View the full event schedule below
Tuesday, August 8
Wednesday, August 9
Join AEC marketer and Adobe Certified Instructor Julie Shaffer, CPSM, as she demonstrates ways you can use the powerful combination of InDesign and Photoshop to expedite your workflow and create persuasive visual elements and layouts for your pursuits. In this interactive, hands-on workshop, you’ll discover time-saving methods, including:
- Creating project layouts with styles
- Importing native Photoshop files for quick editing
- Removing imperfections/objects from project photos, headshots, etc.
- Cutting out a subject from the background
- Experimenting with Photoshop’s robust AI-driven neural filters to enhance your photos
- Using creative effects for compelling graphics
- Exporting for collaboration and production
Separately ticketed event**
Deltek Coffee & Community: Powering CRM Success
- 11 – 11:30 am CT – Educational Presentation: Learn what is new with Deltek CRM and get actionable insights to take back to the office to improve how you use CRM.
- 11:30 am-12 noon CT – Live Q&A & Networking: Get your CRM questions answered by Deltek industry experts and connect with your peers to explore best practices.
Megan Miller, CPSM, Director, Product Marketing, Deltek
Karen Guzman, Principal Solutions Engineer, Deltek
The Future Won't Wait: Tackling Construction's Biggest Issues Today to Make for a Better Tomorrow
Scott Blair serves as editor-in-chief of Engineering News-Record, including all editorial print and digital products, websites, videos, podcasts and events. Published by BNP Media, ENR's predecessor magazines date back nearly 150 years. Winner of multiple awards from Jesse H. Neal, Construction Media Alliance, Construction Working Minds, AZBEES and The Telly Awards for his writing, editing, photography and videography, Blair frequently posts in-depth project tour videos and interviews with industry leaders on ENR's video channel. In 2023, Blair was selected as the McAllister Editorial Fellow, which promotes the study of business media by placing fellows as teachers and advisors at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He applies his 25 years of experience covering the construction industry as a frequent speaker and moderator on topics such as diversity and inclusion, design and jobsite technology, construction means and methods and marketing. Blair has spent more than 30 years working in almost every facet of media and publishing, including radio, film, television, print and digital media, music composition and public speaking.
Celebrating 50 years of transforming business through marketing leadership.
Included with full conference registration.
Kristen Peters, Marketing Manager at Arrowstreet, outlines a simple workflow to help your content stand out from the crowd. Using behavioral psychology and user experience (UX) design principles, attendees will learn a 3-step workflow:
1. Analyze—Become familiar with the client’s voice, brand, and values to create a “thesaurus” to highlight shared ground.
2. Build—Learn the pillars of persuasive writing: Issues, Features, Benefits and Proof (IFBP) to identify client-centered benefits that your firm brings.
3. Communicate—Explore the graphic design principles behind “designing for the scanning reader” to entice the reviewer to read more deeply.
Through learned techniques in client analysis, messaging strategy, and visual reinforcement, attendees will practice the presented skills in a series of fun, collaborative exercises for a mock RFP response. Who will win the factory renovation RFP for an eccentric food and beverage producer? Join us at Amplify A|E|C 2023 to find out!
Research shows that the vast majority of decision makers within your client organizations rely on thought leadership to assess your firm’s innovative thinking, expertise in their specific issues, and the quality of your talent—long before the formal selection process begins.
And yet, your current thought leadership program is unlikely to create a sustained competitive advantage for your firm. Wait! What?!
With more and more firms publishing more and more smart, high-quality content, your prospects are overwhelmed and overeducated. What started as a top differentiator has led to a crisis of sameness among firms and a lack of confidence in making the right decision among customers.
We are at the tipping point of redefining what the next phase of thought leadership should look like, and the first to figure it out will get a competitive advantage.
The session will introduce new approaches your firm can use to help its clients navigate their complex decision-making process with tailored, highly personalized information and insight. By thinking beyond content and formats and learning how to uncover what your prospects really need and value, you will enable them to take action with confidence—and in the process, make your firm indispensable.
