Home Agencies Merkle Buys Chicago’s New Control, Bringing Agency Group Headcount To 450

Merkle Buys Chicago’s New Control, Bringing Agency Group Headcount To 450

SHARE:

merkle-new-controlMerkle keeps piling on agency services. The CRM and database marketing company has acquired Chicago-based New Control, a “digital and direct” agency with a focus on financial industry clients including Chase, Fifth Third Bank, PNC Bank and Visa.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Merkle EVP and digital agency lead Craig Dempster told AdExchanger the deal creates a Chicago footprint for the agency, with analysts and messaging experts focused on the credit vertical. “In a lot of our media relationships today we do the creative work,” Dempster said. “Here, we’ve acquired a team with a strong methodology in driving direct response performance with creative.”

Merkle and New Control both have strength in financial services, but Merkle is focused on retail banking and New Control does credit card marketing. Dempster said, “this expands our performance-based creative communications. Their expertise in addressable media and creating integrated marketing communications in addressable is attractive to us.”

For the first year, New Control will function as a wholly owned subsidiary under the moniker “New Control, a Merkle Company.” Its president, Dave Baun, will stay on in that role.

Merkle’s previous acquisitions in the marketing space include Brilig (data), 5th Finger (mobile), Social Amp (social), IMPAQT (search) and IMPAQT Trading (media). New Control’s 85 employees will bring the headcount in the company’s agency services group to about 450, or about a fifth of the employees across all four of its divisions (the other three are management consulting, technology and analytics).

Must Read

Intent IQ Has Patents For Ad Tech’s Most Basic Functions – And It’s Not Afraid To Use Them

An unusual dilemma has programmatic vendors and ad tech platforms worried about a flurry of potential patent infringement suits.

TikTok Video For Open Web Publishers? Outbrain Built It.

Outbrain is trying to shed its chumbox rep by bringing social media-style vertical video to mobile publishers on the open web.

Billups Launches Attention Measurement For Out-Of-Home

Billups, a managed services agency that specializes in OOH, is making its attention measurement solution and a related analytics dashboard available for general use.

Privacy! Commerce! Connected TV! Read all about it. Subscribe to AdExchanger Newsletters
US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria

The Google Ad Tech Antitrust Case Is Over – And Here’s What’s Happening Next

Just three weeks after it began, the Google ad tech antitrust trial in Virginia is over. The court will now take a nearly two-month break before reconvening for closing arguments right before Thanksgiving.

Jounce Media's Chris Kane at Programmatic IO NY on Sept. 25, 2024.

The Bidstream Is A Duplicative, Chaotic Mess – But It Doesn’t Have To Be That Way

Publishers are initiating more and more auctions – but doesn’t mean DSPs are listening to more bids, according to Chris Kane.

Readers Are Flocking To Political News, Says WaPo – And Advertisers Are Missing Out

During certain periods this year, advertisers blocked more than 40% of The Washington Post’s inventory over brand safety concerns.