about
You’re here! That’s good. That means you’re wondering about S&A Communications. We believe our passion, expertise, and approach make us unique.
Our integrated communications agency grew from deep-seated PR roots. It evolved into a strategic marketing team that aims to help our clients outthink, outwork, and outperform their competition.
S&A isn’t suitable for everyone, but we may be right for you. Let’s meet to explore how we might work together.
history
We often joke that we are a “young” 30-something. In reality, nothing could be more accurate. While we are the longest continuously operating integrated marketing firm in our market, we would not have enjoyed the success we have without evolving (and in some cases, reinventing ourselves) along the way.
Ron Smith, APR, founded Smith & Associates in 1982. From the start, he focused on cutting through the clutter found at large agencies and customizing the approach to meeting clients’ needs. It worked – and our first client remains a client to this day. In 1990, Ron formed Cherokee Publishing. The new company launched Auto Remarketing, which today is the premier news media for the pre-owned vehicle industry, encompassing print and digital properties as well as webinars and several major trade conferences.
Smith & Associates and Cherokee Publishing merged in 2007 to form S&A Cherokee, a full-service communications firm. To better reflect our scope of offerings, S&A Cherokee’s PR/marketing division was re-branded as S&A Communications in 2014. We’re ready for the next 35 years!
karma
What could be better than doing what you love? Doing it to help a great cause!
Giving back is essential to S&A Communications. Over the years, we have embraced numerous pro bono clients, providing public relations, brand development, marketing (social, digital, and more), and graphic design expertise to help raise national awareness of deserving causes. We serve our communities by donating our time and expertise to a diverse group of civic organizations and nonprofits, including the Rebuilding Together of the Triangle, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Foundation of Hope, Habitat for Humanity, Interact of Wake County, Cary Chamber of Commerce, Junior Achievement of Eastern North Carolina, Mount Zion Christian Church, various Rotary Clubs, Support Military Spouses, National Ataxia Foundation, Urban Ministries, Boy Scouts of America, The Carying Place, The Miracle League of the Triangle, The Salvation Army, The United Way, Triangle Aquatic Center, and many others.
We participate in community service projects such as the Cary Chamber Volunteer Day as a team.
clients
Auto Remarketing
Auto Remarketing Canada
Automotive Intelligence Summit
Buy Here Pay Here Report
Capital Collision Center
CarMark
Cherokee Automotive Group
Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems
DealersLink
FLD, Inc.
Jay Dyer & Associates
JMN Logistics, LLC
MetroGistics
NIADA
Pre-Owned Automobile Dealers Alliance
SGS
SubPrime Auto Finance News
Used Car Week
Atlantic Tire & Service
Austin Quality Foods
Broadway Voices Concert Series
Cary Magazine
Cirque du Soleil
Garner TV & Appliance
Goodnight’s Comedy Club
Ideal Brilliance
Kerr Drug Stores, Inc.
Precision Tune Auto Center
Prestonwood Country Club
RallyPoint Sport Grill
Rush Hour Karting
Sweet Carolina Gourmet
Tom Jones Drug
AmeriSource Funding
Cameron Financial Equity & Investors, Inc.
Capstone Bank
Carolina Benefits & Planning
Commercial Finance Association
First Bank
First Tennessee
Nanophrades
NewBridge Bank
North State Bank
Physicians Financial Services
Riverbrook Wealth Planning
Servicing Solutions
Triangle Bank
Brunswick County
Cary Chamber of Commerce
Cary Economic Development
Chatham County Economic Development
Garner Chamber of Commerce
Garner Economic Development
Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce
Greater Raleigh Convention & Visitors Bureau
Holly Springs Chamber of Commerce
Morrisville Chamber of Commerce
North Carolina Chamber
NC Farm Bureau
Smithfield Chamber of Commerce
Town of Cary
Town of Garner
Town of Holden Beach
Town of Pittsboro
Wake County Public Schools System
Wake County Solid Waste Management
Zebulon Chamber of Commerce
Zebulon Economic Development
Burroughs-Wellcome Pharmaceuticals
Carolina Family Medical Center
Dr. Charles Guizzotti, D.D.S.
eyecarecenter
Mallinckrodt Raleigh Pharmaceuticals
North Carolina Laser Vision Center
North Carolina Society of Radiologists
Optometric Eye Care Center
WakeMed
Wilson Regional MRI, Inc.
Duke University
Meredith College
NCSU Crop Science Department
North Carolina State University
University of Mississippi
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina Pembroke
Band Together NC
Boy Scouts of America/Occoneechee Council
Capital Area YMCA
Cary MacGregor Rotary
Cary Visual Art
DEW4HIM Ministries
Garner Rotary Club
Hope for Haiti
International Academy of Public Safety
International Special Inspectors Association
Junior Achievement of Eastern North Carolina
Lotus Survival Foundation
National Federation of Licensed Practical Nurses
Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation
North Carolina Association of Nurse Anesthetists
North Carolina Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds
North Carolina Association of Teacher Assistants
North Carolina Citizens for Business & Industry
Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina
Pretty in Pink
Reuse Alliance
Ronald McDonald House of Chapel Hill
Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation
Support Military Spouses
Triangle Chapter, British American Business Council
White Plains Children’s Center
Atlantic General Construction Services
Branch Communications
Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems
Convergent Nonprofit Solutions
Effect Energy
Falcon Engineering
Fast Lane Consulting
Greene Resources
Merchants Barter Exchange
Mid-South Engineering
Palczuk, Scarbrough & Associates
RPG Solutions
Smith Anderson
The F.I.R.M. Consulting Group
The Wooten Company, Inc.
Ward and Campbell, PC
Ball Rentals
Carolina Sunrock
DANIS
Kane Realty
McAdams
McDonald York, Inc.
MacKenan Property Group
Plantation Point
RUN Property Management
Ramey Kemp & Associates
Sembler
SearStone
Sparrow Construction Co.
Villages at Aversboro
York Properties
York Simpson Underwood
Auto Remarketing
Auto Remarketing Canada
Buy Here Pay Here Report
Cary Magazine
Cherokee Media Group
Heart to Heart
NC 100
NC Magazine
SubPrime Auto Finance News
Atiz Innovation
Bell and Howell
Effective Software
KCDw Software
Nead Werx
Netsertive
ScrubCast
Shark Finesse USA
Virtual Systems
WiSpots
All lists are of current and past clients of S&A Communications.
we are honest
We conduct our business with integrity and transparency.
we are imaginative
We eschew the obvious and embrace the original.
we are curious
We ask questions. Lots of questions.
we are choosy
We work with people who believe in strong, lasting relationships. We want it to be a good fit for both sides.
we are focused
We put client service at the center of our business.
we are fair
We deliver exceptional value, and strive to earn your business every day.
we are engaged
We give back to the community through pro bono work and volunteer involvement. We believe in good Karma.
we are spirited
We are serious about doing great work and just as serious about having fun along the way.
we are evolutionary
We thrive by constructively reinventing ourselves and the way we serve clients.
we are S&A Communications
It’s nice to meet you.