Marketing technology company Force Marketing, which offers products and services to more than 950 automotive dealers, has acquired the business of GS Marketing, which is also a marketing technology company.

The Jan. 31 closing of the deal brings the total number of dealerships served nationwide to more than 1,500.

Force Marketing’s full portfolio of companies includes the WeDrive Automotive, Helix Technologies and DRIVE video technology brands. Those companies provide customers with data-driven technologies such as omni-channel dynamic video and streaming audio.

Force Marketing said it has experienced strong growth through its development of tech-enabled marketing products and services built for scale for large automotive dealer groups, Tier II ad associations, and OEMs.

The company’s acquisition of GSM’s business adds fixed ops marketing capabilities for parts and service departments to its legacy portfolio of variable ops services for dealership vehicle sales.

Force Marketing said its president and chief executive officer John Fitzpatrick has been in automotive marketing for 15 years. Fitzpatrick grew up in the industry, with a data-driven approach to business.

Fitzpatrick co-founded Force Marketing in 2006 as a family-owned digital marketing company. The company said its purpose is to disrupt the automotive retail industry by using data, technology and personalization to improve the consumer shopping experience.

Force Marketing now serves four of the top five U.S. automotive groups, including Berkshire Hathaway Automotive, Penske Automotive, Lithia Motors and Sonic Automotive.

“For nearly 30 years, GSM has been developing and delivering data-driven marketing strategies and creative services. We quickly saw how aligned both companies are in purpose and expertise,” Fitzpatrick said in a news release.

Fitzpatrick went on to say, “In addition to bringing complementary tech platforms and fixed ops marketing solutions to our family of companies, the acquisition allows us more concentrated geographical expansion into the Midwest and Western United States. GSM’s partnership expands our ability to serve dealers across the country and furthers our vision of transforming the brand-to-consumer buying experience.”

Founded in 1988, GSM is an omni-channel fixed ops marketing services company that works to increase customer acquisition and retention for dealerships.

GSM president Shelley Washburn will remain in her role, overseeing the transition that will be followed by a controlled growth strategy with the Houston-based team.

Continuing to operate under the GSM brand, the company will remain headquartered in Houston. It will provide its same service to dealers, with plans to soon expand its offerings of marketing services such as direct, digital, social and streaming media as a result of the acquisition.

Washburn said Force Marketing and GSM focus on auto industry customer service. But the companies bring different customers to the table, she said.

“We have deep, longstanding relationships with our customers, a dedicated team of professionals and strong expertise in fixed ops marketing,” Washburn said.

She went on to say, “Force has created a best-in-class omni-channel marketing platform and this integration will allow GSM to provide dealers with new front-to-back consumer lifecycle marketing solutions. GSM is over 30 years old, and we have such renewed excitement about our future and what lies ahead for our employees and our dealer partners.”