COLUMBIA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Merkle (www.merkleinc.com), a leading technology-enabled, data-driven performance marketing agency, announced its Bracket-lytics Challenge, a model-based tournament prediction competition for analytics students. Inspired by the 2018 men’s college basketball tournament, the contest offers participants a chance to win a paid analytics internship at a US-based Merkle office and a $1000 cash prize.

“Merkle’s Bracket-lytics Challenge is aimed at engaging and attracting the brightest analytical minds who will soon be entering the workforce,” said Alex Yoder, EVP, Analytics. “Our team of passionate and talented analytics professionals is set apart by our industry expertise, technology fluency, and innovative solutions that make people-based marketing a reality.”

To enter the competition, students must register as an individual or team by Thursday, March 15th, 2018. Entrants will build a model to predict the winners of the tournament and will be awarded points along the way by selecting winners of each round. Students who register before February 1, 2018 will receive a preliminary data set that can be used to train their models — a key recruitment for each entrant which will inform bracket selections.

As a winner in Merkle’s Bracket-lytics Challenge, students will gain invaluable experience as an analytics intern working on Merkle’s audience, performance, artificial intelligence, or event stream analytics teams. To register or to learn more about the competition rules, visit the Bracket-lytics Challenge website.

About Merkle

Merkle is a leading data-driven, technology-enabled, global performance marketing agency that specializes in the delivery of unique, personalized customer experiences across platforms and devices. For more than 30 years, Fortune 1000 companies and leading nonprofit organizations have partnered with Merkle to maximize the value of their customer portfolios. The agency’s heritage in data, technology, and analytics forms the foundation for its unmatched skills in understanding consumer insights that drive people-based marketing strategies. Its combined strengths in performance media, customer experience, customer relationship management, loyalty, and enterprise marketing technology drive improved marketing results and competitive advantage. With 5,200 employees, Merkle is headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, with 24 additional offices in the US and 21 offices in Europe and APAC. In 2016, the agency joined the Dentsu Aegis Network. For more information, contact Merkle at 1-877-9-Merkle or visit www.merkleinc.com.