Merkle, a leading technology-enabled, data-driven performance marketing agency, announced that it has been recognized among the top performance marketing agencies by leading independent research firm Forrester Research, Inc. The agency was recognized for its people-first approach to performance marketing and for being strong in both paid search and programmatic display.

Forrester recently released The Forrester Wave: Performance Marketing Agencies, Q3 2019, naming Merkle a strong performer. The report assesses the state of the performance marketing agency landscape and how 12 providers measure up to help business-to-consumer marketers. Criteria are grouped into three high-level categories: current offering, strategy, and market presence. Multichannel planning, global execution and strategy are key differentiators and are important in meeting client demands.

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Merkle received the highest scores possible in the criteria of Paid Search, Search Engine Optimization, Market Approach, and Privacy, as well as among the highest scores in the Paid Social and Programmatic Display criteria. Merkle received positive feedback from clients and the report noted its “people-first approach to performance marketing fed by clients’ hashed first-party data” and “highly verticalized go-to-market approach.”

“We are proud to be included among the top performance marketing agencies in Forrester’s report. We believe this ranking as a strong performer confirms our dedication to the world-class brands we serve and the standard of excellence with which we deliver people-based marketing services, including Search and Programmatic,” said Patrick Hounsell, EVP & GM, Performance Media, at Merkle. “Merkle’s unique approach to performance marketing is rooted in our deep heritage in data and analytics. Our application of insights gleaned from robust CRM data drives exceptional media performance and more personalized experiences.”

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Forrester also cited Merkle for its “strategic and methodical approach to creating strategies from a cross-channel campaign level down to individual channels,” which supports Merkle’s expertise in database marketing. Additionally, report authors Collin Colburn and Stephanie Liu, analysts at Forrester, noted in the report that Merkle is unique in this evaluation “because it isn’t afraid to manage and handle clients’ first-party personally identifiable information (PII).”

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