HelloWorld
HelloWorld, operating as Merkle Promotions, is a digital promotions and gamification agency that designs and runs end-to-end promotional and loyalty campaigns for large consumer brands, serving as a Dentsu subsidiary.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1999
- HeadquartersPleasant Ridge, United States
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What HelloWorld does
HelloWorld, operating as Merkle Promotions and historically also as ePrize, is a digital promotions and gamification company that designs and runs promotional campaigns for large consumer brands. Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Pleasant Ridge, Michigan, the firm serves enterprise clients across food and beverage, consumer goods, retail, financial services, and entertainment, with a named roster that includes Starbucks, Coca-Cola, Burger King, Johnson & Johnson, Albertsons, Keurig Dr Pepper, Molson Coors, Clorox, Synchrony, Gap, Lunchables, 20th Century Fox, and Urban Outfitters. The company positions itself as the original specialist in digital gamification, citing 25 years of dedicated category experience and full-service execution from strategy through fulfillment.
The product surface spans a wide catalog of promotional mechanics: sweepstakes and instant-win games, trivia and personality quizzes, points and punchcard loyalty programs, receipt upload and rebate validation, user-generated-content contests, mobile mini-games (including a customizable pinball template), social hashtag programs, HTML-based augmented reality experiences, and emerging Web3 and tokenized loyalty/NFT activations. These are supported by a proprietary Promotions & Loyalty Platform, a library of branded mini-games, and service layers covering strategy, UX and creative, gamification design, legal compliance, agile program management, analytics, prize procurement and fulfillment, and customer service. Technology delivery is omnichannel across web, mobile, social, and emerging channels.
The business model combines professional services (campaign development and execution under project or retainer contracts), platform and technology licensing, and recurring loyalty program management. All pricing is custom enterprise B2B; no self-service or published pricing exists. Go-to-market is direct enterprise sales targeting brand marketing decision-makers at major consumer companies, supported by paid search, website-led content marketing, and inbound contact forms. HelloWorld is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dentsu, operating within Merkle Inc.'s customer experience management and commerce division, with 501 to 1,000 employees.
HelloWorld firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- HelloWorld
- Legal name
- Merkle Inc.
- Website
- https://helloworld.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1999
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- HelloWorld, operating as Merkle Promotions, is a digital promotions and gamification agency that designs and runs end-to-end promotional and loyalty campaigns for large consumer brands, serving as a Dentsu subsidiary.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
HelloWorld industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Promotions and Gamification Services
- NAICS
- Indoor and Outdoor Display Advertising (54185)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising (7310)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sales Promotion Management (Coupons, Rebates, Sampling, Sweepstakes) (MPAAAJAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Product Launches & Brand Activations (Experiential Marketing) (MPAGAHAD)
Keywords
Where HelloWorld is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Pleasant Ridge
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
HelloWorld business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Promotional Campaign Services: End-to-end promotional campaign development and execution including strategy, creative design, technology development, legal compliance, analytics, prize procurement, and fulfillment. Typically project-based or retainer engagements with major consumer brands.
- Platform & Technology Licensing: Licensing of proprietary promotions and loyalty technology platforms for enterprise clients to run their own promotional campaigns.
- Loyalty Program Management: Ongoing management and administration of loyalty programs including points systems, member engagement, and program analytics.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
HelloWorld product offering
Product offeringCore offering
HelloWorld (operating as Merkle Promotions) is a fully integrated end-to-end digital promotions and gamification agency that designs, builds, and runs promotional campaigns for large consumer brands. Its offering combines proprietary technology platforms (sweepstakes, instant win, loyalty, AR, Web3/NFT, branded mini-games) with full-service capabilities spanning strategy, creative design, legal compliance, analytics, prize procurement, and fulfillment.
Product overview
HelloWorld (operating as Merkle Promotions, formerly ePrize) is a digital promotions and gamification company offering a comprehensive platform of promotional solutions. The portfolio includes sweepstakes, instant win games, trivia, loyalty mechanics (points, punchcards), UGC contests, mobile mini-games, social hashtag programs, purchase validation/rebates, tokenized loyalty/NFTs, AR experiences, and Web3 activations. Supporting the promotional products are services including Strategy & Insights, UX & Creative, Gamification Design, Legal Compliance, Analytics, Customer Service, and Prize Fulfillment. The technology infrastructure includes a Promotions & Loyalty Platform and a library of customizable Branded Mini-Games (such as the Pinball Mini-Game template). The company positions itself as a full-service end-to-end promotions house rather than a single software product.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Promotions & Loyalty Platforms
Quantifiable outcome
- 500% increase in customer database in less than 8 months
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use HelloWorld
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
HelloWorld technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
HelloWorld partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- ePrizecoreFormer brand identity consolidated under Merkle. ePrize was a standalone digital promotions company that merged with HelloWorld and was acquired by Dentsu to form Merkle's promotions and gamification capability. Now operates under unified Merkle brand.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
HelloWorld competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Snipp Interactive: Snipp Interactive is a promotion, receipt validation, rebate, and loyalty platform serving CPG and retail brands. It directly overlaps with HelloWorld's sweepstakes, purchase validation, and rebate products, and competes for similar enterprise marketing budgets.