Through AEC-specific campaign examples, we will illuminate current opportunities for AEC brands to use paid media to further your business goals. In the ever-changing landscape of digital media today, it is more important than ever to own your brand image and message across all channels. Whether announcing new project commissions, crafting cultural content for recruitment, or advancing your unique areas of thought leadership, paid media can provide an effective and efficient addition to your toolbox.
Session Goals
-
Learn how to meet your audiences where they are online
-
Understand how to develop thoughtful and measurable KPIs
-
Gain insights into platform selection and audience targeting through campaign examples
-
Identify the best management and partnership strategy for your needs
We are all pros at execution in our industry—that is a fact. We can get things done with very little information and creatively fill in the blanks. New RFP due tomorrow? On it. Social post for today’s groundbreaking? Done. Press Release? Will be ready tomorrow. Blog? The draft is in your inbox. When was the last time you stopped to look at your communications efforts holistically? If you haven’t, there’s a good chance you’re missing out on key opportunities. Join this discussion to learn how to develop impactful content, maximize the promotion of it and build relationships with key stakeholders along the way.
This workshop is designed for those who are experienced with social media but need guidance on how to make sure their organization's social media is accessible to all people, as well as those who are looking for advice on compelling digital storytelling. The presenter will take questions throughout the session while they discuss different strategies and walk-through actual campaign examples.
Attendees will learn:
- How to make your social media content accessible for people with disabilities
- The elements of an effective story and how to translate that to social media
- How to define, influence, and target your message, and how to measure your impact
- Overview of free and low-cost digital tools you can use to help plan your campaigns
The marketplace has shifted. In the past two years, this dramatic shift has profoundly reshaped the behavior of AEC buyers–in many cases, more so than in previous crises in recent memory. Hinge’s ongoing research on buyers and sellers helps us track those changes — and how to use this information to help AEC firms win more business–again and again, in shorter cycles.
Karl Feldman will uncover the latest data on AEC buyers and explore buyers’ thoughts about their AEC service providers, their top challenges, and their sources of information. You’ll learn where buyers are looking, what tips the scales in favor of providers, and more.
Takeaways:
- What buyer challenges or priorities have shifted?
- Are referrals still a sustainable marketing strategy?
- How are buyers searching for and evaluating professional services firms?
- How do you address changes in buyer behavior and engage your critical key audiences?
Thursday, August 10
Get centered and ready for the day with yoga from instructor Jasmine on the pool deck. Bad weather? Head to room 406 instead.
Registration is open for all inquiries and for any attendees who need to pick up badges.
LinkedIn, the Power Platform for Business Growth
Join us for an informative keynote on why LinkedIn is no longer just a social media platform, but a powerful business tool that every company needs to leverage. Richard will discuss the five pitfalls that often hold back companies in the construction, architecture and engineering industries from achieving success on LinkedIn, as well as the key element necessary for a successful LinkedIn strategy: your employees.
You'll also learn about how to have a successful LinkedIn content strategy, including the rise of AI-powered solutions such as ChatGPT. Our speaker will share valuable tips on how to make the most of the LinkedIn algorithm to boost your views, engagement, and conversions, resulting in more business opportunities and leads.
Don't miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights and practical advice that will help your company succeed on LinkedIn and beyond.
Internal and external communications at many A/E/C firms are an underdeveloped part of the total marketing program. As a result, firms are missing valuable opportunities to convey their mission, values, and expertise to current and potential employees, clients, and partners. Communications is critical to advance the voice and visibility of a firm as well as the expertise and ideas of its people. Given the evolution of the marketplace, storytelling and social media are more influential than ever. Yet, communications is often an afterthought, rather than a priority.
