CognitiveDATA Hires Mike Roberts as Client Engagement Leader.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- CognitiveDATA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Merkle that develops data quality innovations that ensure the accuracy of mail files and eliminate waste in direct mail programs, announced the hiring of Mike Roberts as Client Engagement Leader. In his new role, Roberts will be responsible for the strategic oversight of CognitiveDATA's key accounts and will make certain that clients are utilizing the best technologies and approaches to ensure the greatest results and cost savings on direct mail campaigns.

Roberts brings more than 25 years of marketing experience to CognitiveDATA. Most recently, he served as vice president of business development at Clario Analytics, previously Decision Intelligence, Inc. In this role, he oversaw the marketing and implementation of data solutions for clients' direct marketing programs. Earlier, Roberts was the vice president of marketing services at CMS Direct, which was acquired by CognitiveDATA this year. There, he expanded the marketing team and developed and implemented new services for the company's clients. Among other career highlights, Roberts served as the vice president of product marketing at COMB/CVN, a retail store and mail-order business. Roberts started his career at Fingerhut and quickly advanced to the position of marketing director.

Mike Roberts said, "CognitiveDATA is highly regarded among marketers and catalog retailers for its innovative data quality technology, and they have consistently pushed the envelope with the introduction of new products that are proven to save companies money. Further, CognitiveDATA's commitment to bringing new technology specifically designed for the catalog and specialty retail verticals is particularly impressive. I am extremely excited to be a part of the team and look forward to sharing the direct marketing experience I have gained over the past 25 years with CognitiveDATA's clients."

CognitiveDATA President and CEO Rod Ford said, "As we continue to bring forward new technologies, I believe it is equally important to provide our clients with access to experienced direct marketing thought leaders to guide them in the utilization of these new solutions. Mike Roberts will be a very useful resource for our clients, as his experience will aid them in learning how to unleash the power of currently available and newly emerging marketing tools."

About CognitiveDATA

Founded in 2001, CognitiveDATA is a marketing technology company recognized as a leader in new innovations that improve the quality of customer and marketing data. Companies in the retail, communications, insurance and publishing sectors, as well as associations and nonprofits, benefit from CognitiveDATA's effective approach to data optimization. CognitiveDATA has been recognized by both Inc. magazine and the Deloitte Fast 500 for its impressive growth, and its data quality technology is an NCDM award winner. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Merkle Inc. and is headquartered in Little Rock, with offices in Chicago, Minneapolis and New York. For more information, visit www.cognitivedata.com.

About Merkle Inc.

Merkle is one of the nation's largest and fastest growing customer relationship marketing agencies. For more than 20 years, Fortune 1000 companies and leading nonprofit organizations have partnered with Merkle to maximize the value of their customer portfolios. By combining a complete range of marketing, technical, analytical and creative disciplines, Merkle works with clients to design, execute and evaluate Integrated Customer Marketing[TM] programs. With more than 1,000 employees, the privately held corporation is headquartered near Baltimore in Columbia, Maryland with additional offices in Boston, Chicago, Denver, Little Rock, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle and Hagerstown, Md. For more information, contact Merkle at 1-877-9-Merkle or visit www.merkleinc.com.