Merkle’s president for EMEA, Michael Komasinski
Dentsu Aegis Network-owned agency Merkle has acquired global B2B digital media and marketing agency DWA – Dentsu’s latest B2B addition following the acquisition of gyro last year and BAND in 2015.
Established in 1996, DWA is headquartered in San Francisco, with eight additional offices around the world. It specialises in ad-tech, real-time insight, and management decision support to a range of integrated, global media, including programmatic, search, social, and demand generation.
The new business will be known as ‘DWA, a Merkle company’, with all 150+ DWA employees joining Merkle’s High Tech and B2B practice.
“I’m thrilled to see Merkle recognise DWA’s strengths and dedication to B-to-B technology, and excited to see what our next chapter will bring as we join forces with the global leader in one-to-one marketing,” said David Wood, founder of DWA.
“DWA has a proud history of activating data-driven, digital campaigns for some of the highest regarded B-to-B technology brands in the world. We believe that we are at the forefront of a new advertising generation that focuses on delivering more valuable connections through people-based marketing, and we’ve found a valuable partner who shares our vision and augments our capabilities in Merkle.”
David Williams, president and CEO of Merkle, said: “There’s a growing group of enterprise level, B-to-B and technology businesses, all moving at breakneck pace to adopt the best advertising solutions and platforms. DWA’s client list reflects a clear early-mover advantage.
“The shift toward people-based marketing, led by Merkle, is as relevant in B-to-B as it is elsewhere. This acquisition will strengthen our ability to deliver those capabilities for B-to-B clients, at scale.”
