Cincinnati marketing communications agency
Fractional CMO leadership for mission-driven teams and small businesses.
The MCS Agency serves as your fractional chief marketing officer. We set the strategy, shape the brand, build the website, grow your social media presence and run the communications, so a small team gets the experience of a full one.
The MCS Agency is a Cincinnati marketing communications agency that provides fractional chief marketing officer services to nonprofits, purpose-driven organizations and small businesses. Founder Clara Matonhodze leads the strategy, and her team executes it for you, from newsletters and social media to branding, websites and AI readiness, for teams that have no in-house marketing department.
Services
What we do
One team, from first idea to finished work. We shape the concept, build the plan, create the work and launch it, so you never have to hand the project off halfway.
- Step 1
Concept
Your goal, your audience and the big idea.
- Step 2
Strategy
The message, the channels and the plan.
- Step 3
Create
Copy, design, websites and campaigns.
- Step 4
Launch
Out in the world, tracked and improved.
Strategic Communications
Communications plans for campaigns, funder and donor outreach, and messaging that needs a fresh look.
View serviceBranding and Storytelling
A voice, a story and a visual identity that funders, customers and communities recognize as yours.
View serviceWebsite Design
Sites that people can find, your team can update, and every visitor can use, with a clear next step on every page.
View serviceSocial Media and Digital Campaigns
Content calendars and campaigns that keep you visible and consistent on the platforms where your audience spends time.
View serviceAI Readiness
An audit of your content and search visibility, plus a roadmap that keeps your message discoverable by both people and AI search tools.
View serviceFractional CMO
Senior marketing leadership without a full-time hire. We set the direction, decide which work matters most and hold it accountable to your goals.
View serviceEvery channel, one agency
All your communications point to one team.
Strategy, brand, website, social media, newsletters, press, events and AI search usually end up with different people. With The MCS Agency, they all come back to one team, so every channel tells the same story.
Click any channel to see how we handle it.
Who we serve
Built around how each kind of team works.
01
Nonprofits
Funders, donors, volunteers and the people you serve each need a different message. We build one brand and one website that speak to all of them, and give your staff a structure they can maintain after we hand it over.
Marketing for nonprofits02
Small businesses
Customers choose the business they understand fastest. Your brand gets clarified, your website starts earning inquiries, and your content stays consistent without adding headcount.
Marketing for small businessesClient results
What clients say about the work.
The retreat ran with a level of calm and order we had never experienced before, and our team finally felt supported rather than stretched.
Nonprofit Executive, We Think 4 A Change
Her team listened closely, helped us articulate what we had been struggling to say and shaped a brand story that finally sounded like us.
CEO, BackPack4Kids
The MCS Agency became the steady partner we depended on.
Board Chairman, Henry Hosea House
By the numbers
Results
Organic social media results for client organizations, 2025 and 2026.
Facebook views in 90 days for Hosea House, a Northern Kentucky soup kitchen
Up 139 percent from the previous 90 days, with 78 percent of views from people who did not yet follow the page (April to July 2026).
organic LinkedIn views for a diaspora-focused nonprofit
Content built around real people and community activity, with 3-second video views up 183.3 percent (2025).
more interactions for an HIV education nonprofit
Posts that paired common myths with plain facts made complex health information short, clear and easy to share (2025).
FEATURED CASE STUDY
AfriThrive: one brand for a growing mission.
AfriThrive runs food distributions, urban farming and integration programs for African immigrant families. We unified its messaging, visual identity and outreach as it grew from one truck and a parking lot to a fleet, a federal grant and a building of its own.
Read the case studyfull-time staff since we began working together
Plus a federal grant, a fleet of three trucks, cold storage and a building on the way.
How it works
Strategy comes before tactics.
Every engagement follows the same discipline, whatever the budget.
See how we work
About the agency
A small team with senior leadership.
The MCS Agency is a three-person team led by Clara Matonhodze, a fractional chief marketing officer with more than 26 years of communications experience. We work as one team, so every client gets senior strategy and hands-on delivery from the same small group.
- Clara Matonhodze
Founder and Principal Consultant - Alexandra Zunze
Agency Associate - Harsh Pathak
Website Developer and Designer
The team works from Ubuntu, the philosophy that says “I am because we are,” so every engagement starts with the people an organization serves.
Meet the teamWhere Clara leads and contributes
- SecretaryCincinnati-Harare Sister City Partnership
- Board memberCaracole Inc.Together Digital
- Committee memberResponsible AI Steering Committee (Cincy AI)
- Creator & co-hostRoots, Routes & Voices: Stories That Shape America
- Newsletter authorDigital for the Rest of Us™
- Founding memberAfrican Professionals Network (APNET)Immigrant and Refugee Law Center
In the community
Where Clara shows up.
Free download
The Mission Ready AI Field Guide™
An AI confidence playbook for nonprofits and small businesses.
Check your readiness, write a responsible AI policy and plan your first 90 days, with a prompt library and plain-language glossary along the way.
Get the free guideFree tool
See how your website performs today.
Our free audit checks search visibility, page speed and accessibility, and shows you where to start.
More free tools
Insights
Digital for the Rest of Us™
Practical guidance on marketing, websites and AI for teams without a department behind them.
Should You Boost a Post or Run a Meta Campaign?
When each option fits, with real budget numbers.
AI readinessWhy AI Skips Over Your Business (And How to Fix It Fast)
What keeps AI search tools from recommending you, and ten quick moves that change it.
StrategyThe Strategy No One Wants to Say for 2026: Why Holding Steady Beats Chasing Growth
Four frameworks for leading through uncertainty.
Get each new issue by email.
Digital for the Rest of Us™ arrives every other week with one practical answer you can use the same day.
Already a client?
Your client hub is where you send requests, track progress, and find your files, reports and next check-in.
Questions
Questions we hear often.
What is a fractional CMO?
A fractional CMO is an experienced marketing executive who leads an organization’s marketing strategy on a part-time or contract basis. A small team gets senior leadership without hiring a full-time executive.
Who does The MCS Agency work with?
The MCS Agency works with nonprofits, purpose-driven organizations and small businesses. The agency is based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and serves clients beyond the region.
What services does The MCS Agency offer?
The agency offers strategic communications, branding and storytelling, website design, social media and digital campaigns, and AI readiness, all led by a fractional CMO under one strategy.
How does an engagement begin?
It begins with a short call about what you want to achieve. From there we define the audience, find root causes, choose a strategy and agree on how success is measured.
Does The MCS Agency work outside Cincinnati?
Yes. The team works hybrid, meeting clients in person in Cincinnati and virtually anywhere else.
Tell us what your team is working toward.
Start with a conversation about your goals, your audience and the team you have today.
Start a conversation