Alison South Marketing Group has been acquired by Canadian marketing agency Xiingo.com in order to expand its resources.
The advertising agency announced Wednesday that Xiingo.com partners have assumed ownership, though it will maintain is base in the CSRA with its Aiken and Augusta offices, as well as those in Chattanooga, Tenn. and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The company will also continue operating under its current name.
“We started contracting with Xiing.com to support some of our digital services several months ago and saw benefit from this relationship,” said Cynthia South, director of Corporate Communications with Alison South. “We realized that by combining resources, we would fast track to national clients and new markets.”
Business partner Vishal Shah will become president and acting chief operating officer, and Priya Betala will be chief financial officer. South, along with Mike Thomas and Kate Sanders—who acted as CEO and chief operating officer, respectively—will continue to serve in leadership roles. Haley Weigle will remain the regional vice president of the Florida office, and likewise Amber Lehmann in Tennessee.
Present relationships with Alison South clients and local account manager will also persist. The marketing firm stresses that for current and future clients, the acquisition will primarily mean an increase in capabilities.
“Our new partners will provide more efficient project management and accounting systems to reduce production times and provide more timely invoicing,” South said.
The merger will entail expanding digital service offerings, such as drip email campaigns, research and online retail marketing, and more advanced search engine optimization. As Sanders’ role will shift from operations to chief marketing strategist, the firm will be able to offer more strategic planning to clients as well.
“We searched for a partner to continue offering the top-level strategy, creativity and implementation our clients expect who has additional services and technology that will keep us at the forefront of a quickly growing and changing industry,” said Sanders. “The Xiingo.com team has management experience and operational resources that will help Alison South become more efficient, provide digital services that weren’t previously offered and have the capacity for growth.”
As for new developments, Alison South will be able to provide services offered through Xiingo.com to its clients, including those that Xiingo.com couldn’t offer previously, such as branding, graphic design, videos and traditional media buying.
Alison South will also provide services to online curriculum developer Edusity, with which Xiingo.com is affiliated.
“We are excited about the growth opportunities that lie ahead in 2023 for Alison South and our clients,” Thomas said.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
