Taylor, MI-based distributor firm Chamberlain Marketing Group (asi/160501, CMG) has acquired Traffic Digital Agency Inc., a digital marketing firm, for $10 million. The deal will help CMG differentiate itself in the promotional products space, according to Jerry Mulligan, vice president of sales.

Jerry Mulligan, vice president of sales for CMG

 “Our clients are demanding more; they’re consolidating marketing suppliers,” Mulligan told Counselor. It’s no longer enough, to subscribe to the old “if you build it, they will come” mentality, he added. “Our clients are bombarded with emails and marketing messages every day. We can’t sit back and be reactive, we have to be proactive.”

Traffic Digital Agency offers website design, integrated search engine optimization services and augmented reality to large companies, all of which are things CMG’s clients are looking for, said Jerry Chamberlain, CEO of CMG. Chamberlain initially used Traffic Digital as a vendor for some of its clients, which include Volkswagen AG, Audi and Discount Tire Co.

One of Traffic Digital’s first jobs after the acquisition, which closed in December, was to redesign CMG’s website. Part of the reason CMG waited until April to announce the Traffic Digital acquisition was to make sure CMG’s online image was up to snuff. “When you buy a digital marketing company, the first thing people are going to do is look at your website,” Chamberlain said.

Jeremy Sutton, founder of Traffic Digital, maintains a minority share in the deal and will remain as president of the company, which will operate as a separate division of CMG. With the acquisition, CMG gained 22 full time programmers and 19 contractors around the world, which means the company can respond to clients’ digital needs 24 hours a day, Chamberlain said.

Even though it’s only been a few months since the acquisition, CMG leaders believe the firm has already begun to reap the benefits. “We’ve cross-pollinated,” Mulligan said. “It’s got us working on projects we never would have worked on before. Traffic is starting to bring us into some of their existing clients as well.”