & mobile penetration, which is no mean feat!

“Our one-stop integrated marketing solution continues to see great demand in a highly fragmented and localized digital market and this is a huge window of opportunity for us.”

“It presents huge growth prospect for our Enterprise Solutions as we developed partnerships with leading internet companies such as Tencent and expect to further broaden our relationship with media partners and digital giants in China to extend our data application to a broader scope.”

Ho says: “Consumer habits are adapting in real-time to the new normal due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We have seen an accelerated consumer shift from offline to online and brands are now held to a new standard in terms of meeting consumer expectations and better engaging the young, tech-savvy generation.”

Game Changer!

According to Ho, AI-driven data analytics will be a game changer for retailers that prioritize as a strategic imperative as Smart retail goes beyond the boundaries of offline and online. Omni-channel, cross-platform solutions and customization are key in meeting the demand for comprehensive smart consumer experiences.

“With our unparalleled data capabilities that cover 98% of internet users in China, performance-based Marketing Solutions that enable effective cross-platform targeting and customization, as well as our Enterprise Solutions that integrate data from both offline and online sources, iClick is well positioned to emerge from the current challenges and capitalize on future growth opportunities in the next 2 years,” he concludes.

For additional information, please visit www.i-click.com