Distributor Nextgen has snapped up Australian digital marketing agency, Bang Australia.

Bang specialises in IT marketing and branding and Nextgen says the deal will enable it to deliver expanded digital marketing, demand generation and branding services to the Australian and New Zealand IT channel.

John Walters, Nextgen group chief executive, says the acquisition allows the distributor add further value to both vendor and channel partners at a time when their ability to connect digitally with customers is more important than ever.

“Nextgen has always been about helping its channel partners and vendors stay relevant and remain ahead in a fast changing IT environment,” Walters says.

Bang is a serious and well-respected strategic marketing player and this partnership is the next stage in that journey, adding scope and depth to our current digital marketing service.

The two companies have previously worked together for Nextgen Create, a joint venture providing digital marketing services to channel partners.

Nextgen says there is a need for the channel to bolster its digital marketing skills and online presence – something that has become more urgent with the growth of cloud-based software-as-a-service, which demands a better demonstration of the ongoing business value of SaaS and IT vendor services through more sophisticated marketing.

Scott Caulfield, Nextgen general manager of digital and marketing services says the acquisition will enable Nextgen ‘to join the dots from marketing to sales performance, becoming a central point of information for both vendors and partners'.

“These insights and data analytics will also enable more reliable predictive modelling around trends in the IT ecosystem,” Caulfield says.

Martin Mason, Bang founder and managing director, says becoming an integrated part of the group enables the company to provide a more sophisticated set of solutions that embrace marketing thorugh to sales.