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MercerBell launches data agency Ngage

Carl Oldham, Louis Keating and Nick Mercer

Direct marketing agency MercerBell has launched a standalone brand that specialises in data.

The data planning and analytics firm – called Ngage – will be run by Carl Oldham as strategy director, who moves across from MercerBell.

The agency starts life with five staff, including senior analyst Louis Keating, and clients including BT Financial.

MercerBell CEO Nick Mercer said that for all the hype about data, there were few in the Australian market who were excelling in the area.

“Australia has been too focused on data acquisition,” he told Mumbrella. “Most marketers have enough data to work with already – but they need to start using it better.”

Ngage’s proposition is based on helping clients discover untapped profitability.

“It’s not about playing with data for data’s sake,” said Mercer. “We want to help companies create more value and make more money, and not just through marketing.”

“We think this is a really underdeveloped area in Australia,” he said.

Mercer said he had intended to launch the venture five years ago, but the GFC had put plans on hold.

“A few years ago we started to grow the offering. We brought the right people into the business, build case studies and get processes in place,” he said. “But the GFC put our plans on hold.”

“There would have been plenty of opportunities to work with clients had our data offering been in place. We lost work because a client’s data was being handled by another creative agency,” he said.

Former M&C Saatchi general manager Nick Mercer founded MercerBell with David Bell in 1999.

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