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Civic engagement has a branding problem and Cate Mayer is done pretending it does not. When voting and local government feel dry, confusing, and closed-off, most people do what any normal person would do: they opt out. Cate, founder and executive director of the South Carolina grassroots nonprofit Be the Ones (BeTheOnes.org), makes the case that the issue is rarely apathy. It is often a broken user experience, missing information, and a lack of belonging.
We talk through how Be the Ones builds civic participation like a real community movement: hundreds of listening conversations, clear on-ramps to civic learning, and events that lead with joy through art, music, comedy, and even karaoke with legislators. Along the way, we unpack a marketing lesson that applies to every brand and mission-driven organization: attention is easy to buy, but trust takes time. If we want people to stay engaged after election season, we have to show up consistently, create dialogue, and give people meaningful roles.
Cate also shares how her learning disabilities shaped her leadership style and became a creative advantage in making complex civic systems easier to understand. We dig into third spaces, the loss of everyday community, what younger generations need from leaders right now, and how South Carolina organizing efforts around fair maps and high-visibility community coordination reveal where real power lives.
If you care about community building, nonprofit leadership, civic education, voter engagement, or marketing that actually earns trust, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who has civic fatigue, and leave a review with one thing you will do this week to help someone feel like they belong.
How can Charleston businesses get noticed, found and chosen? The Charleston Marketing Podcast, brought to you by Charleston AMA and recorded at Charleston Media Solutions, answers the marketing and media questions local business owners are asking. We explore media buying, advertising budgets, radio, digital marketing, storytelling and the customer journey, with practical strategies for growing your business in today’s attention economy. CharlestonMediaSolutions.com
South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA) is a public, nonprofit organization that fuels South Carolina’s innovation economy by supporting technology-based startups, academic research, and industry partnerships. Through funding, coaching, and its investment arm SC Launch, SCRA helps early-stage companies grow, commercialize ideas, and scale within the state’s key innovation sectors.
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Title Sponsor: Charleston American Marketing Association
Presenting Sponsor: Charleston Media Solutions
Annual Sponsor: SCRA; South Carolina Research Authority
Quarterly Sponsor: King and Columbus
CAMACast Cohosts: Stephanie Barrow, Mike Compton, Rachel Backal, Tom Keppeler, Amanda Bunting Comen,
Silicon Harbor Hot Take Host: Stanfield Gray, https://digsouth.com
Produced and edited: RMBO Advertising
Photographer | Co-host: Kelli Morse
Score by: The Strawberry Entrée; Jerry Feels Good, CURRYSAUCE, DBLCRWN, DJ DollaMenu
Studio Engineer: Brian Cleary and Mathew Chase
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