In the fall of 1988, Hoffman Communications started in the
basement of Mark Hoffman’s Plymouth residence with a plan:
to begin work with as many production companies in the area
as a vendor to expand his knowledge and exposure within the
industry.

In 1990, Mark was working at maximum capacity as a
one–man shop. He wanted more and felt he had more to offer
clients. Mark made the tough decision to reposition Hoffman
Communications as one of the premier corporate
communications production companies in the Minneapolis area
rather than a vendor to other production companies.

The business grew and moved to its first commercial location
during the Halloween storm of 1991. During this period slide
show production and small meetings were the bulk of
Hoffman’s business. Sales and production coordination fell on
Mark’s plate. This translated into client contact during the day
and production at night.

Mark relied heavily on freelance help until the tasks of
managing the business became too much. He started adding
support staff and as relationships were developed and repeat
business provided a steadier workload, creative staff was
added. The original space was 5,000 square feet and over the
next five years, the business and staff grew resulting in the
need to increase the space to over 10,000 feet of production,
studio, office, and warehouse space.

Another significant change during this period was the rapid
pace of changing technology. Mark was faced with the
challenge to modify the direction of the company based on the
changing technology. Significant investments were made in
equipment and new alliances were created to offer clients new
and better ways to achieve their communication needs
through audio, video, and computer graphics.

The business grew through strong relationships with clients,
referrals, word of mouth, and networking. It has also grown
by increasing the variety of services offered.

On May 1, 2005, Hoffman acquired the staging and equipment
division of Audio Visual & Film Group, Inc. (AVFG). AVFG has
been providing complete technical solutions for meetings,
events, and shows for corporations and organizations since
1976. With these added capabilities, Hoffman offers a broader
range of technology and expands the size, scope, and number
of events we can support.

On January 1, 2006, Hoffman purchased Juntunen Group, a
21–year–old Minneapolis audiovisual production company and
its healthcare division, MedCentrus Marketing and Education.
This acquisition has given Hoffman a deeper set of
capabilities: additional skills in instructional design, Continuing
Education and Continuing Medical Education programs,
marketing, video, and interactive production. We have
expanded our services offering a more integrated approach to
our clients with a superior quality of video production.

Relationships with clients are important to Hoffman’s success.
Many of the clients that the company started with are still
strong clients today. This is due to the service, value and
commitment Hoffman employees provide to clients.