When Merkle launched as a CRM and performance media agency in 1988, its strong data repository and direct-response focus set it apart from other media agencies. As marketing went increasingly digital, Merkle’s strong data foundation laid the groundwork for a natural evolution into programmatic buying, turning it into a competitor for digital and media agencies. […]
As the United States ushered in its 45th president on Friday, Google quietly ushered in a number of updates to its ad platforms. But it was Google’s reduction of third-party cookies and pixels on YouTube, as well as the release of a cloud-based YouTube measurement system called Google Ads Data Hub, that had industry insiders […]
Holding company trading desks this year are putting the focus on data and the ability to identify a customer across screens and platforms. That focus made owning data mission critical, and it’s shifted the focus away from programmatic as a silo and toward data management and activation across the board. As a result, “trading desk” […]
Digital ad players from AOL to Facebook have given lead-gen ads a try, but one company built an entire business around it. Fluent has remained relatively quiet since it was acquired by information services company IDI, now Cogint, for $100 million in cash. The company was on a $140 million (gross revenue) run rate at […]
“Data-Driven Thinking” is written by members of the media community and contains fresh ideas on the digital revolution in media. Today’s column is written by Michael McLaren, executive global group director, high-tech and business-to-business practices, at Merkle. Have you ever found yourself in a meeting where sales leadership challenged marketing leadership for evidence that their […]
“Data-Driven Thinking” is written by members of the media community and contains fresh ideas on the digital revolution in media. Today’s column is written by Matthew Mobley, chief technology officer at Merkle. At a marketing event I recently attended, there was one aspect that resonated with me the most: the marketing funnel and how marketers […]
Has performance-based pay finally arrived for agencies? Traditionally, marketing services firms were paid on a set scope of billable hours worked by each employee on an account. But a growing number of advertisers are pushing for more tangible, ROI-based remuneration. The biggest recent example is McDonald’s. The quick-serve advertiser’s RFP process specified that agency compensation […]
“Data-Driven Thinking” is written by members of the media community and contains fresh ideas on the digital revolution in media. Today’s column is written by David Williams, president and CEO at Merkle. Across industries, today’s marketing conversation is all about the personalized experience. Everything you hear and read seems to be focused on the importance of […]
Since Merkle began in the ’70s as a database marketing agency, its purview has expanded to include creative services, CRM and search and programmatic ad buying. It’s been an active year for the agency, which has 3,400 people across 21 offices in the US, Europe and Asia. Formerly one of the biggest independent agencies in […]
Carat has a leg up on holding companies scrambling to integrate siloed teams. As part of Dentsu Aegis Network, the media agency operates on a shared profit-and-loss (P&L) statement by country across the network. That allows it to pull in specialist media capabilities to better serve its clients, without those teams competing financially. “This idea […]
