Learn How Merkle | DWA Meets the Data Quality & Compliance Demands of Their Global Clients with Convertr
"Originally the biggest benefit was automation and campaign customization. While this benefit was felt widely across the media and reporting teams, the main benefit has now shifted to a security focus. With GDPR and CCPA regulations limiting access to PII, it is absolutely critical that we have a piece of technology that allows for us to continue to conduct business in the lead gen realm with ease knowing that data is not being compromised, putting our clients or company at risk."
Mollie Jolliffe
SVP, Process and Technology
Lead Records Processed
Leads Validated
Average Lead Invalidation
About Merkle | DWA
Operating from eleven offices around the world covering North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, Merkle | DWA offers a range of services such as programmatic media, marketing automation, account-based marketing and content marketing consulting – all for hundreds of the world's best technology companies.
The Framework to Create Superior Media and Marketing Programs
Merkle | DWA is a globally recognized leader in B2B media and consulting, which is a result of a culture of innovation and excellence. Back in 2016, Merkle | DWA knew they needed to re-evaluate its lead management, data security, and compliance procedures. Client requirements were already growing, and they needed to have expertise and best practices in place to stay ahead of the competition.
+ Compliance with GDPR & Future Regulations
+ Streamlined Lead QA & Delivery
+ Improved Productivity
+ More Value to Clients
The Challenge
Merkle | DWA serves enterprise-level technology brands, and generates leads worldwide. And what works for one client, usually won’t work for another. Merkle | DWA needed a solution that would give them the flexibility to streamline their operations, meet evolving client demands, and allow teams to work compliantly today and in the future.
Compliance and PII Access
From GDPR and CCPA regulations to servicing government contracts, Merkle | DWA needed to restrict access to personally identifiable information (PII). Without a solution like Convertr in place, they would no longer be an option for some advertisers and be at risk for hefty compliance-related fines.
Manual Lead Management
Merkle | DWA had been manually managing all steps from campaign set up to publisher management, data cleansing, and delivery. These processes were not only unscalable but required unrestricted access to PII data which was no longer an option.
The Solution
In the beginning, Merkle | DWA needed a solution to streamline Content Syndication campaign management. But as global compliance regulations and industry best practices evolved, so did their needs and use of the platform. Today Merkle | DWA uses three regional platforms to empower their EMEA, NAM, and APAC teams with compliant and efficient lead management.
The customer service we receive from Convertr is second to none. Their technical teams are experienced in developing innovative solutions to our unique, yet complex client problems. While the tool itself is amazing, they are always eager to incorporate our feedback, designing features that assist in delivering ongoing value to our clients. Convertr aligns perfectly with our business needs – it’s very easy to plug Convertr into an existing process, where with other platforms we’ve had to bend over backwards to make things work.
DJ Kolapudi
Analytics Director
Publisher Management
With a global customer base, Merkle | DWA works with a large network of publishers to source leads from over 140 countries. The Convertr platform provides the team with an efficient way to set budgets, assign lead caps, manage variable rates, schedule pacing, share requirements, and provide publishers real-time feedback on lead acceptance. This saves Merkle | DWA significant time and improves visibility into performance for all stakeholders.
Compliance
When GDPR took effect in May 2018, Convertr became even more vital to Merkle | DWA’s business. Data security had always been a priority, but to be successful moving forward, Merkle | DWA needed a solution that could support compliant PII data handling without lowering performance. Convertr's user roles and compliances features deliver just that, a secure and compliant way to capture and deliver high-value leads to their global customers.
Data QA & Preferred Formats
Most clients provide a preferred format for lead data, and Merkle | DWA is tasked with not just delivering the best leads, but leads that meet their preferred style. With Convertr, Merkle | DWA can automate this process to append data with required fields like an Eloqua ID, standardize fields like company size, and run multiple checks against a list of criteria.
Lead Delivery & Integrations
Merkle | DWA knows the speed of lead flow matters, and they needed a way to deliver leads before they went stale. Today, publishers can upload leads directly into the Convertr platform where they’re processed and ready for the client in seconds. Plus, when clients opt for a direct CRM integration, validated leads can be delivered directly to sales and marketing platforms for immediate action and a greater chance of conversion.
Social Connectors
For Merkle | DWA clients running social campaigns, the Convertr platform has also helped accelerate lead delivery from LinkedIn and Facebook. By pulling data in real-time, confirming lead quality, and delivering directly into client CRMs, leads are received before they go cold.
Reporting
Clients expect to see lead volumes, validated lead, lead pacing, and more, and these metrics are available out-of-the-box with each Convertr campaign. Plus, templated reports and a custom report builder allow Merkle | DWA to clearly communicate performance and service ad-hoc requests.
Using the API connections has been a big benefit from my perspective. Being able to deliver leads to a client’s CRM or pull leads from a social platform such as LinkedIn has taken a good amount of manual work off my plate.
Pete Hernandez
Data Analyst
The Results
To date, Merkle | DWA has processed 558,264 leads on the Convertr platform and is confident the 447,000+ leads validated meet their customer quality and formatting standards.
With lead validation automated on Convertr, Merkle | DWA has been able to share real-time feedback to publishers and work together to generate the right leads for their customers. This has also stopped 110,614 invalid leads from delivering to customers, and allowed Merkle | DWA to retain a significant chunk of media spend.
Convertr satisfies the needs of the client first which is important, and secondarily it makes our lives a little easier. It removes hours of manual work here or there on Merkle | DWA’s end and that goes a long way in the larger picture.
Pete Hernandez
Data Analyst
The Convertr team has been tremendously important to our success in delivering high-quality lead operations to our global clients.
DJ Kolapudi
Analytics Director
Providing Better Business Outcomes
With Convertr, Merkle | DWA remains confident in their lead management processes and compliance. But they also know it contributes to the value they provide their customers and their revenue growth.
Clients require data going into their CRM systems to be 100% accurate and in line with what they are looking to source. Convertr not allowing data to flow in that is outside of the 'allowable fields/formats' is a huge benefit to database management and lead routing. This ties directly to business outcomes, as the sooner we route qualified leads to sales, the more likely they can close deals.
Mollie Jolliffe
SVP, Process and Technology
Mollie Jolliffe
SVP, Process and Technology
Led the initial evaluation and adoption of the Convertr platform. Today, she oversees Merkle | DWA processes and technology.
DJ Kolapudi
Analytics Director
Leads analytics strategy and teams globally to improve operations and identify new opportunities through data.
Pete Hernandez
Data Analyst
A Convertr power user managing the day-to-day campaign setup, validation and optimization.