- Annex Cloud: Annex Cloud operates a customer loyalty and engagement platform with modules for points, referrals, UGC, and sweepstakes. It targets the same enterprise consumer-brand customers with an overlapping tech stack to HelloWorld's Promotions & Loyalty Platform.
- Yotpo: Yotpo offers a loyalty and rewards platform alongside reviews, SMS, and UGC tools used by consumer brands. It competes with HelloWorld's loyalty, UGC contests, and social hashtag offerings for the same enterprise CPG, retail, and beauty customers.
- Kobie Marketing: Kobie Marketing is a long-tenured loyalty marketing agency and technology provider serving enterprise brands. Its end-to-end loyalty program design, management, and technology services directly mirror HelloWorld's professional services + platform model.
- Marigold Engage (formerly Cheetah Digital): Marigold Engage is a customer engagement and loyalty platform serving enterprise marketers with cross-channel campaign, loyalty, and personalization capabilities. It overlaps heavily with HelloWorld's loyalty and promotions platform footprint.
- Punchh: Punchh is a loyalty and digital engagement platform purpose-built for restaurant and QSR chains. It competes with HelloWorld for the same food & beverage brand clients (e.g., Burger King-adjacent accounts) on branded loyalty and gamified engagement.
- Inmar: Inmar provides promotions, rebates, digital media, and supply chain solutions to CPG and retail brands. Its digital promotions and shopper marketing business competes directly with HelloWorld's sweepstakes, instant win, and rebate products.
Broad incumbents
- SessionM (a Mastercard company): SessionM, owned by Mastercard, is a customer engagement and loyalty platform used by enterprise brands. It competes with HelloWorld at the loyalty platform layer but is bundled into a much larger payments and data ecosystem.
- Aimia: Aimia is a loyalty analytics and program management company serving global enterprise clients. It competes with HelloWorld for enterprise loyalty engagements, particularly at multinational consumer brands.
- Khoros (formerly Lithium + Spredfast): Khoros provides a broad digital customer engagement platform spanning social media management, communities, and digital care. It competes with HelloWorld at the social hashtag and digital activation layers as part of a wider marketing technology portfolio.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
HelloWorld social profiles
Digital presenceHelloWorld financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
HelloWorld leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
HelloWorld funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
HelloWorld M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A3 records
Investments4 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about HelloWorld
What does HelloWorld do?
HelloWorld (operating as Merkle Promotions) is a fully integrated end-to-end digital promotions and gamification agency that designs, builds, and runs promotional campaigns for large consumer brands. Its offering combines proprietary technology platforms (sweepstakes, instant win, loyalty, AR, Web3/NFT, branded mini-games) with full-service capabilities spanning strategy, creative design, legal compliance, analytics, prize procurement, and fulfillment.
Is HelloWorld a public or private company?
HelloWorld is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was HelloWorld founded?
HelloWorld was founded in 1999. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is HelloWorld based?
HelloWorld is headquartered in Pleasant Ridge, United States, in the North America region.
How does HelloWorld make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Promotional Campaign Services are the primary driver. The others are platform & Technology Licensing and loyalty Program Management.
Who are HelloWorld's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Snipp Interactive, Annex Cloud, Yotpo, Kobie Marketing, Marigold Engage (formerly Cheetah Digital), Punchh and Inmar. Broad incumbents are SessionM (a Mastercard company), Aimia and Khoros (formerly Lithium + Spredfast).
Does HelloWorld have an API?
No public API is recorded for HelloWorld.
What industry is HelloWorld in?
HelloWorld's product category is Digital Promotions and Gamification Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAAJAE, Sales Promotion Management (Coupons, Rebates, Sampling, Sweepstakes), with a secondary code of MPAGAHAD, Product Launches & Brand Activations (Experiential Marketing). Its NAICS code is 54185 and its SIC code is 7310.