Merkle (www.merkle.com), a leading customer relationship marketing (CRM) firm and the nation’s largest privately-held agency, today announced its recent win of a Silver Marketing Award for Excellence, Innovation (MAXI) and results in direct marketing from the Direct Marketing Association of Washington (DMAW) for its work with The Bowery Mission. The awards ceremony was held Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at the Gaylord National Hotel & Conference Center in National Harbor, Md., to recognize top talent and work in the direct marketing and response industry.

Merkle earned the honor in recognition of its nonprofit renewal, direct mail campaign for The Bowery Mission. The “Fill the Pantry Package” campaign was focused on maximizing revenue for The Bowery Mission, in preparation for the busy holiday season. By utilizing an advanced segmentation strategy, Merkle was able to target a larger audience which resulted in an increase in response year over year by 17%. Along with the higher response rate, the “Fill the Pantry Package” campaign experienced a 15% higher average gift contribution and a 35% increase in revenue compared to 2011.

“Merkle is honored to be recognized by the industry for our work for The Bowery Mission,” said Jeff Patrick, vice president, strategy, nonprofit practice. “The Bowery Mission is a dedicated and meaningful nonprofit organization and we are pleased to play a part in helping them succeed in their mission. We look forward to our continued partnership with The Bowery Mission, and to helping them further advance their fundraising programs.”    

Merkle has been working with The Bowery Mission as their fundraising agency of record for several years. Merkle’s ongoing goal is to help the Bowery Mission increase their donor base, by providing a complete range of services that include strategic consulting, creative design and production, data and analytics.