Fifty years ago, our founder, Dave Campbell, had a vision for what an audiovisual company should be: Professional, transparent, reliable and prepared (to name a few). He believed a client should be able to trust their AV partner to be a solid representative of their brand with stakeholders – attendees, sponsors, speakers and members. So, with a projector and a vision, Projection was born.
Over the years, many things have changed. Technology has come a long way since that first Bell and Howell 301 overhead projector. Attendee expectations have evolved. And, we have demonstrated – successfully and repeatedly – that an event can take place with everyone in different locations. While many things about the way we work, design and execute events have changed, there are many things that have stayed consistent over to the past 50 years at Projection.
A commitment to values
From the earliest days, we have been a company with strong values, and a commitment to living those in everything we do – from every client interaction and each event executed to our everyday interactions with colleagues and partners.
Client First: Projection’s legacy is service before profit. It’s our commitment to our customers that has driven our growth over the last 50 years, and why we will continue to customize our services based on each client’s unique needs for the next 50.
Resourcefulness: We operate under a “what if” philosophy. To be prepared for anything that might pop up on site. When unexpected things do come up, we make a plan to ensure we’re prepared for it the next time.
Expertise: We bring both technical and institutional expertise to every meeting and event. Our teams have been in nearly every large convention venue in the country, meaning we don’t just know how to do our jobs, we know how to do our jobs within each unique environment.
Integrity: We do what we say we are going to do. Period.
Teamwork: When people work together, they can make magic happen. Internally, and externally with our clients, we believe teamwork is a key component to a successful event and experience. That’s why we commit experienced and consistent crews to the events we service year-after-year, so that our team members integrate seamlessly into our clients’ meeting team.
A commitment to people
While I am extremely proud of the work we have done over the past five decades (and continue to do today), I am most proud of the relationships we have built along the way. It might sound cliché, but it’s absolutely the truth: our clients are the best in the business. Our average client tenure is 11 years – with our longest customer celebrating its 38th year as our partner – which is an incredible feat in this fast-paced, always-evolving industry. It’s truly a credit to our clients who have welcomed our team as a part of theirs, and have trusted us to represent and convey their brand time and time again.
Internally, we are ‘the Projection family.’ Many of the people who came to work with us in the 1980s and 1990s are still with Projection today (our average employee tenure is 11 years). We take a ‘respect-first’ mentality, which has created an environment of loyalty and trust, and trickles down to everything we do. Trust has always been a key pillar of how we do business; our employees have the freedom to make decisions and autonomy to build a sense of ownership over their work.
The truth is, a vision is just that: something envisioned. It takes passionate and committed individuals to turn that vision into reality. Over the past 50 years, our team has shown an unwavering dedication to our values and commitment to bringing each client’s vision to life.
A commitment to exceptional
From the very beginning, we have worked with clients to ensure their events, meetings, and conferences exceed expectations. It’s not enough for us to show up and do what’s expected of us. We have always sought to be the ones our clients – and their stakeholders – can trust to make something happen or solve a problem. From the very beginning, we have sought to be the most professional company our clients work with… not just the most professional AV company.
Nothing we do is cookie-cutter or formulaic. We take pride in tailoring and customizing solutions to each client’s need, and ensuring we provide the kind of support needed to execute that solution flawlessly. Whether we are managing 100 concurrent sessions or producing a complex general session, we enlist a team that is singularly focused on ensuring a flawless, exceptional experience.
This past year has been an extremely difficult one for our industry. But that didn’t stop our team or clients from forging new paths, solving seemingly unsolvable problems or creating experiences that delivered inspiration, hope and togetherness when people needed it most.
I often find myself in disbelief that what started as a small seed of a vision grew into a 50-year-old business that is still going strong, in spite of all the changes the world has thrown our way. The fact that we are still here is a testament to the great work by the talented and passionate individuals who have worked and/or freelanced for Projection over the past five decades. It is their commitment to and execution of that seed of a vision that makes our commitment to exceptional possible.
I am grateful for every single person who has helped get us where we are today, and to those who are laying the foundation for the next 50 years.
With gratitude,
Karen