Every day, we roll up our sleeves and partner with small businesses and leading nonprofit organizations – connecting them with the people who matter most – through expertly-crafted, integrated marketing programs.
OUR STORY
The Connect Group, Inc. was founded more than a decade ago by Ann Barnett as a boutique marketing consultancy. Since then, we have become recognized as an award-winning integrated marketing agency. Since the beginning, our focus has been clear: connect nonprofit organizations and small businesses with the people who matter most to the program or product at hand.
In other words, we know that the greatest success in any integrated program comes down to successfully connecting with a business’s target audiences or a nonprofit’s donor personas and prospects. Since 2014, we have worked with more than 100 organizations, from entrepreneurial start-ups to Fortune 500 corporations, local charitable foundations, and nationally-known nonprofit organizations.
Today, we are a network of experienced marketers who deliver integrated marketing programs that deliver on business objectives and campaign goals. We weave together traditional media strategies with emerging approaches, including online and content marketing, paid and earned media programs, and customer engagement campaigns.
“… efficient, effective, trustworthy, creative, and competent. I have found these traits to be a rare, powerful, and valuable combination.”
— PRINCIPAL, MANAGEMENT CONSULTING FIRM
OUR FOUNDER
The Connect Group, Inc. was founded by Ann Barnett, a marketing communications executive based in the Greater Chicago area. For more than two decades, Ann has passionately delivered effective and impactful integrated marketing programs with measurable success; she is a creative strategist who is both imaginative and analytical.
Barnett has advanced expertise and experience in online marketing with proven success within both the corporate and non-profit sectors, bringing energetic and authentic leadership to organizations to grow awareness and reach, create sustainable stakeholder engagement, and meet organizational goals and financial objectives.
Her work has been featured in national media, including The New York Times, TIME Magazine, CNN, MSNBC, Rolling Stone Magazine, Huffington Post, and NPR, among others. Ann has also placed work in regional news outlets and various industry, trade, and special interest publications.
Barnett has an M.B.A. from Cleveland State University (CSU), an Executive Certificate in Digital Transformation from Stanford University, and a Graduate Certificate in Marketing Analytics from CSU. Ann received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is also Google and Meta certified at a variety of levels.
“… the right balance of understanding and respect for the old way of doing business while bringing everyday finesse and talent to being a change agent ...”
— SR. DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION
LEARN MORE
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