CognitiveDATA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merkle, which specializes in innovative customer database solutions for recognizing, valuing and targeting customers, announced two speaking engagements at the 2012 Direct Xchange. The event, which takes place March 14-16 in Boston, is the National Etailing & Mailing Organization of America (NEMOA)’s annual conference for direct marketers. Rod Ford, president and CEO of Merkle subsidiary, CognitiveDATA and Chris Wayman, vice president of Merkle’s digital innovation practice, will both lead sessions at the event.

 Wayman will conduct two feature presentations on Wednesday, March 14 at 2:15 and 3:30 pm, entitled “The Hottest Mobile Marketing Trends for Multi-Channel Retailers.” The sessions will discuss the use of mobile to acquire new customers and reactivate former ones, and will feature real-life campaign success stories. On Thursday, March 15 at 1:00 pm, Ford will join a panel of industry leaders for a lunchtime discussion entitled “Best Kept Secrets of Leading a Successful Catalog Retailing Business.” The panel will reflect on their challenges and successes and lead an interactive question and answer exchange.

 The Direct Xchange is the leading forum for direct marketers from across the country to share, learn and connect. It is dedicated exclusively to the catalog and ecommerce sectors and focuses on sharing industry knowledge and best practices among peers. It is not a trade show, but an opportunity to learn, network and improve direct marketing results through knowledge sharing among industry leaders from across the nation.

 “We are excited to participate in this year’s Direct Xchange forum,” said Cindy Marshall, chief marketing officer for CognitiveDATA, a Merkle company, and vice president of the NEMOA board of directors. “The benefits of the event are wide reaching. We look forward to not only sharing our own ecommerce and catalog knowledge and experience, but also learning from colleagues in the industry – gaining insights to impart in our own practices.”