Megan Cough joins the Whole Brain Group team in the role of Digital Marketing Specialist, managing integrated digital marketing campaigns, including social media, content development & blogging, search engine optimization (SEO) and paid search. Megan’s experience includes working in the Events Marketing Department for Borders Group, Inc., where she introduced the department to Twitter, and pushed the company into the world of social media for the first time. Since then, she moved from the brand side to the agency world, where she worked on social media and Pay Per Click (PPC) for clients such as MEDC Travel (Pure Michigan), Blio, National Association of REALTORS®, hiredMYway, and the Detroit Metro CVB.

Angelina Vergari joins the Whole Brain Group team as an Online Advertising Campaign Analyst, specializing in Search-Engine Marketing strategy and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising. Through Pay-Per-Click account management & optimization, Angelina’s role is to increase web visibility for businesses, while improving their web traffic, and maximizing their ROI. Angelina has successfully developed & optimized PPC campaigns for a wide variety of local and national clientele, which has led to increased conversion rates, fresh leads, and increased sales for their businesses. Angelina has also worked for Eastern Michigan University, developing Google AdWords accounts for students and non-profit organizations participating in Eastern Michigan University’s hands-on search marketing courses.

“I’m really excited about adding these two great women to our team,” stated Marisa Smith, Founder of The Whole Brain Group, “Their skills and expertise have enabled us to offer more services that will drive even more business to our growing clients. Our right brains are energized by the results our clients are seeing from taking an integrated approach to their marketing efforts, while our left brains love seeing the numbers on their reports climb every month!”

About The Whole Brain Group

The Whole Brain Group takes a holistic approach to online marketing strategy, offering a variety of solutions to stay well positioned in the ever developing digital age. Our team of experts are committed to helping growing businesses develop and execute digital marketing strategies that complement company visions and turn them into sales results. We create websites that are mobile & search engine friendly, integrated with social media, and built with WordPress™ — so clients can control their own websites and quickly publish fresh content. We also provide consulting in social media, search engine optimization, and PPC advertising to maximize our clients’ website investment.

Institutions use AccreditStation to eliminate hundreds of hours of manual labor that is spent assembling documents for their AAHRPP® accreditation application for human research protection programs. The 126 pounds of paper annually wasted per staff person is also greatly reduced. “Human research protection programs are experiencing increased demands on their already overtaxed staff,” states Marisa Smith, President of The Whole Brain Group. “Our web-based application helps them use their resources more efficiently, so they can concentrate on research quality and safety. “The company’s other AccreditStation clients include Columbia University, Miami Children’s Hospital, and The National Institutes of Health. More information about the product can be found at http://www.accreditstation.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, February 10, 2009, ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The Whole Brain Group, LLC expanded its reach beyond Michigan and tripled its number of clients in 2008. New clients include: Columbia University, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, Louisiana State University, McLean Hospital, The National Institutes of Health (NIH), and several VA Medical Centers. 

The company attributes its success to the increasing popularity of its flagship product, AccreditStation®, which helps research institutions manage and automate their accreditation projects. The increased sales of this product, coupled with the growing demand for electronic solutions to paper problems, has enabled The Whole Brain Group to thrive in the current challenging economic climate. 

“We’re lucky to have products and services that people value in times like these,” states Marisa Smith, President of The Whole Brain Group, “By developing technology that conserves time and cuts paper usage, we can help them stretch their dollars a little further.” 

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The Whole Brain Group is a web application development company dedicated to helping its clients work smarter and greener. Located in downtown Ann Arbor, the company applies its philosophy of Integrated Thinking to the development of balanced and sustainable software systems, growing and adapting these systems along with a client s evolving needs. The company specializes in the development of electronic solutions in the areas of research compliance, media relations, legal services, and accreditation. 

The Whole Brain Group is 100% woman-owned.

U.S. Local Business Association’s Award Plaque Honors the Achievement

WASHINGTON D.C., December 15, 2008 – Whole Brain Group, LLC has been selected for the 2008 Best of Ann Arbor Award in the Web Site Design category by the U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA).

The USLBA “Best of Local Business” Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USLBA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2008 USLBA Award Program focused on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USLBA and data provided by third parties.

About U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA)

U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA) is a Washington D.C. based organization funded by local businesses operating in towns, large and small, across America. The purpose of USLBA is to promote local business through public relations, marketing and advertising.

The USLBA was established to recognize the best of local businesses in their community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations, chambers of commerce and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to be an advocate for small and medium size businesses and business entrepreneurs across America.

SOURCE: U.S. Local Business Association

The Waste Knot program awards acceptance to businesses that employ environmentally sound practices such as recycling, reducing paper and waste, as well as conserving energy and educating employees on green business practices. In addition to being Washtenaw County’s premier educator of recycling and waste reduction, Waste Knot has been recognized on a national level by the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Waste Wise program in receiving EPA’s Gold Achievement Award for Community Involvement.The Center for Disease Control has included a direct link to the Waste Knot environmental portal on the CDC website’s homepage.

Environmental Programs Supervisor, Jeff Krcmarik, noted that Waste Knot has also been recognized by the Michigan Recycling Coalition as an outstanding community education program. The Whole Brain Group’s acceptance into the program is a result of their commitment to building sustainable software systems that significantly reduce, and often eliminate paper waste and printing. With extensive expertise in database design and implementation, The Whole Brain Group is saving universities, corporations and health care administrations time, redundancy and money. The Whole Brain Group’s commitment to forming relationships with clients in order to asses their true needs allows for a custom software system to be built to their exact specifications. Sustaining the life of the project becomes so much simpler when built with “that whole brain goodness.” 

“Being a part of the Washtenaw Waste Knot Program has allowed us to further support our platform for building sustainable and eco-friendly software and green business.” States Marisa Smith, Partner of The Whole Brain Group.

About The Whole Brain Group
The Whole Brain Group, LLC is a local software consultancy dedicated to helping its clients work smarter, greener and with their feet on the ground. Partner Marisa Smith says, “teaching a child to write requires a passionate mentor, and we’re fortunate to live and work in a community with a great program like 826michigan to kindle that creative writing flame.”