21/2/2019 – Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) announced that it had acquired Singapore based Happy Marketer Group, Southeast Asia’s award-winning, data-driven marketing solutions company. Happy Marketer Group will be incorporated into Merkle, and rebrand from Happy Marketer Group to Happy Marketer Group, a Merkle Company.
DAN is a multinational media and digital marketing services group headquartered at London, UK. The group has more than 10 global network brands under their umbrella including Carat, Dentsu, dentsu X, iProspect, Isobar, mcgarrybowen, Merkle, MKTG, Posterscope and Vizeum, supported by its other multi-market brands. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese advertising and public relations giant, Dentsu Inc., the fifth largest in the world in terms of worldwide revenues.
A part of DAN, Merkle Inc is a full-service performance marketing agency, ranked the fifth largest in the United States. The acquisition marks a step in Merkle’s APAC expansion efforts. Happy Marketer Group’s full-service offerings will be an asset for Merkle to further penetrate the ecosystem of new and existing clients.
Phil Teeman, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network Southeast Asia and Singapore elaborated on the driving force behind the acquisition: “Southeast Asia is a critical growth driver for Merkle’s expansion, and Singapore is a hub for that growth. With Singapore’s drive to become The Smart City, the delivery and management of data analytics and customer experience marketing, which are Happy Marketer’s key competencies, will take the front seat, helping Dentsu Aegis Network reinforce itself as a key player. Bringing Happy Marketer into the network also means greater opportunities to penetrate new and existing clients’ ecosystems with its full suite of offerings.”
Happy Marketer Group was founded by Rachit Dayal in 2009, with long-term employees Sanchit Mendiratta and Awadesh Madhogaria recently promoted to partners to oversee the growth of sales, client management and project delivery. The company has 10 years of experience in data, analytics, CRM, performance marketing, and marketing technology under its belt. Happy Marketer is one of Google’s go-to Google Analytics training service provider in the region while also providing advanced analytics services to its clients.
Post acquisition, Dayal will be reporting directly to Ted Bray, managing director and chief growth officer of Merkle APAC while remaining as the CEO and founder of Happy Marketer, focusing on incorporating and cultivating corporate strategy, finance, talent and culture. Happy Marketer’s positive brand recognition and strong reputation will play an important part in strategically and geographically linking to Merkle’s existing APAC presence in China, India and Australia.
The newly acquired group will be moving into the Dentsu Aegis APAC headquarters at Guoco Towers in Tanjong Pagar, in the Central Business District of Singapore. The team is looking to scale up their presence in various Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand by providing their data-driven marketing solutions and consultations to large organizations in various industries across the region.
