NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Jan 21, 2014) - iCrossing, a global digital marketing company, is being recognized by Gartner, Inc., which has named it "Leader" among digital marketing agencies based on its expertise in social media, content marketing and digital media, and by Forrester Research for its innovative client work.

Gartner, Inc. cited iCrossing as a "Leader" in its "Magic Quadrant for Global Digital Marketing Agencies"1 report, which evaluated 17 digital agencies across 15 criteria including innovation, marketing strategy and customer experience. The report defined "Leaders" as "strong in technology, creative services and experience design and marketing effectiveness. Leaders also help today's CMO develop digital marketing platforms for the future, versus one-off engagements that are more proof-of-concept-oriented."

"We believe being positioned as a 'Leader' by Gartner reinforces our standing in the industry as a top-tier digital agency that builds connected brands for clients by creating closer, more personal relationships with audiences through more meaningful interactions across the customer journey," said Brian Powley, global president of iCrossing.

"As the digital agency for record for brands such as Toyota, Pep Boys and DIRECTV, we are leveraging our expertise in content marketing, media and data to deliver the right content and experiences, to the right audiences at just the right moments," Powley continued.

Additionally, Forrester Research published a report, "Agency Partnerships Speed the Innovation Journey," that examines the growing importance of marketing innovation, and how innovative agencies are helping deliver "what's next" for brands. The report cites iCrossing's relationship with PNC Bank as an example of a "successful agency and marketer partnership that ha[s] led to transformative marketing innovations," saying:

"PNC engaged iCrossing to uncover three core brand engagement truths. PNC Financial Services developed its new Virtual Wallet online banking system that provided customers with a dramatically easier interface to manage their money. iCrossing was brought in when new sign-ups by current and new customers for the service dried up and TV ads were not performing. iCrossing reimagined the activation problem and narrowed the target audience to two key segments. They developed a new program around long-form digital videos and storytelling called 'Be The Boss Of Your Money.' The new content strategy engaged the target customers and drove new sign-ups 35% above industry averages."

iCrossing's Chief Creative Officer Pat Stern, who led the creative vision on the PNC work, said, "We are a best-in-class, innovative agency who is helping clients bring breakthrough ideas to life. We are dedicated to moving our clients' businesses forward by delivering the right content and experiences, to the right audiences in the right moments."

About iCrossing 
 iCrossing is a global digital marketing agency that builds connected brands for some of the world's most recognized companies including Beam Inc., The Coca-Cola Company, FedEx and LG Electronics. The agency combines its expertise in media, creative and analytics with talent and technology to help brands build close relationships with their customers in real time. iCrossing, a unit of Hearst Corporation, is headquartered in New York and has 900 employees in 17 offices globally. In addition, iCrossing owns Core Audience, a software as a service (SaaS) data management platform that powers audience-based marketing across bought, earned and owned media. For more information, visit www.icrossing.com or its social spaces.

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

1 Gartner, Inc., "Magic Quadrant for Global Digital Marketing Agencies", Managed Print Services, Worldwide, Richard Fouts, Adam Sarner, Andrew Frank and Martin Kihn, December 5, 2013