Merkle (www.merkle.com), a leading customer relationship marketing (CRM) firm and the nation’s largest privately-held agency, announced that it has acquired New York-based Brilig, a leading digital data exchange for Online Advertising. The acquisition supports Merkle’s data-agnostic value proposition, which integrates the optimal mix of third-party data to drive marketing performance. In addition, this acquisition supports Merkle’s ongoing strategy to expand its Big Data capabilities to further strengthen its connected CRM approach through offline and digital touchpoints.

Brilig's digital data exchange was designed to enable data sellers to offer their data to a wide range of buyers through an open and transparent marketplace. Advertisers gain access to more than 60 data sellers and 10,000+ hard-to-find segments from online and offline data for their digital campaigns.  The data available through the Brilig data exchange is sourced and normalized from hundreds of discrete databases – many of which have never been “connected” to digital display advertising. The combination of the Brilig Big Data platform and Merkle’s world-class analytics will bring a new and revolutionary approach to targeting online audience segments. The acquisition of the Brilig technology will also complement Merkle’s connected CRM data management suite, and augment existing Big Data capabilities.

“The addition of Brilig’s unique third-party data solutions, along with the company’s data agnostic value proposition, is a perfect fit for Merkle and our clients,” said David Williams, chairman and CEO of Merkle. “Brilig’s talented staff will serve as a welcome addition to the Merkle team. Our expert team of statisticians and analysts will access Brilig’s Data Exchange to create unique digital targeting solutions.”

Brilig CEO, Paul Cimino, commented on the acquisition, “Brilig’s mission is to provide an unbiased data exchange platform to gather and integrate numerous data sources that can be optimized for online advertising and deployed into digital marketing campaigns. Combining this mission as a part of Merkle gives our Big Data technology direct access to great brands that are looking for integrated marketing solutions.”

Craig Dempster, Merkle EVP and chief marketing officer, said, “The addition of Brilig (data), 5th Finger (mobile), Social Amp (social), IMPAQT (search) and IMPAQT Trading (media) enhances our established online and offline marketing assets. With this acquisition, we continue to execute on our strategy of building out digital capabilities that amplify the value of our CRM agency.”

Merkle has confirmed that Brilig will continue to be a capability brand, positioned within Merkle’s Data Solutions Group. The integration of Merkle’s core competencies with Brilig’s comprehensive online and offline data sources will enable Merkle to continue to lead the way in the evolving Big Data marketplace with a framework for integrated audience targeting.