BlueGlass Acquires Idealizer and Secures European Hub

Tampa- based BlueGlass has strengthened its European presence with the acquisition of Swiss digital marketing agency Idealizer. The move comes as the company also launches a new operational hub in Switzerland aimed at serving the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region.

“We wanted to expand our local market knowledge, as well as bring additional thought leadership into these markets. We also want to ensure a closer and greater relationship with clients in this region,” says Richard Zwicky, chief executive at BlueGlass.

Founded in 2007, Idealizer specializes in search and content marketing, According to Zwicky, the Swiss team’s offerings mirror what BlueGlass does in the US but also bring expertise in localization, internationalization and a European network of connections.

“Once we had the chance to meet the team and see the work they were doing, we knew it would be a natural fit and the right company to build around… We firmly believe that our capabilities combined with Idealizer’s expertise in the European marketplace will result in unprecedented innovation for clients,” says Zwicky.

Idealizer will be folded into the BlueGlass EMEA brand, pushing the company to 85 employees. The newly formed entity will also become the digital agency’s European hub.

Blueglass’ international expansion is aimed at combining a system of outreach, with an online marketing and content creation strategy. According to a blog post written by the agency, Switzerland is an ideal starting point for increased operations throughout the EMEA region, as it is multi-lingual, culturally diverse, and has a high-qualified workforce.

“Agencies that manage campaigns across multiple countries have been struggling to provide the right value to advertisers, and that’s both a disservice to the clients, and an opportunity for BlueGlass in our global growth strategy.

“Content simply translated from one language to another, and distributed across various countries PR networks, does not provide the value brands deserve. Content gets adopted in entirely different forms from one country to the next, and strategies need to support these variations by providing the content in the right context. By adding the Idealizer team and launching BlueGlass EMEA, we are bringing additional strategies and solutions in the context needed,” notes Zwicky.

BlueGlass’ acquisition of Idealizer follows a recent pick-up of London based agency Quaturo in November 2012.