• by Gavin O'Malley , January 7, 2009

Andrew Frawley has joined Purple@Epsilon as its new president of digital services, the full-service direct marketing agency said Monday.

Frawley more recently served as CEO of automated email marketing services provider ClickTactics, which has since been named ClickSquared.

At the Wakefield, Mass.-based Epsilon, Frawley is charged with expanding the agency's position in digital marketing, including email and interactive services. "We see our clients getting a lot of leverage out of multichannel campaigns," said Frawley. "The key challenge is integrating our great technology assets for clients."

Frawley will report to Bryan Kennedy, chief operating officer and president of marketing technology at Epsilon.

Frawley has experience in delivering software-based customer management solutions for up-sell, cross-sell applications as well as acquisition and lead generation. In the 1990s, he founded and led Exchange Applications, where he deployed the Xchange suite of marketing applications for brands in the areas of financial services, technology, travel, retail and consumer packaged goods.

Looking ahead, Frawley expressed little concern over the migration of Web-based communication to closed social networks like Facebook. "Certainly, there is a fair amount of communication that's happening there (on social networks)," Frawley said. "But I personally think there will be plenty of opportunities for us there in the future."

Last year, Epsilon brought on a number of new clients, including Beech-Nut, Commerce Bank, Marriott, National Geographic, Purina and Pfizer.

Part of the Alliance Data Systems marketing group, Epsilon firmly rooted itself in permission-based email marketing with the acquisition of Bigfoot Interactive for $120 million in 2005. Then, in early 2006, Epsilon acquired DoubleClick's e-mail business for an estimated $90 million. Later in 2006, Epsilon acquired Abacus, which manages databases for catalog companies, from DoubleClick for $435 million.

At ClickSquared, the company's longtime chief operating officer, Wayne Townsend, has been promoted to the position of CEO. The company also announced the closing of an $11 million series B round of financing, led by JMI Equity, ABS Venture and Flybridge.