Identity Data Firm 4Cite Joins Merkle

Dentsu Aegis has acquired people-based identification and data tech company 4Cite Marketing, and will add it to the fast-growing Merkle data-driven marketing business.

4Cite was founded in 2010, focuses on the eCommerce sector and has around 50 employees in Albany, NY and Peterborough, NH, who will now join Merkle. The firm helps retailer clients personalize their contact with customers and increase sales, using proprietary advanced analytics and real-time decision-making to decide the right time and message for each individual; and stores first-party consumer information captured across its client and partner base in the 4Cite Data Network.

The buy strengthens Merkle's hand in the field of identity technology, and will help the wider Dentsu Aegis group to build an identity graph based on first-party cookies on its M1 insights, planning and activation platform. The business will continue to operate as 4Cite, with CEO Bob Gaito becoming Chairman and reporting directly to Eugene Becker, Chief Data Officer of Merkle.

Craig Dempster, President of Merkle Americas comments: 'The 4Cite acquisition plays a critical role in the future-proofing of our platform in a world where the third-party cookie is crumbling'. Gaito says he is 'thrilled to be joining the Merkle family' and states: 'Our two organizations share the same strategic vision of the marketing landscape and have complete alignment on the role of first-party identity in today's marketing landscape. Combining our capabilities in this area with the already rich Merkle assets puts us in an enviable position to excel in the years to come'.

Dentsu Aegis Network is headquartered in London and employs 47,000 specialists operating in 145 countries; Merkle accounts for around 9,200 of these and is headquartered in Columbia, MD, USA with 50+ additional offices throughout the US, EMEA and APAC.

Web sites: www.4cite.com and www.merkle.com .