How Merkle streamlined its offerings to fit Dentsu’s mission in the last year

It’s not an overstatement to say Merkle’s role in Dentsu has been a bit unclear since the Japanese agency holding company consolidated its ownership in the firm back in 2020.  Even a few Dentsu executives might admit it — privately. 

Is Merkle a data arm like Acxiom is to Interpublic Group, or Epsilon is to Publicis? Is it a digital agency that contributes to and competes with Dentsu’s array of media agencies like iProspect or Dentsu X? Does it fall somewhere in between — or is it something else entirely? 

Since 2023 when Pete Stein took over global operations of Merkle, it’s been his job to figure out Merkle’s proper role within Dentsu, then execute the organizational revamp needed to put it to use.

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