Leading Marketing Automation Providers

Who makes our 2024 top 5?

Whether you want to improve your current deployment or implement a new vendor, working with a marketing automation service provider can help you improve and streamline your MA efforts.

Here are the five we see in the Australasian market to help you choose the best fit for your organisation.

1. Datamine Limited   

After nearly thirty years in the marketing tech space, Datamine knows a thing or two about automation.  Marketing automation was an emerging discipline when we started our business in 1995.  Now, it’s a fully-fledged specialisation with an ecosystem of providers, platforms, and support services.

Over the years, we’ve carved out a niche in the Australasian automation market.  Part of our advantage is that we have never specialised in a single industry vertical; rather, our focus is large corporates with digital and physical presence who want access to their data through one platform.

We have developed deep expertise in marketing automation, providing end-to-end solutions for clients all over New Zealand and Australia.  We’re people-focused and values-driven, with expert analytics and data wrangling capability.  Our approach is vendor-agnostic, and we believe in creating tailor-made solutions that cater to our client’s specific needs and can easily be integrated into their existing tech infrastructure.

Best for:

• Large corporates and retailers – particularly those looking for data expertise

2. Digital alchemy

Digital Alchemy has been a fixture in the Australasian market since 2003, building a reputation for thought leadership and keen technical knowledge.  It works with a wide range of vendors and partners, so clients can find an automation solution that fits their needs.  The company has offices in Auckland and Sydney, as well as across South-East Asia and North America.

Like Datamine, Digital Alchemy works with various software platforms and providers to build custom solutions for its clients.  It focuses on international clients and software partners.

Best for:

• Businesses with complex integration issues

• Businesses selling overseas; Digital Alchemy leverages outsourcing for price and scale 

3. the lumery

The Lumery was founded in 2017 and acquired by Accenture in 2024 in a move aimed at bolstering its marketing transformation capabilities in Australia.  As a marketing and technology consultancy, the Melbourne-based business provides end-to-end marketing tech services, helping clients build custom suites of MarTech platforms and tools.

Like other service providers, The Lumery emphasises client and staff enablement, giving people the tools to succeed rather than doing it for them.  This broad, flexible approach makes it an excellent option for businesses that don’t yet have a marketing agency on board.  And it seems to work—in just five years, the company has worked with some big-name brands, including Bunnings and Mecca.

Best for:

• Businesses looking for a marketing agency and a marketing automation provider

• Larger businesses that need help with their overall MarTech strategy

4. merkle

A global brand with some major clients and tech partners, Merkle has 12,000 employees worldwide, 56 locations, and 400+ clients.  It’s one of the original CXM (customer experience management) providers, founded more than 30 years ago.  This long tenure gives it a depth of experience that new providers can’t match.

Merkle is a vendor-agnostic provider that customises solutions for each client, integrating new tools with existing tech. Its focus is on streamlining siloed processes and identifying efficiencies – a holistic approach that includes marketing automation.

Best for:

• Larger organisations that need a full marketing system upgrade

5. CraftCXM

CraftCXM is a newcomer to this year’s list.  It provides services around marketing automation in a vendor-neutral approach, focusing on solutions that meet implementation, operations and consulting, and advisory services.  CraftCXM offers a comprehensive, end-to-end service that ranges from problem-solving to delivery and beyond. 

With offices in Auckland and Melbourne, CraftCXM are quickly making a name for themselves in the Australasian market.  Its offering places a strong emphasis on transparency and personalisation.

Best for:

• Organisations in the financial services sector

Top 5 providers: our key takeaways

We say it all the time: marketing automation is a powerful tool for improvement.  However, it’s also a complex area with no single solution that works for all businesses—that’s why it’s crucial to work with the right provider.  Often, marketing automation solutions need some configuration beyond the out-of-the-box solution.  Working with a specialist will help you integrate marketing automation with your current software line-up and—most importantly—maximise the value of your investment.

After investigating some of the current top providers for Australia and New Zealand, we have some key takeaways:

• Datamine makes your marketing technology work.  We are platform-agnostic and help your team create and run effective marketing campaigns using nearly three decades of data, personalisation, and automation expertise.
• Digital Alchemy started around the same time as Datamine, and it has built a reputation for technical knowledge and insight – making it a good fit for businesses with challenging tech issues or looking to leverage off-shore solutions.
• The Lumery is people-focused and values-driven, with an emphasis on staff enablement.  Its approach works for them – and its large, well-known clients, too.  It will be interesting to see how joining the Accenture family will shape the future of The Lumery.
• Merkle is one of the oldest MarTech businesses in the world.  It has a massive global reach, thousands of staff, and many millions of dollars in revenue.  It offers a depth of experience, particularly for large businesses looking to improve their marketing systems and processes.
  
• CraftCXM has an experienced team across a number of vendors, focusing its approach on a personalised touch to align the client's objectives.  It is a good fit for people with a strong roadmap of change.

what's next for marketing automation in Australasia?

We look forward to seeing what the next year holds for Australasian marketing automation.  And the providers listed in this article are the ones at the forefront of innovation in the field.  If you want to keep up to date on what’s next for marketing automation, these are the companies you should be watching.

If you’re a client looking at marketing automation options – or considering a provider switch – get in touch with our team.