Enterpreneur Tom Baur might have been ahead of the pack in 1984 when he started a travel agency, dubbing it Travel Technology Group, certainly not a traditional name for what was a sideline business.
Baur was doing better than OK at the time. His Mediatech firm, a duplicator and distributor of TV and radio commercials, was working with biggies like McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Quaker Oats. Mediatech was shipping so many spots that it had become one of Federal Express’ five biggest customers here.
Baur founded Mediatech in 1975 and took it public on the Nasdaq market in 1995. Three years later, Mediatech was sold to DG Systems, a San Francisco-based video duplication and satellite distribution firm.
Meanwhile, Travel Technology Group (TTG) has mushroomed into a venture that’s generating more than five times the peak revenues of Mediatech when Baur was running it.
Launched with two people in a tiny office at 110 W. Hubbard, TTG now has 170 employees worldwide–150 of them working in 21,000 square feet at the original address. Its scope of operation also has grown. TTG has become one of the nation’s top five companies arranging housing and travel for conventions and trade shows, accounting for 90 percent of TTG’s annual volume.
In 1999, TTG booked more than 1.2 million room nights for more than 175 conventions and trade shows. That figure should rise to 1.7 million room nights in 2000, says James Wright, a co-owner and a co-founder of TTG.
“We’ve grown a lot faster than we thought we would,” says Baur, who is forecasting revenue to hit $140 million this year.
Baur doesn’t think it was a no-brainer that he gave a technology hook to his new venture back in 1984. “I knew at the time that computers would become a much bigger factor in the way we do business,” he says.
Currently, 15 to 20 percent of TTG’s customers are doing their bookings over the Internet. TTG is on its third computer system, which is running a totally new software package.
A good chunk of TTG’s business is with two major show producers: Reed Exhibitions in Stamford, Conn., and Advanstar in New York.
“We’ve become more full-service in travel and housing,” says John Devona, who came on board earlier this year as vice president-marketing.
“We’re getting more into ground travel, including car rentals, other surface transportation, registration. And we’re into more negotiations with hotels involving pricing,” says Devona.
Devona was a key addition to the firm, moving over from senior director of marketing for McCormick Place. His marketing background includes 17 years with United Airlines.
“We’ll still be investing in new technology,” says Devona, who reports to Bob Derham, TTG co-owner and managing director.
Technology counts, of course, but as Devona says, “It still takes old-fashioned customer service to keep customers happy and coming back.” Amen.
Bartoletti joins Y&R: Karim Bartoletti, a senior producer at DDB Chicago, becomes director of broadcast production at Y&R Chicago on July 10. Also, Julia Tuthill, a former Pizza Hut and Procter & Gamble marketing executive, became VP-marketing for Altus Food Co., a joint venture of Quaker Oats Co. and Novartis Consumer Health Inc.
– Northwestern Memorial Hospital and its former ad agency Leo Burnett USA won the Platinum Award or “Best of Show” in the annual Champs Awards competition of the Chicago chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA). The hospital and agency, winner in the not-for-profit category, bested Sunbeam Corp.’s Aurora-based First Alert Inc. division and Buzz Divine Inc. in Chicago, winners in consumer marketing and business marketing, respectively. All were gold winners in this annual AMA competition, which recognizes superior strategic marketing initiatives. Recognition of Northwestern and Burnett comes after a recent split. The hospital now is embarked on a search for a new agency for its $2.5 million account.
Strictly Personal: Birthday greetings to jeweler Richard A. LeBolt, 49; PR exec Al Smedley, 73; adman Daryl Travis, 47; Eric Griggs, 42 (Department of Aviation); retired PR consultant James L. Bixby, 79; Laura L. Burla, 27; attorney Benjamin E. Giaquinta, 42; retired Salerno-Lenell cookies exec Don Amfahr, 71; Ty Helms, 43 (Hyatt Hotels)
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