VGI links with iClick to smooth the way for SE Asia brands in China
VGI Global Media Plc, Thailand’s biggest provider of online to offline (O2O) services in advertising, payments and logistics, has teamed up with a Chinese partner in a move that they say will open up the giant market to Southeast Asian consumer brands.
iClick Interactive Asia Group Limited is an independent online marketing and data technology platform. Under its partnership with VGI, they aim to “capture the multibillion-dollar Chinese consumer market through a range of technology-driven marketing solutions”.
The companies say the partnership will leverage the strengths of VGI and iClick to provide brands across Southeast Asia business opportunities and deepen their engagement with the growing customer base in China.
VGI’s shares jumped 5.41 per cent to close at Bt9.75 yesterday.
The companies say they generate significant cross-border marketing opportunities through a suite of mobile and new media products.
These include an artificial intelligence-powered mobile application that generates personalised digital content based on users’ interests and preferences, “allowing brands to target consumers more effectively with highly granular segmentation”.
Also featured are a range of so-called China solutions - marketing intelligence tools, social, and mobile solutions offering clients in-depth insights into the Chinese market based on iClick’s 780 million consumer profiles. These services will also enable clients to target consumers across different channels in China, especially Chinese outbound travellers.
Under the partners’ O2O services, some 10,000 new mobile charging stations with the ability to display marketing messages will be placed throughout VGI’s network across Thailand.
They will be in prominent locations such as BTS Skytrain stations and the distribution centres of Kerry Express, a parcel delivery company.
The partners say the joint venture will address the significant potential of the Southeast Asia market. China is ranked the top country for the number of outbound travellers, who made nearly 150 million trips in 2017. The most popular destination was Thailand, followed by Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. Chinese tourists spend a lot while abroad.
They spent US$258 billion in 2017, contributing 21 per cent of the total global spending while abroad, making China the top country in this metric.
The joint venture has also identified opportunities in retail, consumer goods, healthcare and entertainment.
