Merkle Appointed by University of London to Performance Media Brief

Merkle (www.merkleinc.com), a leading technology-enabled, data-driven customer experience management company and part of dentsu, has been appointed by University of London to deliver and manage its customer communications and engagement strategy for its online programmes. The brief also includes courses delivered through the University of London Institute in Paris, alongside promotion of the institution’s venues and accommodation services.

Merkle’s role focuses on the University’s global paid social and paid search activity, with the aim to grow the institution’s student numbers in the UK and international markets, including Singapore, the USA, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Kenya and Nigeria. The two-year contract was awarded following a competitive pitch.

The University of London is a federation of 17 independent Member Institutions of outstanding reputation, and a number of highly acclaimed central academic bodies and activities. They are one of the largest, most diverse universities in the UK, with over 120,000 students in London, and a further 48,000 studying across 190 countries for a University of London degree. Given such a high proportion of its student body access courses overseas, supporting the University’s reputation for its online learning is a key strategic priority. Current pandemic conditions have also heightened demands for remote learning within higher education. The University of London’s longstanding capabilities in this area are a valuable point of difference in the competitive global student market.

Merkle was appointed because of its deep and nuanced expertise in each digital channel, as well as award-winning and market-leading skills across paid search and paid social. Its previous experience in the higher education sector, which includes projects for the Saïd Business School, also informed strategies for building long-term and valuable relationships with the University of London’s current and prospective students around the world.

The Merkle team will also work on additional projects spanning analytics, attribution and delivering tailored training courses for the institution. Its scalable and adaptable approach enables the University of London and its member institutions to better connect with prospective students, remaining agile to changes in the higher education sector to create a personalised communications and engagement strategy.

Laura Collins, VP, head of media UK, Merkle said: “The University of London is a globally recognised educational brand. This work helps them to capitalise on the unique experiences they offer on the international stage and enables them to provide students with the best service on their journey to joining online courses or physical campuses in the future. In an increasingly competitive educational environment, it’s an honour for us to be helping them to connect with potential students in the UK and all over the world.”

Laura Delfitto, associate director global marketing, University of London added: “Higher Education is an incredibly dynamic sector that has experienced a number of challenges over the past year. These mean it is more important than ever to stay ahead and connect with students. Merkle’s knowledge in data-driven media and analytics, and experience with other leading educational institutions, makes it the perfect partner to help drive our paid media account and show the value of working with a media solutions team.”