Creating non-traditional peer groups allows AEC marketers to gain fresh perspectives and enhance creativity.
In her article in the August 7, 2023 issue of The Zweig Letter, Julia DeFrances wrote about the value of professional associations. Without doubt, being involved with organizations like Zweig Group or the Society for Marketing Professional Services can enhance your career and introduce you to many established experts in the fields of architecture, engineering, and construction.
However, sometimes breaking away from the establishment can also be beneficial.
In 1979, the concept of choosing your own adventure was introduced to young readers by Edward Packard and R. A. Montgomery. In their beloved series of stories, still available for sale and on library shelves, young readers get to choose what happens next. The choices made throughout the narratives guide the stories and control the outcomes.
The height of popularity for the books was in the 1980s, but the franchise is still going strong today. And in another plot twist, decades later, many other genres and industries have created their own spin on the concept: from cookbooks to date night plans to dinner with the kids – from travel itineraries to recruiting and retention themes. In September 2022, The New Yorker featured an article on the “enduring allure” of the series and in May of this year, The New York Times ran an article about choosing your own cookout salad adventure. Clearly the concept of choosing your own adventure is alive and well in 2024.
For AEC marketers, what I’m proposing is choosing your own marketing adventure by creating your own, perhaps non-traditional, peer group. This can be especially helpful for AEC marketers who work on a small team, or perhaps are a team unto themselves.
The cast of characters. Group members might include marketing professionals from related industries such as your print vendor, photography studio, or promotional giveaways vendor. Maybe you invite your favorite shop owner/independent retailer. What about those professionals you met while staffing your table at your last trade show or conference?
Where are the crossover points between business-to-consumer marketing and business-to-business? How does a [choose one: print vendor, photography studio, promotional giveaways vendor, independent retailer] use social media or email marketing? Are newsletters dead? What about blogs? How has conference attendance, and approaches to it, changed in the last five years? What topics can you explore and what insights can you gain from one another?
Setting the scene. Just as you might have a favorite place to curl up and read, where you choose to meet can also have an impact on your outcomes. You might prefer a formal group meeting to be held in your own private conference room. Or you may feel one-on-one meet-ups in a centrally located coffee shop are more energizing. Some groups may prefer to connect online or even outside. Is there opportunity for an actual meeting adventure – where the group takes to a trail or track?
Julia Webster Ayuso wrote in an article for Atmos Magazine, “Walking has been shown to optimize the inner workings of the brain, promoting new connections between brain cells, improving memory, and increasing the size of the hippocampus. In the same way that songs with a high tempo can help us move faster, the rhythm of our feet on the ground can help organize our thoughts, preventing distraction and boosting creativity. As opposed to sitting in a chair, moving the body can help stimulate the mind.”
The storyline. You may have an existing list of topics you wish you could bounce off of someone. Or you may prefer more open conversation, launched from a marketing blog, conference agenda, or recently published article or book.
In all cases, you need to come prepared. This is a give-and-take arrangement so you’ll need to be ready to share your marketing perspective in hopes of receiving in return.
Show-and-tell is a great way to get started and can also pre-qualify your group members. If someone doesn’t have at least one marketing [choose one: brochure, campaign, email, newsletter, blog, effort] that they are proud of and excited to share with your group, then this might not be the group for them.
What’s next? The power is in the perspectives. Just as with the choose-your-own-adventure books, where the outcome differs depending on the reader, your marketing peer group will be unique to you and your firm’s marketing approaches and brand. As well as the approaches and brands represented by those in your group.
Will everything shared within the group be immediately transferable to your marketing plan? Most likely, no. But by having these kinds of conversations, raising our awareness of different styles, and listening to leaders from outside our usual domain, we can be better informed and expand our creativity and thoughts surrounding what comes next in our world of AEC marketing. After all, don’t we all want to be the creator of our own adventure?
Jane Lawler Smith, MBA, is the marketing manager at Derck & Edson, LLC. She can be reached at jsmith@derckandedson.com.
