Updated: Marketo and Wunderman partner on insights-driven digital marketing offering

Marketo and global digital agency, Wunderman, have struck a partnership that sees the agency deploying marketing automation to resell data- and technology-driven fuelled digital marketing solutions worldwide.

According to a statement, the vendor’s marketing automation platform as measurement and automation engine will be combined with Wunderman’s creative executive strategy, data and analytics services to deliver a new ‘insight-driven engagement’ offering to clients.

As part of the deal, Wunderman’s global data set, which it claims contains more than 890 million consumer profiles, will be deployed across Marketo’s platform for real-time integration with the agency’s proprietary data management platform, Zipline. Clients will also be able to execute, track and optimise campaigns through Marketo.

More widely, the two companies said joining forces would allow brand owners to better engage their customers across all digital channels through connected campaigns, as well as demonstrate marketing’s impact on revenue.

The deal is similar to that struck by Omnicom Media Group and Salesforce in 2013, which saw the agency’s Annalect division build a range of social marketing technology services for its clients off the back of the vendor’s Marketing Cloud platform. At the time, Omnicom claimed the deal was one of the first of its kind for the agency group.

Another example of this type of ‘marketing-as-a-service’ being invested in by agencies is Adobe’s global partnership with Publicis Group.

Marketo has also been working steadily to build its agency partnerships worldwide, both in terms of supplying as well as integrating its marketing management platforms, and counts WPP and Publicis in its strategic agency ranks.

“Marketing automation has tremendous potential but consumers don’t want to feel that a machine is talking to them,” commented Wunderman global CEO, Mark Read. “Today, consumers expect real content that speaks to them as individuals – which is where Wundeman’s unique blend of creativity and data can be most effective.

“Our partnership with Marketo will deliver this to Wunderman’s clients through greater expertise with their platform and access to our unique data pre-loaded into Marketo.”

Marketo chairman and CEO, Phil Fernandez, said the alliance was reflective of the ongoing push by brands to better understand their customers using more complex metrics than ever before.

“This partnership foretells the natural future of the advertising and marketing relationship, one in which CMOs can sleep better at night not only knowing they’re reaching tens of thousands of customers with the right message at the right time, but that they can clearly demonstrate the impact of their spend.”

Josephine Lanzarone, Microsoft Australia CMO Lead, is a client of the agency locally and welcomed the news . “Wunderman-Bienalto works as an extended part of our team on many aspects of marketing, including marketing automation, and I am eager to see the great work they do together. I am sure there’s plenty to look forward to,” she said.

CEO of Wunderman-Bienalto Australia, Hurol Inan, added the partnership making it easier to automate customer communication across channels for clients.

“Wunderman-Bienalto helps brands deliver real content that speaks to consumers as individuals: the right combination of message, content, time and channel. Working with Marketo will deliver this to clients through greater expertise and collaboration on their platform,” he said.

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