What would a successful communications strategy look like for your firm? During this session, speakers will outline best practices for a robust communications program; from strategy to production, defining necessary roles and responsibilities, and providing guidance on how to clarify goals that make sense for every firm—no matter its scale, expertise, and approach. Recommendations will reflect speakers’ hands-on experience working with a wide variety of A/E/C firms, both as former employees and external consultants.
Data is vital to a firm’s success, but many firms do not use the data they collect to make decisions. The goal of a data-driven leader is to turn data into information, information into knowledge, knowledge into insight, and insight into competitive advantage. This presentation will teach professionals in the A/E/C industries to become strong data-driven leaders who know:
- Data is an asset but only when refined
- When data is understood and communicated as information, you can use it proactively
- A culture of data stewardship ensures policies and standards turn into practice empowering staff to be data-driven
- Every employee–yes, every single team member—has a data role and must take responsibility for the part they play in the firm's data success
- Data is a lifestyle, not a diet
This is a must-attend workshop to protect the business asset of data and transform your business through data-driven leadership.
There are several strategies to employ to help your leaders say no to the wrong opportunities and yes to the right ones. It starts with a well-thought-out and consistent practice of a go/no-go (GNG) system. A robust GNG system will weed out the scope creepers, the bottom feeders, and the RFQ tricksters. Once your GNG system is operational, track the metrics and share with firm leadership. Demonstrate the value of the GNG system with numbers and logic that have high winners and losers predictability and how it affects the bottom line. Increase your value by moving from proposal generator to marketing leader!
As stated by Megan Miller of Deltek, “According to the 39th Annual Deltek Clarity A&E Industry Study, only 35% of firms have formal go/no go strategy for all opportunities, and 24% for strategic opportunities.
A&E services have become commoditized due to heavy competition, fee pressure, and self-sabotaging behaviors motivated by negative, self-limiting beliefs. Fear of losing, fear of upsetting clients, even fear of being “too expensive” are causing your firm to lose out on higher fees, change orders, and upsells.
In this presentation, June Jewell will reveal her 5-step process to help your firm break the trap of commoditization, stop competing on price and embrace your true value so you can get better clients and higher fees.
You'll also learn how to identify the right content sources to make your content creation process easier, and how different content formats such as text, carousel posts, polls, and videos can impact the performance of your content. Moreover, Richard will share his recipe for the perfect LinkedIn post, detailing the eight essential ingredients that should be included in every post. You will also discover how to nurture your post to generate up to six times more views, engagement, and conversions, potentially leading to new business opportunities. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from a content strategy expert and take your content game to the next level. Register now to attend Richard's breakout session and unlock the full potential of your content strategy.
Takeaways:
- Setting clear goals and KPIs for measuring the success of your content strategy
- The five pillars of successful LinkedIn content strategies to diversify your content strategy for different goals How identifying the right content sources and utilizing different content formats can impact the performance of your content.
- Implementing the eight essential ingredients for the perfect LinkedIn post and nurturing for increased views, engagement, and potential leads
Join AEC leaders in the video marketing space as they discuss how the most effective form of visual marketing is taking our industry by storm. Learn how you can integrate video into your marketing strategy, from storyboarding, to editing, to shooting, and storytelling.
As a firm leader in the AEC industry, you understand the importance of a healthy cash flow to ensure the financial stability and success of your firm. If you're looking for practical, proven strategies to overcome common cash flow challenges and optimize your financial situation, you've come to the right place. Bolanle Williams-Olley, CFO and Co-owner of Mancini Duffy, will lead an engaging and informative session on "Blueprints for Financial Success," providing you with a comprehensive blueprint for boosting your bottom line and achieving greater financial confidence.- The most common cash flow challenges facing AEC firms, and how to overcome them.
- Proven strategies for improving cash flow, including tips for managing accounts receivable and optimizing billing practices.
- Best practices for forecasting and budgeting to ensure financial success in the long term.
If you are a Principal or Marketing Executive at an A/E/C firm, it is likely that there have been times when you have questioned whether or not your firm’s marketing and business development efforts are as effective as they could be. If you are still relying on word of mouth, relationships, and your resume, then you are most certainly behind.
