Merkle (www.merkle.com), a leading technology enabled, data driven customer relationship marketing (CRM) firm and the nation’s largest privately held agency, today announced that it has been honored with an Internationalist Award for Innovative Digital Solutions in the Humanitarian category. Merkle was recognized for its work with USAA’s #HonorTheFallen initiative.
The goal of the #HonorTheFallen campaign, launched in May 2013, was to raise brand awareness for both active military members and veterans, while also generating goodwill on Memorial Day. The initiative was perfectly aligned with the USAA brand mission and identity. Harnessing the intimacy and immediacy of the Twitter platform, the program promoted brand messaging, increased engagement and generated advocacy surrounding the initiative. The program used Twitter’s new keyword targeting in timeline, which targets users who have tweeted a particular keyword. This approach allows the USAA brand to join the conversation without having to create it.
With over 60% of USAA’s engagement occurring on mobile devices, the #HonorTheFallen campaign topped all engagement metrics @USAA had seen from previous Twitter activity. ‘Promoted Tweets,” with rich media and keyword targeting, performed 57 times better than the brand’s previous promoted-tweet engagement rate average.
“Merkle and USAA are proud to receive such high recognition from the Internationalist Awards for the innovative digital strategy implemented on the #HonorTheFallen campaign,” said Paul Steketee, head of paid social and emerging media at Merkle. “The Twitter ads also proved significantly more cost effective than other online advertising. The simple Fallen Soldier Flag image proved to be extremely powerful because the image spoke volumes to our audience.”
The Internationalist Award for Innovative Digital Solutions demonstrates how social media shines in building brand advocacy. The winning solutions are an acknowledgement of how today’s marketing strategies are affected by the media and the technology revolution in the post-digital age.
About Merkle
Merkle is a leading data-driven, technology-enabled, global performance marketing agency that specializes in the delivery of unique, personalized customer experiences across platforms and devices. For more than 30 years, Fortune 1000 companies and leading nonprofit organizations have partnered with Merkle to maximize the value of their customer portfolios. The agency’s heritage in data, technology, and analytics forms the foundation for its unmatched skills in understanding consumer insights that drive people-based marketing strategies. Its combined strengths in performance media, customer experience, customer relationship management, loyalty, and enterprise marketing technology drive improved marketing results and competitive advantage. With 7,000 employees, Merkle is headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, with 21 additional offices in the US and 33 offices in Europe and APAC. In 2016, the agency joined the Dentsu Aegis Network. For more information, contact Merkle at 1-877-9-Merkle or visit www.merkle.com.
