iCrossing partners with China-based Gridsum

Digital marketing and search agency iCrossing has entered a partnership with China-based search marketing company Beijing Gridsum Technology Co. Ltd. The businesses will jointly develop and manage search marketing campaigns for global brands across Asian markets.

This move will extend iCrossing's reach into the Asian market. The company currently manages paid and natural search campaigns in 21 languages in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. It works with brands like The Coca-Cola Company, Toyota and Travelocity.

The opportunity for the companies is twofold, said Jeffrey Pruitt, EVP of corporate partnerships at iCrossing.
 
“Having the ability to give regional support to our international clients is helpful because there's an 11- to 14-hour time difference so this really closes that gap,” he said. “It also propels our other clients to look at this [region] as an option to excel into that area. Regardless of today's economic conditions, that market is growing at great rate, and it's a market you just have to be in.”

Founded in 2003, Gridsum provides search engine marketing and analytics to China's budding online market and currently serves clients across a variety of industries. ICrossing will serve as some of Gridsum's larger clients' Western point of contact as well.

“[Gridsum] has a very similar look and feel to iCrossing in terms of the SEO, SEM and technology fronts,” Pruitt said. “We're both Microsoft Silverlight partners so this is a really comfortable relationship to move forward with.”

This is not an acquisition, and no staff changes will be made.