• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, January 5, 2015

Another media company has joined the growing list of publishers branching out into agency territory, with A.H. Belo’s acquisition of three marketing outfits with areas of expertise spanning digital and print.

The newspaper publisher, owner of The Dallas Morning News, announced that it has acquired majority stakes in Distribion, specializing in local digital marketing automation; Vertical Nerve, focused on search engine marketing and optimization to help business build Web traffic and online conversions; and Marketing FX, a direct mail and promotional marketing company that provides print, packaging, specialty advertising and fulfillment services.

A.H. Belo paid a total of $15.3 million for the three sibling companies and made the investment in tandem with their current management team, which will remain in place after the acquisitions are complete.

The publisher expects the acquisitions to contribute an additional $9 million to $11 million in revenues in 2015.

This isn’t the company’s first foray into marketing services. Back in 2012. the flagship Dallas Morning News partnered with Slingshot LLC to launch a new social content marketing company, Speakeasy, to conceive and execute social campaigns and promotions for local and national brands.

Indeed, the last few years have seen a flurry of investments by local media companies in digital marketing and advertising services. Last year, McClatchy Co. took a stake in Engage3, which specializes in retail intelligence and mobile shopping platforms, while Entercom Communications, launched SmartReach Digital, a new division that will help small businesses with digital marketing.

Also in 2014, Gray Television launched a new digital marketing services division called LocalX Marketing, to work with local businesses in markets where it operates TV stations.