BEIJING, May 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- iClick Interactive Asia Group Limited ("iClick") (Nasdaq: ICLK), an independent online marketing and enterprise data solutions provider in China, today announced a strategic partnership with BTG WELINK ("BTGW"), an online retail services arm of Beijing Tourism Group ("BTG"), and Tencent Holdings Limited ("Tencent"), China's leading provider of internet value added services. The partnership will leverage the digital strengths, data capabilities and payment technologies of the three companies to help BTG establish a new customer relationship management system providing its customers with an array of smart lifestyle O2O solutions.
BTG is one of the top ten tourism service groups in China which operates across a range of related sectors including dining, lodging, transportation, travel, shopping and entertainment. Its network spans across 4,000 hotels in 380 cities in China with 10 million registered users. Under the new partnership, customers of the BTG business will have access to a wide range of personalized mobile services powered by iClick and Tencent including reservation, quick pay, spending notification via the Official WeChat Account, Mini Programs and WeChat Pay. The parties will collaborate to build a large unified membership system for the business sectors of BTG to ensure its entire membership can enjoy the same benefits and quality of experience. The new offerings under this tri-party partnership will be first rolled out at the Beijing Scitech Premium Outlet Mall.
As part of this partnership with BTGW and Tencent, iClick will apply 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. By leveraging iClick's smart retail CRS (Customer Relationship Service based on Enterprise WeChat) system, BTG's frontline staff will be equipped with mobile apps that support smart shopping, marketing and member retention. This will also help to motivate BTG's staff as brand ambassadors, increasing brand awareness and improving sales performance for BTG.
Ms. Hongtao Wei, Deputy Secretary of CPC Committee, Member of the Board, Executive Deputy General Manager of BTG, said, "Together with Tencent and iClick, the tri-party partnership will further enhance the smart products and services offered by BTG and make a breakthrough in the traditional 'exchange environment' with intelligent services and smart offerings. By combining online and offline, a unified force will be formed and lead BTG to become a unique lifestyle service enterprise that offers 'Chinese-oriented services'."
With the largest social networking platform in China, Tencent is committed to providing users with more valuable internet services and a better digital experience. Mr. Davis Lin, Vice President of Tencent, said, "Tencent endeavors to connect brands with consumers by making use of our own networking strengths. Being consumer-focused is the core value of the retail ecosystem, which is in line with what we believe in retail decentralization. We believe that the new partnership will be able to bring together strong support and value to modern enterprises and customers."
iClick will utilize its competitive advantages and strengths in business intelligence and digital marketing in this new collaboration. Dr. Jian Tang, Co-founder, COO & CTO of iClick, said, "The new partnership marks a significant milestone in our business evolution. iClick has a deep understanding of enterprise needs in digital transformation as our clients are continually looking for ways to increase operational and marketing efficiency. Our collaboration with BTGW and Tencent will enable us to explore more innovative ways to enhance our data capabilities and online marketing solutions which is what enterprises value the most in this era of lifestyle service O2O."
About iClick Interactive Asia Group Limited
iClick Interactive Asia Group Limited (NASDAQ:ICLK) is an independent online marketing and enterprise data solutions provider that connects worldwide marketers with audiences in China. Built on cutting-edge technologies, our proprietary platform possesses omni-channel marketing capabilities and fulfills various marketing objectives in a data-driven and automated manner, helping both international and domestic marketers reach their target audiences in China. Headquartered in Hong Kong, iClick was established in 2009, currently operating in nine locations worldwide including Asia and Europe.
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "explore," "confident" and similar statements. Such statements are based upon management's current expectations and current market and operating conditions, and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company's control. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: the Company's fluctuations in growth; its success in implementing its mobile and new retail strategies, including extending its solutions beyond its core digital marketing business; relative percentage of its gross billing recognized as net revenues under the gross and net models; its ability to retain existing clients or attract new ones; its ability to retain content distribution channels and negotiate favorable contractual terms; market competition, including from independent online marketing technology platforms as well as large and well-established internet companies; market acceptance of online marketing technology and enterprise solutions; effectiveness of its algorithms and data engines; its ability to collect and use data from various sources; ability to integrate and realize synergies from acquisitions, investments or strategic partnership; fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; general economic conditions in China and other jurisdictions where the Company operates; and the regulatory landscape in China and other jurisdictions where the Company operates. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's annual report on Form 20-F and other filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.
