Merkle Partners with Airship to Create Mobile Loyalty Accelerator for Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Merkle, dentsu's customer experience transformation consultancy, has partnered with Airship and Salesforce Marketing Cloud, creating a solution for more connected customer loyalty experiences in mobile.

Now, brand marketers and product managers who are leveraging Salesforce for loyalty management can tap into Airship to help turn customers mobile signals into action, loyalty, and value, faster.

With the new integration, Merkle can design and execute mobile-centered loyalty programs that are optimized for app, web, wallet, push, RCS, and in-store experience from the start. The partnership enables faster time-to-market through Salesforce-aligned journeys, Airship's unified wallet, cross-channel messaging and experiences including a real-time, bidirectional integration with Salesforce Marketing Cloud and signal-based campaign templates. Salesforce Marketing Cloud's Loyalty Management provides the scalable foundation for earning and redeeming loyalty across every touchpoint. Airship powers the mobile-first customer experience, delivering personalized, real-time interactions across messaging and app and web experiences that accelerate loyalty. Merkle connects the strategy, data, and orchestration, designing and activating mobile-first customer journeys that turn loyalty into a living, responsive system.

"A mobile-first loyalty approach has become an imperative for marketers looking to create signal-based experiences amongst modern consumers who are constantly on the move," said David Novak, global head of CRM at Merkle, in a statement. "Salesforce Loyalty Management offers premier customer engagement across platforms, and now with the mobile expertise and connectivity of Airship, our clients can bring that power to mobile and create real-time value exchange in the palm of their customers' hands. By bringing these two exceptional providers together with Merkle's leading data and identity spine, and client first-party data, we can unlock more relevant and engaging mobile loyalty opportunities than ever before."

"Today's customers expect loyalty programs that offer personalized convenience, save them money, and provide experiences that help them feel more connected to the brand, so being always-on and at-the-ready in their palm, pocket or purse is critical, and no one does this better than Airship," said Brett Caine, CEO of Airship, in a statement. "By combining Merkle's expertise in customer strategy, Salesforce's connected data and loyalty capabilities, and Airship's proven mobile expertise, we're redefining the value loyalty programs deliver to brands and their customers alike. Together, we're empowering brands to deliver personalized, real-time experiences that build lasting relationships and drive measurable growth."

"Integrated mobile experiences are becoming a larger need of our clients. This solution meets members where they are: on mobile for shopping, social commerce, and community engagement and is critical for easy-to-use and value-added loyalty programs," said David Adler, product management director for Salesforce Loyalty Management, in a statement. "With the differences and overhead of connecting to not just one platform for mobile but two distinct technologies (iOS and Android), it can quickly become a complicated and intensive exercise to set up, maintain, and evolve mobile loyalty experiences. Our partnership with Airship allows brands and marketers to take full advantage of advanced mobile wallet integrations and best-in-class loyalty experiences without needing to maintain multiple code bases, manage echo-system updates, and cost associated with multiple cloud environment setup, etc. Merkle brings deep knowledge of the Salesforce Loyalty Management capabilities and experience building and managing AppExchange packages to create a connected story and experience that connects our technology and marketers using it to their members."