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) has been used by the world’s leading B2B brands for nearly two decades, and A/E/C firms are rapidly adopting the methodology. ABM enables firms to align their marketing and business development resources with the firm’s highest-value clients and targets and specific key pursuits.
Key takeaways for the session includes:
- Why are AEC firms flocking to ABM now?
- How adopting an Account Based Marketing strategy will streamline your costs and help you achieve better results;
- How ABM is the most effective way to elevate your brand visibility with specific customers;
- How AEC firms are actually generating marketing qualified leads online;
- How the use of online campaigns can gain a competitive edge on specific project pursuits.
Learner Outcomes
- How AEC firms are actually generating marketing qualified leads online
- Why AEC firms flocking to ABM now as their sales and marketing strategy.
- How the use of online campaigns can gain a competitive edge on specific project pursuits.
Prioritizing mental health in the workplace has become imperative for employers and employees alike. This presentation aims to explore workplace trends in mental health and wellbeing to include making a compelling business case for supporting the mental health of employees, components of positive climate and culture in the workplace, methods to reduce stigma, the relationship between stress, burnout, and mental health along with strategies for mitigation, and the need for ongoing commitment from both employees and employers. Practical tips, case studies, assessments, prompts, and valuable insights will be shared to incite action to create a mentally healthy workplace for individuals, managers, and organizations resulting in improved impact.
Focuses on why important, key components and characteristics, how you measure the journeys success through metrics and KPIs, the role leadership plays, internal obstacles one could face ,and how to overcome them, and using data for both strategic and tactical support of the ultimate objective….also the importance of an “everyone sells” mindset to drive profitable growth on a consistent basis.
In this session, Dr. Thatch will review the steps we’ve taken to reach our current state as we celebrate 50 years of business. She’ll discuss what it will take to accelerate improvement over the next 50 years because she believes we can all agree that progress in DEI has been slow and currently, the perception is that we are actually losing ground. To remain current, at the very least or to generate a competitive advantage, this session will provide you with the tools to take that next best step towards creating an inclusive workplace culture, especially when that next step can sometimes feel like it has the potential to be a landmine. Navigate the path to inclusion with confidence.
Kick off an evening to remember with OpenAsset at The Golden Hour PreParty on Level 4. Enjoy a Proposal Paloma or Construction Cosmo, capture memorable moments with our photo booth and party favors to keep, and grab a sweet treat before the main ballroom doors open!
Included with full conference registration.
Hosted by
Friday, August 11
Get centered and ready for the day with yoga from instructor Jasmine on the pool deck. Bad weather? Head to room 406 instead.
Resilience is defined as an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change. With a world experiencing a level of disruption not seen in generations, some organizations freeze and fail while others innovate, advance, and even thrive. The difference is resilience. The accelerating pace of change calls for leaders to build organizational resilience to ensure long-term viability by fostering a change-ready culture to lead through disruption. Building resilience is also associated with increasing job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and employee engagement while contributing to improved self-esteem, sense of control, sense of purpose in life, and improved employee interpersonal relationships.
Similarly, in life, the ability to cope with personal challenges often requires an inner strength that supports an individual’s ability to rebound and recover. This strength is also referred to as “resilience.” Resilient people don't dwell on misfortune, change, or failure; rather, they acknowledge the situation, learn from it, and move forward. And while many of us have some level of natural resiliency, resiliency is a skill that can be learned and improved upon with practice – and patience. When you replace “why is this happening to me” with “what is this trying to teach me,” everything shifts.
Jen Newman, FSMPS, CPSM, a 25-year A|E|C veteran shares lessons she learned in resiliency through her experience navigating the challenges coping with a cancer diagnosis and the aftermath of treatment that anyone can apply in business or life.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Understand the importance of building resilience for personal and organizational growth.
- Discover the five tactics for building resilience in business and life.
