The merger of Eurocom Worldwide's Finnish member agency Telegraafi and event management company Tapahtumallinen creates Idea Group, a new innovative company that is based in Turku, Finland, and employs 20 professionals. The core competencies of Idea Group are the strong strategic understanding of communications and the comprehensive planning and management of a wide range of events. The merger forms a solid foundation for growth for Idea Group to become one of the most influential companies in the event and communications business.
The goal of the merger is to boost growth, expand service offerings and benefit from synergies.
”This is a great combination. We can now offer our clients a full range of communication as well as event management services, and we can pursue even larger tendering opportunities. We don’t have any employees working in duplicated roles, and we can benefit from each other’s expertise and resources. We will preserve the flexibility and easy-going entrepreneurial attitude of the two companies”, says Sanni Rostedt, CEO of Tapahtumallinen. She will also become the CEO of both Idea Group and Telegraafi.
The merger will take place as a consolidation where the new parent company Idea Group Oy acquires all the shares of Tapahtumallinen Oy and Telegraafi Oy. Idea Group will be owned by the ten shareholders of Tapahtumallinen and Telegraafi.
Events are part of strategic communications
Tapahtumallinen plans, creates and manages employee, customer and stakeholder events. Telegraafi focuses on strategic communication planning, crisis and change communication, corporate social responsibility communication, and content production. The two companies have worked together for a long time.
“We have been looking for a suitable partner for Telegraafi to boost our growth and that is why we started the negotiations with Tapahtumallinen about a year ago. Events are an important part of the strategic communication of companies and organisations. Together, we can offer our clients strategic expertise and a wide range of communication services as well as comprehensive event management services”, says Marja-Terttu Rantanen, CEO of Telegraafi. She will continue as the Director, Business Development for Idea Group.
Goal: triple the turnover
Event management companies rarely unite with communications agencies. It is typical for event companies to grow by merging with other event companies, and the same is true for communications, advertising, and digital agencies.
”We see this combination as something completely new, something that can lead the way for the future of the event industry. This also creates a solid foundation for growth. Our goal is to triple our combined turnover and reach about 5 million euros in the next three years”, Sanni Rostedt says.
Tapahtumallinen and Telegraafi will continue under their own brands. The merger has no effect on the personnel, as they will all continue in their old posts. Both companies have offices in Turku and Helsinki, and clients from both the private and public sectors. The combined turnover is currently around 1,5 million euros.
”The turnover development shows how different the business fields of the two companies are and how they balance each other. Last year, Telegraafi’s turnover steadily increased despite the Covid-19 pandemic, whereas Tapahtumallinen’s turnover was cut in half due to exceptional times. Next year, the event business is again looking up and I believe we can reach the same turnover as before the pandemic”, Sanni Rostedt says.
Events are more compact and more carefully planned
The pandemic has changed the event business so that events have often moved partly or completely online. Tapahtumallinen has arranged several dozens of customer and employee events as virtual or hybrid events.
”Corona has changed the way events take place. The attendees’ time is valuable, and the goals of the event must be reached faster. The content has to be carefully planned and the message clear. Every event must produce measurable results”, Sanni Rostedt says.
Strategic communication planning needs to be present also in digital communication.
”Virtual and hybrid events are too often produced with only technology and visuals in mind, and not enough attention is paid to the strategic messages and the content. They are, after all, the most important communication the company has”, Marja-Terttu Rantanen emphasizes.
For more information:
CEO Sanni Rostedt, Idea Group Oy, tel. +358 50 338 2819, sanni.rostedt@tapahtumallinen.fi
Director Business Development, Marja-Terttu Rantanen, Idea Group Oy, tel. +358 400 232970, mt@telegraafi.fi
Tapahtumallinen Oy is a full-service event management company founded in 2013 that plans and creates customer, employee, and stakeholder events for companies, organizations and the public sector. The company is a market leader in Southwest Finland and seeks to grow in Finland. Tapahtumallinen employs 12 people and the company turnover in 2020 was 0,9 million euros. www.tapahtumallinen.fi
Telegraafi Oy is a communications and PR agency founded in 2008.The company specializes in strategic and crisis communication planning, media relations, content production, digital communication solutions, social media and graphic design services. The clients include businesses, municipal and national organizations, and foundations and associations. The turnover for 2020 was 0,6 million euros. Telegraafi has offices in Turku and Helsinki, and employs 7 communication specialists. www.telegraafi.fi
Idea Group Oy is an event management and communications company founded in 2021. It fully owns Tapahtumallinen Oy and Telegraafi Oy. The core competencies of Idea Group are the strong understanding of strategic communication and the comprehensive planning and management of events. The company turnover is 1,5 million euros and it employs 20 people. www.ideagroup.fi
