Providers of Data Quality, List Processing and Database Services to Integrate Solutions Under CognitiveDATA Brand
Columbia, Md. – July 6, 2009 – Merkle (www.merkleinc.com), one of the nation’s largest and fastest growing database marketing agencies, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary CognitiveDATA is acquiring the Minneapolis-based catalog marketing services firm CMS Direct. When the sale is completed later this summer, CognitiveDATA will expand to include an established provider of data quality, list processing and marketing database services. All three companies are privately held, and the value of the transaction, which is expected to close July 31, 2009, was not disclosed.
CognitiveDATA and CMS Direct began a strategic partnership in 2006 to develop technology that combines address hygiene and advanced merge-purge services into a single, streamlined process. Today’s announcement marks the evolution of that relationship, and will enable CognitiveDATA to completely integrate its proprietary data accuracy technology with the database and list processing solutions offered by CMS Direct. CMS Direct employs approximately 50 at its Minneapolis office, which will remain the operational center of CognitiveDATA’s catalog marketing service offerings moving forward.
According to company executives at the three firms involved, the goal of the acquisition will be twofold: To grow the overall range of solutions offered through CognitiveDATA, and to provide competitive, cutting-edge technology to marketers in the catalog retail sector.
Merkle President and CEO David Williams said, "CMS Direct serves a world-class range of companies in the catalog industry, and CognitiveDATA ensures marketers can improve their return on investment by eliminating waste in their direct marketing programs. Combined, these companies are well positioned to bring technology innovations to a sector of the marketplace that has a critical need for solutions that enable cost savings and improved marketing results."
CognitiveDATA President and CEO Rod Ford said, "Marketing in the catalog sector is a highly specialized and extremely complex undertaking, and without a doubt there continues to be high demand for innovative, competitively priced solutions that increase accuracy and reduce the time needed to deploy marketing campaigns. Since we first partnered with CMS Direct, we have felt their list processing solutions and database management services complement those offered by CognitiveDATA. Having the backing of Merkle puts us in the ideal position to achieve our goal to bring new technologies to catalog retailers."
CMS Direct President Andy Cossette said, "We are confident and excited about what this acquisition means – to our clients, our employees and to the industry as a whole. CognitiveDATA is a forward-thinking technology innovator, and Merkle is one of the most dynamic entities within the marketing industry. Their insights, technology and resources will further strengthen our products, and in turn, better position us for future growth. Ultimately, the acquisition will ensure that our products provide maximum benefit to our current and future clients in the catalog space."
About CognitiveDATA
Founded in 2001, CognitiveDATA is a marketing technology company recognized as a leader in new innovations that improve the quality of customer and marketing data. Companies in the retail, communications, insurance and publishing sectors, as well as associations and nonprofits, benefit from CognitiveDATA’s effective approach to data optimization. CognitiveDATA has been recognized by both Inc. magazine and the Deloitte Fast 500 for its impressive growth, and its data quality technology is an NCDM award winner. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Merkle and is headquartered in Little Rock, with offices in New York and Chicago. For more information, visit www.cognitivedata.com.
About Merkle
Merkle is one of the nation’s largest and fastest growing database marketing agencies. For more than 20 years, Fortune 1000 companies and leading nonprofit organizations have partnered with Merkle to maximize the value of their customer portfolios. By combining a complete range of marketing, technical, analytical and creative disciplines, Merkle works with clients to design, execute and evaluate Integrated Customer Marketing™ programs. With more than 1,000 employees, the privately held corporation is headquartered near Baltimore in Columbia, Maryland with additional offices in Boston, Chicago, Denver, Little Rock, Philadelphia, Seattle and Hagerstown, Md. For more information, contact Merkle at 1-877-9-Merkle or visit www.merkleinc.com.
