Customer Engagement Strategy, Services & Loyalty Programs

Engagement & Loyalty

Reach users wherever they are and redefine how to engage, delight, and connect at scale.

Engagement & Loyalty

Reach users wherever they are and redefine how to engage, delight, and connect at scale.

Engagement & Loyalty

Reach users wherever they are and redefine how to engage, delight, and connect at scale.

Engagement & Loyalty

Reach users wherever they are and redefine how to engage, delight, and connect at scale.

Engagement & Loyalty

Reach users wherever they are and redefine how to engage, delight, and connect at scale.

Engagement & Loyalty

Reach users wherever they are and redefine how to engage, delight, and connect at scale.

Engagement & Loyalty

Reach users wherever they are and redefine how to engage, delight, and connect at scale.

Customer loyalty is a brand’s most valuable asset. So why do companies struggle to prioritize loyalty through customer experience? It’s because loyalty requires trust – and building trust is hard.

Customers want relationships with brands they love and trust. They want companies to understand them and deliver consistent experiences that prove it. Our comprehensive capabilities across engagement and CRM will help you activate new channels and deploy innovative loyalty programs that grow brand love. Get ready to create connection at every stage of the customer lifecycle.

250M+

active loyalty members from Merkle-delivered programs
Top 3%

of global feed management providers for social and search commerce
25,000+

AI-enabled messaging and CRM campaigns deployed annually
2,500+

loyalty, promotions, CRM, and B2B ABX experts

- 250M+
  
  active loyalty members from Merkle-delivered programs
- Top 3%
  
  of global feed management providers for social and search commerce
- 25,000+
  
  AI-enabled messaging and CRM campaigns deployed annually
- 2,500+
  
  loyalty, promotions, CRM, and B2B ABX experts

Leader
Customer Database & Engagement Agencies

Leader
Loyalty Solutions

Leader
Global Marketing Services

How we can help you

Loyalty strategy and program execution

Create moments of value across the loyalty journey. Our innovative programs engage and retain customers, drive loyalty, and expand growth.

Digital messaging, marketing, and customer service

DUnlock deeper, more actionable insights for more powerful marketing outcomes with our superior digital intelligence solutions.

Promotions and experiential marketing

Up-level brand engagement with promotions, gamification, and experiential content. We’ll cover tech, compliance, and everything in between.

ESocial and search commerce

From feeds to strategic campaigns and direct messaging content, inspire your customers to engage and convert on emergent forms of commerce.

Proven success stories

Burger King

Data-Driven Loyalty Fit for a King Read case
Build-A-Bear

Building a Guest-Led Loyalty Experience Read case
Funlab

Fun and functional experiences go digital Read case
Currys

Outstanding results through an industry-first approach Read case
KFC

Connecting the virtual and real worlds for China’s Gen Z Read case
Under Armour

A longstanding partnership drives commerce performance Read case
Subway

Driving strategy and experience satisfaction Read case
Volkswagen

Identifying Targetable Customers Read case
Møller Mobility Group

Automation drives increased conversion Read case
BIG4

Simplifying how you book an Australian holiday Read case
CapitaStar

Live 247: Attracting Gen Z dollars Read case
Dr. Barbara Sturm

Data-driven branding unlocks 94% revenue increase Read case
R.M. Williams

Boosting sales by $170K in 3 months with Salesforce Read case
The Salvation Army

Donors Double Down on Giving Tuesday Read case
Sony

Rewards App Visits Grow With a Fresh Gamified Experience Read case

Meet our experts

Chris Wayman

EVP, Promotion, Loyalty, Digital Messaging Solutions

As GM, Merkle Promotion & Loyalty Solutions, Chris brings more than 15 years in leadership roles with marketing services companies and technology startups. As a digital marketing executive with skills in direct and channel sales, revenue management, strategic planning, and operations, Chris has also led and managed digital marketing, promotions, and loyalty solutions across travel, media, entertainment, retail, consumer packaged goods, healthcare, and the financial services industries.

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Chris Wayman

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chriswayman/

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Jen Gray

SVP, Experience Creative, Promotion & Loyalty Solutions

Jen is a pioneer in digital storytelling. She joined Merkle in 2005 and today leads a multi-disciplinary team of strategic marketers, visual artists, and experience architects who create digital consumer experiences that blend brand, culture, and emerging technology to motivate behavior and foster brand-consumer loyalty. Prior to Merkle, Jen created some of the first interactive content for MSN Entertainment and Oprah.com, bringing The Oprah Winfrey Show, O, The Oprah Magazine, and Oprah’s Book Club to life in digital format. Her television experience includes Disney Presents…Bill Nye The Science Guy and National Geographic. She has authored articles on marketing engagement, customer experience, and company culture for publications such as Chief Marketer, Total Retail, eConsultancy, and CMO.com and has been featured in Bloomberg Business Week.

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Jen Gray

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jentoddgray/

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James Reiss

SVP, Strategy & Insights

James oversees Strategy & Insights for the Merkle Promotions, Loyalty & Messaging Services Practice. He leads a team of 40+ strategists and data analysts who design and execute loyalty and promotional experiences that inspire customers and differentiate brands. Through an innovative strategic approach designed to accelerate brand-consumer interactions and fuel Identity, James’s team drives measurable business impact for Fortune 1000 brands.

Prior to Merkle, James led client strategy at Epsilon, where he helped brands develop and execute data-driven, technology enabled marketing engines to drive growth, inspire engagement, and engender loyalty.

James has over 20-years of experience in digital and data-driven marketing transformation and is a recognized industry thought leader highlighted by numerous public speaking engagements and in industry-leading publications such as Ad Age, Digiday, and eMarketer.

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James Reiss

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Ruth Bucknell

Vice President, Experience Design

Ruth has worked in the digital space for more than 13 years, working with clients to help translate their business goals and objectives into implementable digital strategies and experiences. Ruth is a subject matter expert on all things Digital Experience (DX) related including Context Marketing, Personalisation, Conversion Rate Optimisation, Testing and Continuous Optimisation and has implemented this using a variety of technologies and platforms, including Sitecore and the Adobe Experience Cloud. As a subject matter expert and thought leader, Ruth has been invited to speak on digital experience and personalisation at global conferences and webinars. Not only is Ruth a thought leader but she has been recognised by Sitecore as a leader in digital strategy and was awarded ‘MVP’ status for Strategy - one of only 39 in the world.

Finally, a number of projects, on which Ruth has been lead DX Consultant have won awards for Best Customer, Best Real Time Engagement and Best Digital Transformation story

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Ruth Bucknell

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-bucknell-14315736/

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How brands can improve their strategy to meet evolving customer expectations

What does it take to create loyal customers? And once you have their loyalty, how do you keep them engaged and invested? We surveyed 1,500 consumers to understand what drives customer loyalty. In this edition of the Loyalty Barometer Report, we’ll reveal how consumer mindsets are evolving and what brands can do to ensure customer strategies remain current, relevant, and impactful.

LEARN MORE