Merkle (www.merkle.com), a leading technology-enabled, data-driven performance marketing agency, announced its prominent ranking in Advertising Age’s annual agency report. Coming off of a strong 2014 where Merkle reported more than $448 million in gross revenue, the Agency Report 2015 shows Merkle is experiencing the fastest overall growth in worldwide CRM and is listed as one of the fastest-growing search and digital agencies. Merkle also improved its ranking among the World’s 50 Largest Agency Companies list. The rankings will be published in the May 4 issue of Advertising Age magazine.

• World’s Largest Agency Companies – Merkle ranks number 23, moving up one spot.
• Top US Agencies of All Disciplines – Merkle ranks 20, up two spots and is the largest independent agency in digital, CRM/data and search.
• World’s Largest CRM/Direct Marketing Networks – Merkle ranks 10, and is the fastest growing.
• Largest US Search Marketing Agencies – Merkle ranks 4, and is one of the fastest-growing search agencies in the country.
• Largest US Health Care Agency Networks – Merkle ranks 15, and is the third fastest-growing health agency overall.
• The largest independent agency in all three key areas for marketers: Digital, CRM/Data & Search.

A major driver in Merkle’s considerable growth in 2014 has been the agency’s intense focus on helping its clients achieve competitive advantage by building stronger relationships with their customers. Merkle exemplified this commitment through the announcement in February of the fourth installment of its award-winning Marketing Imperatives, Mastering the Addressable Customer Experience. The series helps provide marketers with insights on how to deliver targeted, personalized experiences to consumers in the mid-funnel. In May 2015, Merkle also plans to release a new book titled, “The Rise of the Platform Marketer,” which is a follow-up to Merkle CEO David Williams’ 2014 book, Connected CRM: Building a Data-Driven, Customer-Centric Business Strategy.

“We are proud of Merkle’s results in the Agency Report, and we expect the momentum from our success in 2014 to propel us to new heights in 2015,” said David Williams, chairman and CEO for Merkle. “Our strong position across digital, CRM, loyalty, and search reaffirms Merkle’s commitment to helping our clients master the addressable customer experience. Merkle is growing three times faster than the market average in CRM and digital, and we anticipate 2015 will further solidify our position as a leader in these spaces. Our recent and future acquisitions will continue to help us elevate our best-in-class services to better serve our clients across the globe.”

The annual Advertising Age Agency Report was produced by the Ad Age DataCenter. The report appeared on AdAge.com and will appear in print in the May 4 issue. It includes rankings of more than 1,000 advertising, marketing services, and media agencies based on 2014 revenue.