Northern Kentucky ad agency's purchase of Seattle e-commerce firm is first of several to come

Icon Marketing Communications has acquired a Seattle e-commerce agency called Marketplace Clicks.

Marketplace Clicks is one of 50 agencies named to Amazon Advertising’s find-a-partner directory, which helps businesses that sell on the Amazon platform find advertising support.

The deal should allow the Covington-based marketing and advertising agency to expand its sales to Amazon’s e-commerce space, the company says. Marketplace Clicks manages ad spending of more than $100 million for clients that range from multinational consumer product companies to startups, Icon says.

Icon says the acquisition is the first of several planned to speed the company’s growth.

Earlier this year, the company relocated from a 6,000 square-foot space in Fort Mitchell to a 26,000 square-foot restored warehouse in downtown Covington. The move accommodated a 25 percent increase in staffing, the company says. Its clients include Tempur-Pedic, the Gorilla Glue Company, and Union Savings Bank.

The Marketplace Clicks acquisition is expected to allow Icon to add to its current team of more than 50 employees.

Marketplace Clicks will operate independently as a subsidiary of Icon. The company’s cofounder, Mike Ziegler, will stay as president and join Icon’s leadership team. Marketplace Clicks’ 12 employees will also remain with the company.

“We see this as the right moment in time to accelerate our plans for growth,” says Shawn Murdock, founder and CEO of Icon. “We continue to build an agency that helps modern clients grow through blending the power of creative, the clarity of strategy, and the data-first insight of performance marketing.”