About us
We build and execute strategies to foster meaningful interactions — digital, analog and in-person — that create emotional bonds between brands and customers.
Jack Burris
Partner
Marketing and brand strategist, idea generator, project leader and problem solver, Jack’s owned and invested in several small businesses, bought and sold advertising, managed teams, and, after 15 years, whittled his handicap to a single digit. Prior to merging his firm with the corporate event and entertainment company in June 2016, Jack was the owner of The Burris Agency, Inc., a 32-year-old advertising agency. In addition to working with clients, Jack has led projects on everything from international advertising campaigns to hyper-local social media promotions. When he’s not helping his clients engage with their customers and prospects, you can find him with his wife, Beth, and kids, Quinn and Lucy, as well as on the golf course or at UNC basketball and football games.
Robert Miller
Partner
Robert is an accomplished sales and marketing professional with a 25 year track record of success in business development, sales, marketing and management. Previously serving as Vice President of Corporate Development for The PGA TOUR CLUB and later as Vice President of Business Development at Richard Petty Motorsports, where he managed sponsorship sales for the NASCAR team, Robert has orchestrated sponsor relationships for some of the world’s largest and most successful organizations. He has also started three businesses. In addition to leading business development and event management for 54 Brands, Robert enjoys golf and spending time with his family in Charlotte and at Ocean Isle Beach.
Mark Surles
Partner
Mark is a serial entrepreneur who has started, grown and sold several successful businesses in the real estate, construction, and corporate events industries. His career started in the real estate world developing and managing industrial, office and multi family properties. As a founding partner of 54 Sports, and now partner in 54 Brands, he is focused on helping brands connect with their customers. Mark is originally from Mt. Pleasant, SC and graduated from the University of South Carolina (The Carolina) in 1988. He lives in Charlotte with wife Lydia, son Reid, daughter Lilly and dog Bo.
Kelly Cuddihy
Project Leader
Kelly joins 54 Brands after five years of managing a wide range of projects at Golf Channel encompassing everything from events to communications and marketing to senior leadership presentations. With a background rooted in the fast-paced sports media industry, she is used to wearing multiple hats in order to successfully execute any project. She is especially excited about keeping one foot in the golf world. While she still hasn’t graduated from miniature golf, she’s an avid fan and has a deep passion for the game. When she’s not in the office, you can find her walking in Freedom Park or exploring Charlotte’s best foodie spots.
Jesse Cummings
Digital Director
Jesse brings a wide range of skills to the table that allow him to quickly identify challenges and solve them with elegant and functional digital solutions. Having previously worked at several startups, he understands that efficiency and quality are of the utmost importance. Jesse continues to adhere to those standards in his work at 54 Brands. He enjoys the challenge web development offers and is always searching for ways to push the limits. When he is not feverishly coding, Jesse enjoys spending time with his family, fishing the rivers of Northern Michigan and finding the perfect opportunity to toss out a good dad joke.
Ginny Gaylor
Communications Director
She looked up from a document and realized more than 15 years had passed. Where did the time go? It was just yesterday that she was wrapping up a MFA in Creative Writing, which led to writing about weddings, then furniture, next museums and, somehow, healthcare. No matter what the topic, she still gets excited about learning new things and thrives on the diversity of shifting between the worlds of writing and editing/proofreading. When she isn’t banishing serial commas, she enjoys even more reading, cooking and baking new recipes, taking in the latest animated flick or superhero epic with her son Jeb and sharing some laughs with her husband Joe.
Steve Peet
Strategy Director and Writer
Over a 30-year career Steve has written for newspapers big and small, directed creative at ad agencies small and medium and even — gasp! — worked on the client side as a brand manager and marketing director. He has shouldered a variety of responsibilities across multiple disciplines and numerous product and service categories, but what has always interested Steve most is crafting words and imagery into stories that connect people to brands. Nothing elevates his pulse like finding an essential truth and authentic voice for a client, and then helping them effectively express it. Although tailing bonefish and a well-struck long iron come close.
Suzanne Tormollen
Public Relations Director
Suzanne has more than 20 years of experience in corporate communications as both a consultant and in-house public relations manager. She’s helped more than a dozen early stage, venture capital-backed companies significantly raise market awareness across a variety of industries including biotechnology, enterprise software, education, healthcare, manufacturing, semiconductor, security and telecommunications. In addition to her corporate work, she’s engaged with several non-profit organizations helping with event management and publicity.
Dean Wagner
Creative Director
Dean has enjoyed a long track record of various creative pursuits with clients at 54 Brands, ranging from graphic design and illustration to photography and art direction. Previously he was creative director of the relationship marketing arm of a large regional agency that focused heavily on auto racing. After making the move to Burris, his sports marketing experience took an enjoyable turn into golf and resort work. Now 54 Brands continues the tradition of providing compelling and effective creative materials. Besides working the creative crack pipe at 54, Dean likes spending time designing and building things in his basement workshop.
Approach
Smart strategy grows businesses
We base our strategies on what Simon Sinek calls “the why” — because consumers today follow brands that know and authentically live their reason for existence. (Some of us called it the “essential truth” back in the day.) When we do our jobs, every execution across every media platform reinforces our client’s “why” and deepens their connection to their customer.
Moonshot
54 Brands means something
Golf courses through our DNA (see what we did there?). Birdie every hole and you’ve shot 54 — the perfect round of golf. Although it’s never officially happened in a tournament, we like the idea of pursuing perfection for the brands we serve.
History
Over 30 years experience
54 Brands is the combination of two smart companies: The Burris Agency, a 30-year-old marketing and communications company, and 54 Sports, a high-end corporate entertainment and event planning business. Across every communication touch point, for every company event, we craft integrated programs designed to nourish brands, connect with customers and help our clients grow.
People
A small team who thinks big
We’ve all worked in big, lumbering shops, and we believe nimble is better. When client needs require specialized hands on deck, we can call on our national network of providers, groomed and proven over the years, to fill the need. Grant access to the right people, data and systems, and we’ll show you efficiency and collaborative results big shops can’t match.
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Jack Burris
Partner
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Robert Miller
Partner
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Mark Surles
Partner
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Kelly Cuddihy
Project Leader
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Jesse Cummings
Digital Director
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Ginny Gaylor
Communications Director
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Steve Peet
Strategy Director and Writer
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Suzanne Tormollen
Public Relations Director
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Dean Wagner
Creative Director