Brand Connections Named by Inc. Magazine as One of Nation's '500 Fastest Growing Private Companies'; Marketing & Media Company Ranked 169th Based on Three-Year Growth.

MONTCLAIR, N.J. -- Brand Connections, the largest marketing and media company in North America focused on reaching consumers in vacation, travel, recreation and entertainment environments, when they are most receptive, has been named one of the fastest-growing companies in the United States by Inc. magazine. The publication's 25th annual "500 Fastest-Growing Private Companies" list, published in the September issue, ranks Brand Connections at 169, with three-year sales growth of 663.8 percent.

Brand Connections, a portfolio company of the $3.5 billion private equity firm, The Cypress Group, works closely with leading national advertisers to develop fully integrated, multi-touchpoint campaigns utilizing a collection of tools including targeted media, one-to-one marketing, point-of-usage product sampling and experiential marketing throughout the Brand Connections network of exclusive venues reaching more than 200 million consumers. In the last five years alone more than 250 of the top national advertisers have utilized Brand Connections' services to actively engage consumers.

Brian F. Martin, founder and chief executive officer of Brand Connections, said, "Our rapid growth can be primarily attributed to the fact that we deliver an increasingly valuable service to national advertisers; namely, we enable them to reach consumers when they are most receptive - when they have the time to effortlessly engage with a brand. Our expertise in this area grows in importance as concerns about the effectiveness of traditional advertising continue to rise."

The Inc. 500 listing for Brand Connections credits the company's explosive growth to its "great niche: designing campaigns around the 'when' rather than the 'who' and 'how' of targeting consumers. And it has snagged exclusive rights to market in many ski areas, golf courses, resorts and cruise lines."

As stated in the Inc. 500 feature, "the companies that comprise the Inc. 500 list represent the vanguard of American industry." The 2006 Inc. 500 list measures revenue growth from 2002 through 2005. To qualify, companies had to be U.S.-based and privately held as of December 31, 2005, and have at least $600,000 in net sales in the base year.

"If you want to find out which companies are going to change the world, look at the Inc. 500," said Inc. editor Jane Berentson. "These are the most innovative, dynamic, fast-growth companies in the nation, the ones coming up with solutions to some of our most intractable ills, creating systems that let us conduct business faster and easier, and manufacturing products we soon discover we can't live without. The Inc. 500 list is Inc. magazine's tribute to American business ingenuity and ambition."

About Brand Connections

Brand Connections (www.brandconnections.com) is the largest marketing and media company in North America focused on reaching consumers when they are most receptive in vacation, travel, recreation and entertainment environments. The company's targeted media, product placement and experiential marketing products connect national advertisers with more than 200 million consumers in environments including cruise lines, thousands of hotels, ski and golf resorts, and numerous other leisure venues. Brand Connections' clients include American Express, BIC, Glaxo Smith Kline, Gillette, Unilever, Novartis, Colgate Palmolive, General Mills, Kraft, Wrigley, M&M Mars, Nestle, Dial, Pfizer and Wyeth, among others.

About The Cypress Group

The Cypress Group (www.cypressgp.com) is a New York based private equity group which manages two private equity funds with more than $3.5 billion in commitments. Cypress invests in privately negotiated transactions, targeting operating businesses and investing with management to foster continued growth. Representative investments made by Cypress include Williams Scotsman, Inc.; WESCO International, Inc.; Montpelier Re Holdings, Ltd.; The Meow Mix Company; Financial Guaranty Insurance Company (FGIC); Communications & Power Industries, Inc.; Affinia Group Inc.; Stone Canyon Entertainment Corporation; Cooper-Standard Automotive; and Scottish Re Group Limited.