Make it eight in eight.

Grossman Marketing Group (asi/215205), which counts household names like the Boston Celtics and Harvard University among its clients, just announced its eighth acquisition in as many years.

In an expansion of its New England footprint, the family-owned and -operated Somerville, MA-based promotional products distributor, which has a 111-year history, has acquired Manchester, NH-based distributor Symbol Marketing & Promotions. Financial terms of the deal between the privately owned companies were not released.

Ben Grossman, Grossman Marketing

“Our team is excited to work with Symbol to provide excellent service and creativity to their clients,” said Ben Grossman, co-president of Grossman Marketing Group. “We plan to tap into their team’s skills and expertise to help improve our offerings and continue our plan to become the premier marketing execution services provider in New England.”

Executives noted that the acquisition expands Grossman Marketing’s reach in the technology sector, bringing in clients that include NETSCOUT, Extreme Networks, and DEKA Research & Development. Another boon, executives said, is that Symbol Marketing & Promotions has tight business ties with local community partners too, such as the New Hampshire chapter of the Special Olympics. 

Meanwhile, executives shared that the Symbol Marketing & Promotions team will continue to be heavily involved in serving its existing clients, but with the enhanced benefit of offering additional supports and services that can be provided through Grossman Marketing. Those offerings include robust e-commerce services, graphic design, printing and direct mail, and experiential marketing solutions.

“Our team is proud to partner with Grossman Marketing Group to magnify our offerings to our customers,” said Jason Holland, president of Symbol Marketing & Promotions. “Grossman’s deep e-commerce capabilities, coupled with their in-house design agency and robust logistics expertise, are a perfect fit for our clients. We’re looking forward to working hand-in-hand to ensure a very smooth transition and are excited at the prospect of working with the Grossman team for years to come.”

Since 2013, Grossman Marketing has acquired companies in New York, Connecticut, Maine, Florida, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Earlier this year, Grossman bought Connecticut-based distributor PCI Creative Group.

Beyond Harvard and the Celtics, Grossman Marketing Group’s clients include the Boston Bruins, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, athenahealth, Novocure, Columbia University, Tufts University, Hewlett-Packard, John Hancock, L.L. Bean, Zipcar, CVS, and the International Academy of Arts and Sciences (Emmy Awards), among many others.

Ben Grossman is also the founder of SwagCycle, which offers services that center on responsibly managing the lifecycle of branded merchandise to help repurpose or recycle unwanted promotional products. Between its launch in late 2019 and early 2021, SwagCycle’s work had kept 60,148 items out of landfills and facilitated $168,922 in charitable donations.