Merkle Introduces Market Research Practice

Christine Baskin Appointed Vice President of New Group
COLUMBIA, Md.--(Business Wire)--
Merkle (www.merkleinc.com), one of the nation`s largest and fastest growing
customer relationship marketing agencies, today announced the formation of its
new Market Research Practice, which will provide new insights into client
marketing programs by discovering and understanding how consumer beliefs and
attitudes shape purchasing and engagement decisions. The new practice is part of
Merkle`s Quantitative Solutions Group, which provides leading organizations with
analytical insight and strategy to drive highly targeted and measurable
marketing programs.

Hired to lead the practice in the role of vice president, market research, is
Christine Baskin, an industry expert with more than two decades of experience in
uncovering market research insight for top companies in sectors that include
pharmaceutical and healthcare, retail and consumer packaged goods, banking,
technology, restaurants and hospitality, telecommunications, and many others.

A recognized market research leader, Baskin`s experience includes senior
management roles at recognized firms. Baskin joins Merkle from BioVid, a market
research firm in Princeton, New Jersey, where she managed a team of research
professionals providing complex quantitative knowledge for pharmaceutical and
biotech clients. Earlier, Baskin held senior positions at TNS Healthcare,
Yankelovich and Knowledge Networks. Baskin`s research and consulting teams have
provided detailed customer insights that influenced brand positioning and
management, shaped new product development and drove highly informed
direct-to-consumer initiatives.

Merkle Chairman and CEO David Williams said, "Merkle`s Market Research Practice
is a natural next step in the evolution of our business, and will effectively
complement our existing and proven data, analytics, technology and agency
services capabilities. The Market Research Practice will provide knowledge that
will further enable Integrated Customer Marketing and help our clients optimize
their strategies and business processes by leveraging known facts regarding
consumer actions with new attitudinal insights. With these goals in mind,
Christine Baskin was the clear choice to head our new practice, and she brings a
long and successful career in the field of market research to Merkle."

Ron Park, Merkle`s vice president, Quantitative Solutions Group, said, "At
Merkle, market research is a logical extension of our core database marketing
capabilities. While we have developed advanced approaches to determining and
predicting actual behaviors, market research will determine why these actions
are occurring. Combining observed behaviors of the consumer and the
understanding of the needs and attitudes of those actions will enable us to
build a more holistic view of the customer. Ultimately, this will allow
marketers to better understand and optimize customer behavior."

Christine Baskin said, "Joining Merkle to start the new Market Research Practice
is an extremely exciting opportunity for both myself and for the company. At its
core, market research seeks to understand how a customer`s overt behavior is
influenced by his or her attitudes and beliefs, and this understanding is often
the missing piece of the marketing equation for many organizations. Based on our
insights, for example, we can help brand and position products for specific
market segments, improve results of nonprofit fundraising campaigns, and boost
customer retention rates."

About Merkle

Merkle is one of the nation`s largest and fastest growing customer relationship
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, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle and
Hagerstown, Md. For more information, contact Merkle at 1-877-9-Merkle or visit
www.merkleinc.com.

Media Contact
DPR Group Inc.
Rachel Hunt, 240-686-1000
RHunt@dprgroup.com
or
Company Contact
Merkle Inc.
Kathryn Conway, 443-542-4000
KConway@merkleinc.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009