L-R: John Riccio (Dentsu), Paul Stewart (Aware Services)
Japan-headquartered media powerhouse Dentsu has acquired Sydney-based technology consultancy Aware Services.
Founded in 2018, Aware Services is a Salesforce, MuleSoft and Tableau partner that specialises in analytics for both the private and public sectors.
Following the acquisition, Aware will join Merkle, Dentsu’s data analytics subsidiary and Salesforce platinum partner.
The 115-person consultancy will be known as Aware Services, a Merkle Company until its full integration. Merkle now claims to have 1,500 Salesforce-trained staff and almost 3,900 Salesforce certifications.
“We are excited to become a part of the Merkle A/NZ [Australia and New Zealand] story and join the broader Dentsu network,” said Paul Stewart, Aware Services CEO.
“Aware Services has always been committed to helping bring our client’s futures to life and as part of Merkle, we will be able to do this on a larger scale.”
Dentsu made a similar acquisition in 2019 when it bought New Zealand-based Salesforce house Davanti Consulting.
Then known as Dentsu Aegis Network, the media group integrated Davanti into its other subsidiary Isobar Group across A/NZ.
“In today’s environment, it has never been more important for businesses to have a strong end-to-end customer experience,” said John Riccio, CEO of Merkle A/NZ and Asia Pacific.
“This requires businesses to have a strong, in-depth understanding of who their customer is and what their motivations are. At Merkle, we are constantly looking at how we can be the best partner to solve real business challenges, today and tomorrow.
“Having strong data and analytics capabilities sits at the heart of this, and we couldn’t be more excited to be growing our team with 115 new talented people who are craft specialists in this space.”
