Merkle Forms Professional Services Group to Maximize Client Database Marketing Initiatives

Merkle Forms Professional Services Group to Maximize Client Database Marketing Initiatives; Scott Cone Appointed to Lead Client-Focused Solutions Team

LANHAM, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 22, 2003--Merkle Direct Marketing, Inc. (www.merklenet.com), a leading provider of information-based database marketing services, announced the creation of its Professional Services Group, a dedicated team of database marketing professionals with database, marketing and analytical expertise. The group will help to maximize strategic database marketing initiatives for the company's current and future clients by providing both initial and ongoing consultation, personalized training, and by building and managing Knowledge Centers--Merkle's proprietary database marketing solution.

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Developed to support marketing initiatives for clients that include nationally recognized public, private, and nonprofit organizations, Merkle's Knowledge Centers analyze, create, execute, and measure campaign results. Each Knowledge Center is custom built and designed to the unique requirements and objectives of individual clients.

Scott Cone, an industry veteran with more than 15 years of experience in the database marketing field, will lead the Professional Services Group as vice president. Cone, who joined Merkle in August 2001, will oversee training, as well as the functional design, implementation planning, and deployment of Knowledge Centers.

Cone is also presenting a session with Edward (Ned) Cullen, manager of database marketing, Dell, at this month's National Center for Database Marketing 2003 Summer Conference. Entitled "Less Is More: Executing an Effective Single-Model Selection Strategy for Complex Direct Mail Programs," the session will explore the pitfalls of using multiple models within a single selection process and outline an approach to building, testing, and deploying a unified model for audience selection. The session will be held on Tuesday, July 29th, from 8:00 to 9:15 a.m.

"Professional Services was created in response to a growing demand from a wide variety of organizations, including those in the nonprofit, retail, and government sectors, for highly adaptable database marketing solutions," said Scott Cone. "Merkle's new group will provide a high level of database marketing expertise to help clients respond quickly and effectively to changes in the marketplace."

The Professional Services Group is one of several integrated strategic groups within Merkle. The other groups include Data Solutions, Analytical Services, Catalog Retail Services, Fundraising Services, Client Management Services, and Business Intelligence. Merkle also executes marketing strategies through its production operations, including list processing, mail production and response processing services.

"The creation of Professional Services further demonstrates our commitment to providing top-level service to our private, public and nonprofit clients by developing proactive solutions to the challenges they encounter," said Merkle CEO and President, David Williams. "Whether they need to track customer activity across multiple channels, improve donor acquisitions, or increase customer response rates, the Professional Services team will help Merkle be continually responsive to the database marketing needs of our clients."

About Merkle

Headquartered in Lanham, Maryland, Merkle Direct Marketing, Inc., has delivered high-quality information-based database marketing services to clients across the United States for more than 30 years. By applying database marketing strategies and unparalleled database infrastructure to direct marketing programs, the company enables its clients to close the gap between marketing strategy and implementation, which can lead to significant improvements in new customer acquisition, customer retention, maximization, and profitability. The company's services and solutions include strategic consulting, business intelligence, marketing knowledge center development and maintenance, analytical services, data products, list processing, mail production, and response processing services. A privately held corporation, the company has over 700 employees and approximately 300 clients. For additional information, contact Merkle at 301-459-9700, or visit www.merklenet.com.