Third Thursday Business Builder, May 2022

You know your audience, your message and your product or service – but are you putting it together for maximum brand marketing effect? Identifying and developing a consistent message across all market interactions, from your employees and customer service to marketing materials and paid promotion, enhances impact and increases successful campaign efforts.

Join the Augusta Metro Chamber and Alison South Marketing Group's Kate Sanders and Cynthia South to learn more about marketing your brand.

Kate Sanders, Chief Operating Officer at Alison South Marketing Group

Kate, a graduate of Leadership Augusta and the University of Georgia, manages our agency operations, including more than 50 employees, as our Chief Operating Office and Co-Owner. She constantly strives to improve efficiencies through project management and customer service software as well as organizational leadership. Alison South has been named among the Top 10 Workplaces in SC as a direct reflection of her dedication.

An experienced strategist, Kate leads our Marketing Action Plan team to develop strategies and brands for clients. Kate frequently shares her expertise in marketing and leadership through the Augusta Chamber Small Business Marketing Academy and as a guest speaker at the Hull College of Business, Columbia County Youth Leadership and Young Professionals of Augusta. Prior to joining Alison South, she spent seven years working in nonprofit management, marketing, campaign fundraising and event planning for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and The American Red Cross. With Alison South, she orchestrated the brand unveiling event for ForcesUnited (formerly Augusta Warrior Project) at the Miller Theater in 2018 and has created strategies and brands for nonprofits all over the Southeast. She received the LLS Mission Award for the Georgia Chapter in 2012.

An Augusta native, Kate has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism and Advertising from the Grady College of Journalism at The University of Georgia. As a volunteer, she continues to be involved with the American Red Cross as Board Chair-Elect and as a board member of Leadership Augusta. She also serves on the Women in Business committee of the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce. Most recently she was named People’s Choice and Top Fundraiser at the 2022 Fake It To Make It to benefit SafeHomes of Augusta. Her team raised over $90,000 to benefit the cause.

Cynthia South, President at Alison South Marketing Group

Cynthia has more than 30 years of experience in marketing and public relations. She is the former Marketing and Public Relations Director of Richland Memorial Hospital (Prisma) in Columbia, SC, and has held similar positions at Greenville Hospital System (Prisma), UNC Healthcare, Chapel Hill, and Duke Medical Center, Durham.  She was also the spokesperson and Assistant Director of Media Relations at the University of South Carolina. She has a master’s degree in public administration from the University of South Carolina, specializing in healthcare, and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. Cynthia began her career in newspaper at the Columbia Missourian as a reporter, photographer, editor and layout designer. She also has been a freelance writer for a variety of publications throughout her career. Following her newspaper work, Cynthia became assistant editor of Bobbin, a textile industry magazine, and organized their trade show at Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center.

As an entrepreneur, Cynthia co-founded a statewide radio talk show network and later co-founded The South Company marketing and advertising agency, Alison South Marketing Group. Cynthia is a chapter adviser and awards judge for the Southern Region of the International Association of Business Communicators (7 states), and is a board member and past president of the South Carolina IABC Chapter. She also has judged for American Advertising Federation chapters.