COLUMBIA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Merkle (www.merkleinc.com), a leading technology-enabled, data-driven performance marketing agency, announced the launch of Merkle in India with the acquisition of Sokrati, India’s leading data-driven performance marketing and analytics agency. The acquisition of Sokrati, coupled with Dentsu Aegis Network’s strategic focus in India, accelerates Merkle’s presence within the Asia Pacific region, where it currently employs over 450 employees in its Shanghai and Nanjing offices.
Founded in 2009, Sokrati is headquartered in Pune and employs a staff of 120 digital marketing professionals. The company develops its integrated marketing offering with the help of data analytics, CRM based marketing, and the integration of online and offline data, as well as hyperlocal marketing. It offers digital and performance marketing with deep specialization in e-commerce. Service lines include search, performance, social, retargeting, display, video production, and product ads. Sokrati’s capabilities are also particularly relevant in industries such as automotive, banking, and telecommunications – key growth areas for Merkle.
Over the past four years, Sokrati was consecutively ranked in Deloitte’s top 50 Technology Companies in India. In addition, it has won Google India awards, including Best Quality Accounts and Largest Increase in Overall Revenue, consecutively in 2014, 2015, and 2016.
The company will be branded Merkle|Sokrati and Sokrati’s full staff will join the Merkle team. Anubhav Sonthalia will serve as the CEO of Merkle|Sokrati and will become part of Dentsu Aegis Network leadership team in India alongside fellow co-founders of Sokrati, Ashish Mehta, CEO and Santosh Kumar Gannavarapu, Head of Innovations.
“The acquisition of Sokrati increases Merkle’s global scale with a strong entry into the Indian market, which is one of the fastest-growing in the world and an important part of Merkle’s expansion within Asia Pacific. As our first entry into the India market, it also enhances our data and analytics offering,” said David Williams, president and CEO, Merkle.
Zhengda Shen, president of Merkle Asia Pacific, said, “Sokrati’s data DNA, analytics-driven, and performance approach to digital marketing make it a natural extension for Merkle into the Indian market. Furthermore, they are focused on expanding their CRM capabilities and connecting these capabilities across media and channels. Merkle is in a strong position to support this expansion and Sokrati’s ecommerce-heavy client base is data rich, innovative, and ready to benefit from Sokrati’s push into cross-channel marketing.”
Anubhav Sonthalia, co-founder & enterprise business head of Sokrati, said, “Our business is built on a highly data-driven culture, supported by the strong passion for digital and performance marketing from myself and two other founders – Ashish and Santosh. It is not often you meet amazing talent with the same drive and mindset, and we could not be more pleased to be joining forces with world-leading agency Merkle, as we expand our global footprint as part of Dentsu Aegis Network. It has been an incredible journey from the start, and we are all very excited about the next chapter for Sokrati.”
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 25 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. When combined with its strength in performance creative and media, Merkle creates customer experiences that drive improved marketing results and shareholder value. M1, Merkle’s end-to-end, people-based insights, planning, and activation platform, enables clients to target known individuals and reach them across media and channels, throughout the customer life cycle. With more than 4,100 employees, Merkle is headquartered in Columbia, Maryland with 16 additional offices in the US and 8 offices in Europe and Asia. In 2016, the agency joined the Dentsu Aegis Network. For more information, contact Merkle at 1-877-9-Merkle or visit www.merkleinc.com.
About Dentsu Aegis Network
Part of Dentsu Inc., Dentsu Aegis Network is made up of ten global network brands - Carat, Dentsu, dentsu X, iProspect, Isobar, mcgarrybowen, Merkle, MKTG, Posterscope and Vizeum and supported by its specialist/multi-market brands. Dentsu Aegis Network is Innovating the Way Brands Are Built for its clients through its best-in-class expertise and capabilities in media, digital and creative communications services. Offering a distinctive and innovative range of products and services, Dentsu Aegis Network is headquartered in London and operates in 145 countries worldwide with more than 38,000 dedicated specialists. www.dentsuaegisnetwork.com
