iCrossing UK in social media deals

Digital marketing agency iCrossing UK has struck deals with Viking River Cruises and Villa Plus.

Digital marketing agency iCrossing UK has struck deals with Viking River Cruises and Villa Plus.

The Brighton-based company is being employed to raise online awareness and sales for the leading river cruise operator through an integrated natural search, paid search and social media strategy.

The deal with Villa Plus is to manage and develop the villa holiday tour operator’s paid search marketing and drive more efficient sales through its website.

Viking River Cruises’ spokesman Joseph McGough said: “Search and social media go hand-in-hand, so iCrossing’s combined expertise in these areas made them a fantastic choice for our digital marketing needs.

“Great PPC and SEO visibility is an absolute necessity for us; we are also keen to embrace social media in a big way to ensure that we are part of our customer’s conversations in a natural and constructive way.”

Mark Higginson, head of social media at iCrossing UK, said: “The profile of social media use is becoming steadily more inclusive and representative of wider society. We’re happy to have the opportunity to dispel the myth of the ‘digital native’ by working with a brand whose customers are typically a more mature age group.”

“Given that a river cruise is an implicitly social experience we look forward to being able to represent these inspiring experiences in an online context.”

Discussing the Villa Plus arrangement, iCrossing UK head of new media Sam Fenton-Elstone said: “Villa Plus is one of the largest villa holiday specialists in the UK and they are growing steadily. Effective digital marketing is at the heart of this growth.

“As an agency we have vast experience within the digital travel market which we can apply to ensure that Villa Plus’ paid search profile is maximised and thus drive increased sales performance from this channel.”