Merkle (www.merkle.com), the nation's fastest growing customer relationship marketing (CRM) agency, announced it will again be sponsoring and hosting the Interactive Marketing Immersion Xperience (I-MIX) program. I-MIX is a week-long intensive, hands-on educational program for 30 college juniors and seniors considering careers in marketing. It takes place Monday, August 8, through Friday, August 12, 2011 at Merkle’s corporate headquarters in Columbia, Md.

The program, now in its second year, was developed in conjunction with the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation (DMEF), a nonprofit organization headquartered in New York City whose charter is to attract, educate and place top college students in the direct and interactive marketing industry. I-MIX offers students the opportunity to deepen their understanding of strategic concepts and practical marketing applications while improving their networking skills.   

Throughout the I-MIX week, the students, who were selected from among numerous applicants, will attend intensive sessions led by practitioners and academics who are industry thought leaders. The lessons, together with team-building exercises, leadership workshops and group projects, will help students gain hands-on knowledge of the current and emerging trends in direct and interactive marketing.

“Merkle is proud to be involved with DMEF, and honored to once again be the lead sponsor for I-MIX,” said Craig Dempster, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Merkle, as well as a DMEF board member. “These young people represent the future of our rapidly-changing industry. The program not only supports the students by imparting firsthand knowledge and best practices from CRM leaders of today, but it also benefits our industry, by providing a foundation of best practices in direct and interactive marketing – preparing participants to be the CRM leaders of the digital future.”