Originally Published in 2017
“It takes 20 years to make an overnight success.” ~ Eddie Cantor, 1930s Entertainer
In June of 2017, TPG Trade Show and Event Marketing was honored to be featured in Exhibitor Magazine. The article highlighted the success of Siemens Healthineers (formerly Siemens Healthcare) on its name rebranding and new product launch at the 2016 American Association for Clinical Chemistry’s (AACC) annual trade show, and our role in that success. So, you may be wondering, who is this TPG anyway? It seems that we burst on the scene out of nowhere. Well, like most overnight successes, it took years of hard work, elbow grease and dedication to grow our business. In fact, our company has been continually expanding and flourishing in the experiential marketing industry for over 25 years. We’d like to take this opportunity to tell you a little about how we got started.
Our Story
The roots of our company started in 1992 by two dynamos in the trade show industry, Jan (Valo) Kovaleski and Eileen Fridkin.
Jan and Eileen started off as professional trade show presenters and saw the need for their marketing expertise with regard to trade show presentations. Through grit, gumption, and with a long history of production, Jan and Eileen opened The Presentation Group, a trade show production and event marketing agency. Their first production was for Toshiba Medical at the American College of Cardiology (ACC), where they conducted live-to-screen interviews with doctors about the Toshiba Imaging systems. Shortly thereafter, things took off in a big way. When Ford wanted to introduce the Aeromax to the marketplace, TPG was asked to produce the unveiling to Ford dealers at their annual meeting for Heavy Truck in Montreal. Business was booming!
In the first 5 years, TPG’s client list included Toshiba Medical, Ford Heavy Truck, Acclaim, 20th Century Fox, Rexnord and Miller Brewing.
TPG Production for Ford Con Expo 1994
Eileen and Jan remained partners until June of 2000 when they divided the company and the client list. Jan stayed on as TPG’s Owner/Founder.
After Ford sold their Class 8 division to Freightliner, TPG won all the trade show business for what is now called Ford Commercial Vehicles – business we hold to this day. It was a seamless transition and we are grateful and honored that Ford has been our client since 1993.
As budgets declined and costs increased we were encouraged by Ford to take on more responsibilities. In January of 2005 we began to store and maintain Ford’s properties in our specially built warehouse, while simultaneously handling the transportation and I & D. We had become a turnkey operation for all of Ford’s commercial vehicle shows and events. Not a bad transition from delivering trade show presentations to creative production, event management and experiential marketing!
Expansion
That little bit of history brings us back to being featured in Exhibitor Magazine. Six years ago we rebranded and reenergized. We launched our new website to rave reviews, expanded our client-base and our staff, and created exciting new programs and activations for our current clients. We tweeted, retweeted, shared, followed, liked, blogged and immersed ourselves in the new and exciting technologies that enhance the attendee experience. Enter Siemens Healtineers who turned to us to help with the dramatic unveiling of their new suite of healthcare solutions at AACC, which is the topic of the case study in Exhibitor. AACC was our first show with Siemens. Since then we have assisted their team on many trade shows, including the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry (IFCC) in Athens, Greece. We couldn’t be more proud of the success of this creative collaboration!
TPG Production at AACC
In addition to Siemens Healthineers, we are honored to represent other healthcare clients, plus AV giant Barco, Verizon Connect, Honda Power Engines and clients in the insurance and animal health industries.
What’s New? (Update)
Fast forward to 2020. To say that the trade show industry has been hit hard by the Covid-19 crisis would be an understatement. We’re proud to collaborate with our clients on virtual and hybrid events for a changing world. TPG is a boutique company, but we have a big bench when it comes to talent. We’ve been fortunate to guide our trade show clients from onsite to online in a relatively short period of time. From virtual sales meetings, virtual trade shows, user group meetings and virtual training sessions, we’ve looked for new opportunities to serve our clients so that they can remain top-of-mind with their customers and expand their brands during these uncertain times.
TPG Produced Virtual Event
Conclusion
Well, that’s our journey. There are many people who helped along the way. The ones that lasted are truly the backbone of TPG – not only the full-time team members, but all the part-time staff who have been with us for 15 – 20 years. These are the people that made us what we are. We are confident that life and our business will eventually return to normal after the pandemic, and when that time comes, we look forward to getting back to what we do best – connecting to your audiences through immersive, interactive engagements.
Recently our founder, Jan Kovaleski, relinquished the reigns to Co-Owner and Executive Director, Christina Piedlow.
“A company is only as good as the people who work there. I must say that I am very pleased to see how the company is being run by Christina, who brings more to the team than I ever could have dreamed of. The company is growing rapidly and it is due to her leadership, her vision and the new people she has brought on board, along with the longtime employees that are the heartbeat of the company.” ~ Jan Kovaleski
That’s the thing about TPG, we’ll never forget where we came from. We’re not afraid to get our hands dirty, or adapt to changing circumstances on the fly. There are many ways to describe us, but an overnight success? HA! Don’t believe it!
Jan Kovaleski, Founder/Owner
To learn more about our creative work, or to hear inspired ideas for your brand, please contact us!
Related: A Message to our Clients During the Covid-19 Outbreak
8 Tips for Trade Show Exhibitors During Covid-19