Merkle (www.merkle.com), a leading customer relationship marketing (CRM) firm and the nation’s largest privately-held agency, announced it has been named in Ad Age’s Agency A-List Issue (January 2012) as one of the Ten Agencies to Watch. The special annual issue honors the best shops in several categories, based on the quality and effectiveness of their work – regardless of discipline or specialty.

 The rankings are reported in several categories, using evidence of business success for the agency as conveyed by revenue growth, income growth and new business wins.  In selecting the rankings, Advertising Age assessed factors like channel innovation, intellectual property ownership, product influence or creation, solution creativity and measurable results. Heavily considered was how effectively the agency has delivered strong results for its consumer-marketing clients. As the only CRM agency highlighted in the “Agencies to Watch” category, Merkle was cited for its advances in collecting and optimizing consumer behavioral data to increase customer loyalty and lifetime value; and for its digital intelligence and innovation.

 “It is a tremendous honor to be recognized by Ad Age,” said Merkle chairman and CEO, David Williams. “We have been working hard to create a leadership position in the CRM agency space. Our ranking as an agency to watch validates the belief that by developing customer strategy as a business strategy, we help our clients build sustainable competitive advantage.”

 Merkle’s systematic evolution from database marketing firm to full-service CRM agency has been chronicled over the last several years with consistent 20%+ revenue increases and employee expansion. Today, the company is comprised of more than 1500 employees, with 2011 revenue of $304 million and growing. More than 150 leading brands employ Merkle’s solutions to drive their integrated CRM strategies and maximize the value of their customer portfolios.