- Learn how to foster a growth mindset and view obstacles as opportunities for growth.
Proposals and presentations don’t have to be a snore-fest! Capturing your audience’s attention is essential in today’s highly competitive landscape, but it doesn’t mean cramming technical jargon and robotic details down your readers’ throats with every sentence.
The answer lies in the power of storytelling.
Storytelling is a common tactic in marketing, yet often overlooked in proposals and presentations. Here's the thing: you can ignite a connection with the agencies reviewing these proposals and making multi-million-dollar investment decisions with persuasive strategy — after all, they’re human too.
In this workshop, we'll delve into the psychology of content and storytelling fundamentals, exploring ways to effectively capture and keep your reader's attention with words that persuade and sound like you. You'll discover how to create compelling narratives that connect with your audience and differentiate your proposal from the sea of sameness.
Together, we’ll work on prompts to strengthen your skills and find new angles you can use to weave storytelling into your proposals and presentations, igniting interest, differentiating your content from all others, making a lasting impression, and, ultimately, winning more business.
Learning Objectives:
- Why storytelling is important and critical to our ability to persuade
- The rhetorical triangle and the three appeals
- Humanizing your brand + creating connection with readers
- Benefit-rich content versus feature-heavy content
- How to develop compelling win theme statements
- Action verbs + power words to help you write persuasively
- Kairos methodology
- Tips and tricks to get the stories out of your SME’s head + onto paper
- Avoid death by PowerPoint to persuade + close the deal
Audience Engagement:
- Choose your words wisely game
- Match different types of storytelling strategies with specific examples
- Various interactive components throughout workshop
This valuable and timely deep dive will prepare executives and leaders to diagnose unrest and disengagement within their workforce and implement strategies that will help them retain their high-caliber talent. From engagement to process improvement, attendees will learn about strategies and tools to finetune high-performing teams.
Most job postings are awful. They are documents made up by managers copying and pasting content they like, only to leave candidates feeling confused by this jumble of skills and requirements that don’t make sense.
This mistake costs companies thousands of dollars every year as jobs sit open without applicants, the wrong candidates apply, or worse: the wrong people get hired. Where do you start? Learn to write a better job posting. People who have attended this session with job post writing expert Katrina Kibben have said it made job post writing fast, efficient, and highly effective in attracting qualified candidates.
OBJECTIVES:
- Use marketing job titles that will increase traffic to your posts,
- A hiring manager intake template that creates trust early in the experience,
- Techniques for creating mandatory requirements that make the right people apply,
- Tips for measuring the results of a great job post,
- And more!
Attendees will leave this session armed with the tools and techniques to create a job post in 30 minutes (or less) that will make the right person apply.
We know that today’s AEC industry is highly competitive and placing clients in the center of our business focus is crucial for sustained growth and success. It is easy for organizations, however, to overlook a vital factor that is key to creating exceptional client experiences- the employee experience. This workshop aims to help AEC marketers and business developers embrace the profound connection between employee experience and client satisfaction.
Do not worry if you and your organization are new to the journey of CX and EX. Through collaborative discussions and activities, this workshop will explore key strategies and practical approaches that can dramatically influence the way AEC firms operate. Participants will gain valuable insights into how an enhanced employee experience and engagement can underpin an exceptional client experience and help their organizations create a vibrant, client-centric ecosystem. Organizations that are supported and empowered by an engaged workforce are superiorly positioned for better results and long -term business success.
Session description forthcoming....
Future Thinking in an Uncertain World: A Lightweight Method for Strategic Foresight
What do you do when tomorrow is nothing like yesterday? Nobody can predict the future, but strategic foresight helps us proactively move toward preferred futures instead of blindly reacting to emergencies. Through futures thinking, Kelly Tsao makes strategic foresight accessible to a wider audience the same way that design thinking democratizes design practices. Learn methods such as trend analysis, scenario planning, and back-casting to bring futurism to your everyday life and work.