Merkle, a Columbia-based global performance marketing agency, has expanded the landscape of global partnership with Baidu from North America to EMEA, APAC and South America regions. This specialization demonstrates Baidu’s recognition of Merkle’s industry-leading capabilities in advertising as well as its overall status in people-based marketing.

With this broader global partnership with Baidu, Merkle will be appointed as a core reseller in China and Japan to provide Baidu Paid Ads services for brands. In the near future, this partnership will be expanded to many more countries: the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, India, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Brazil.

As the world’s second-largest economy, China continues to be a hot destination that attracts international businesses, particularly from emerging economies. Baidu, the dominating search engine in China, remains a preferred choice for businesses to raise their brand awareness as they look to rapidly reach out to hundreds of millions of potential customers across the country.

“Over the years, we’ve been working hand-in-hand with Baidu for US brands expanding their footprints in China,” said Zhengda “Z” Shen, president, Merkle Asia Pacific. “[This] announcement is another important step forward to strengthen our collaborations. It enables us to access and serve a broader international market. We believe our assets and expertise will help create a strong competitive advantage for our clients by winning more mindshare, as well as market share, in the China market.”