{"id":41862,"date":"2023-10-20T15:17:01","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/aussie-tech-start-up-5th-finger-acquired-by-us-giant-merkle-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:17:01","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:17:01","slug":"aussie-tech-start-up-5th-finger-acquired-by-us-giant-merkle-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/aussie-tech-start-up-5th-finger-acquired-by-us-giant-merkle-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Aussie tech start-up 5th Finger acquired by US giant Merkle – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australian-founded mobile solutions provider 5th<\/sup> Finger has been acquired by customer relationship management firm Merkle, five years after relocating from Sydney to the US.<\/p>\n

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Led by chief executive Patrick Collins, 5th<\/sup> Finger is regarded as the global authority on innovative mobile retail solutions and mobile health solutions.<\/p>\n

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After raising $7 million in venture capital funding from Melbourne-based Starfish Ventures, 5th<\/sup> Finger moved its global headquarters from Sydney to San Francisco in 2007.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe chose to base ourselves in San Francisco in order to stay close to one of the largest capital markets in the world,\u201d Collins told StartupSmart<\/i> last year.<\/p>\n

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The move paid off \u2013 Collins confirmed 5th<\/sup> Finger has been acquired by CRM firm Merkle; the largest privately-held agency in the United States.<\/p>\n

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With more than 1,600 employees, Merkle works with clients to design, executive and evaluate connected CRM programs, with the aim of maximising the value of their customer portfolios.<\/p>\n

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Collins says the acquisition will provide 5th<\/sup> Finger\u2019s clients with a \u201cdeeper, more analytics-driven mobile solution\u201d.<\/p>\n

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It will also add another layer of expertise to Merkle\u2019s connected CRM methodology, and will complement Merkle\u2019s existing mobile marketing practice.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWith Merkle\u2019s extensive client base, a marriage between our two businesses feels very natural,\u201d Collin says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe team at 5th Finger will continue growing the business, and the 5th Finger brand will be added to the suite of brands at Merkle.\u201d<\/p>\n

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5th<\/sup> Finger will be positioned within Merkle\u2019s Digital Solutions Group. Collins is confident 5th<\/sup> Finger clients will look back at the announcement \u201cas the day our relationship accelerated\u201d.<\/p>\n

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David Williams, chairman and chief executive of Merkle, said in a statement the acquisition will \u201cpresent our clients with new tools and expertise in consumer mobile marketing\u201d.<\/p>\n

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\u201c5th<\/sup> Finger\u2019s unique hybrid of being a traditional mobile agency and deep technology provider will help expand Merkle\u2019s capabilities to meet the changing landscape of marketing, fuelled by the evolution of the mobile space,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n

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5th<\/sup> Finger derives mobile-enabled revenue for retailers like Jos. A. Bank, Jo-Ann Fabric & Crafts and Safeway, and improves patient adherence for major pharmaceutical companies.<\/p>\n

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It has developed a suite of industry-leading mobile technologies including RedShop, a software platform for retailers and brands.<\/p>\n

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RedShop enables customisable mobile web, mobile app and tablet commerce experiences.<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, 5th<\/sup> Finger\u2019s mobile health technology, RedShop Rx, provides the most secure health tracking, education, engagement and sales support functions on the market.<\/p>\n

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Its latest product, RedShop Responsive, offers a unified and easily managed website experience across desktop, mobile and tablet environments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Australian-founded mobile solutions provider 5th Finger has been acquired by customer relationship management firm Merkle, five years after relocating from<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,18,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41862"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}