Ed Illig

As the leader of Merkle's numerouos industry teams, Ed brings a rare, multi-disciplinary breadth of experience & outlook to the clients in his care. His integrated, cross-media skills in UX, brand, design, CRM and direct response marketing have been internationally recognized and help to inform his truly expansive view on engaging today’s customers, donors and constituents.

Ed’s awards and honors portfolio includes the DMA International ECHO Awards, the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, and the Webby Awards, among others. And having grown his own creative consultancy to among the region’s largest, U.S. News & World Report called Ed “a new breed of consultant.” To date, his engagements with the world’s top brands spans award-winning work for P&G, XM, Honda, FedEx, GE, Roche, AT&T, Lilly, McGraw-Hill, The NCAA and 3M, and other category leaders.

Beginning his career at Interbrand Design Forum, and later founding and growing his own, widely acclaimed firm, Ed joined Merkle in early 2012 as a pivotal leader in the agency’s advanced communications team. When not advancing our clients’ businesses, he can often be found kayaking, backpacking, and writing on topics including design & digital marketing, such as his popular eBook and marketing tool, The MediaSphere, featured on MarketingProfs.com.