Merkle (www.merkle.com), a leading customer relationship marketing (CRM) firm and the nation’s largest privately-held agency, announced that it will host a new  List Source Big Data Optimization Workshop, co-hosted by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and featuring speakers from AARP, the DMA and Merkle. The complimentary event will be held July 17, 2012 at the DMA Seminar Center in New York City from 9am-1pm.

 The theme of the workshop is "Optimizing Big Data to Revolutionize List Sourcing." The Workshop will focus on navigating the digital data and Big Data landscape through Data Source Optimization and will provide an exciting networking environment for marketing professionals. 

 AARP’s Sonia Alvarez, Senior Director, DB Marketing Services & Analysis, will be sharing how AARP has addressed the challenges of Big Data. Attendees will also hear from Merkle’s Ozgur Dogan, Vice President and General Manager, Data Solutions Group, and a panel of three DMA executives:  Rachel Nyswander Thomas, DMA’s Vice President of Government Affairs; Gina Scala, DMA’s Vice President, Education and Professional Development; and Yory Wurmser, DMA’s Director, Marketing and Media Insights, about their perspectives on the Big Data explosion in the marketplace.

“The rapid growth of Big Data has made it essential for businesses to effectively determine the best data sources in the marketplace,” said Linda A. Woolley, DMA’s Acting President and Chief Executive Officer. “Typical customer segmentations — either by geography or demographics — have become obsolete.  Now, more than ever, companies must gain a fresh perspective on how they reach existing and potential customers.  DMA is delighted to be working with Merkle on this workshop, which will outline specific actions for marketers to achieve this goal.”

“We are pleased to participate in the Big Data Optimization Workshop, and to take part in discussions around best practices with industry thought-leaders,” said Alvarez. “At AARP, we have been able to dramatically improve list selection based on an analytic approach to data sourcing and these types of workshops are invaluable to discover best practices and new methods that increase ROI.”

 Merkle developed the List Sourcing Optimization (LSO) solution that leverages best practices in the areas of data sourcing, analytics and technology. LSO builds a recommendation for the best set of lists to order for a given campaign and the optimal targeting quantity for each list. LSO utilizes a unique, data-agnostic methodology which combines data, analytics and technology best practices into an integrated optimization solution.

 “The LSO workshop will be a great opportunity to discuss how the optimization process takes into account multiple business objectives, such as cost per account, campaign quantity, response rate and data cost reduction goals,” said Dogan. “It is no surprise that direct marketers that have been using LSO have reported 20% to 45% data cost reduction compared to the traditional list sourcing approach, as well as improvements in overall campaign performance, which have translated into significant ROI gains for their organizations.”