Feature article by Linda Mastaglio and Matt Handal about marketers "who are unleashing new ideas to elevate their firms' marketing programs and cultures." I'm honored to be included with this talented group of marketers.

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What We Can Learn
from Marketers
Making a Difference
BY LINDA MASTAGLIO, ABC, AND MATT HANDAL
Society for Marketing Professional Services

2. 9
G
reat marketing happens when people open their minds According to President Timothy Haahs, P.E., AIA, “The thing
to inventive ideas. We asked the members of SMPS to that set Rachel apart was her ability to learn, process, and teach
tell us about people who are unleashing new ideas architects and engineers about LEED and sustainable design,
to elevate their firms’ marketing programs and cultures. We met as a non-technical professional. We realized her ability to speak
marketing coordinators, directors, vice presidents, and everyone in and write on these topics and continue to make this a part of
between. While we can’t highlight every story we heard, following our strategy for differentiation.”
are a handful that might inspire your own creativity and innovative
thinking in 2013. Yoka’s research contributed to a 2012 report produced by the
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and
the Pacific: “Low Carbon Green Growth Roadmap for Asia and
The Game Changer the Pacific: Turning Resource Constraints and the Climate Crisis
Five years ago, the green building movement began to gain into Economic Growth Opportunities.” The report outlines a
steam by showing true return on investment for owners and series of policies and strategies to promote economic growth in
clients—yet it had not been widely pursued in the parking developing countries, providing governments and policymakers
industry. Parking—the primary focus of Philadelphia-based with policy options for pursuing low-carbon green growth and
Timothy Haahs & Associates, Inc. (TimHaahs)—creates guidelines for implementing those options.
significant opportunities to support sustainable planning,
design, and construction, yet much of the green building Yoka was selected as the 2012 Parking Professional of the
industry largely ignored the issue. Rachel Yoka, CPSM, Year by the International Parking Institute. She continues
TimHaahs’ first vice president of strategic business planning and to speak, educate, and write on sustainability in the parking
sustainability, decided to leverage this window of opportunity. and transportation industries as she works on TimHaahs’
international expansion.
She pursued the LEED AP designation, earned the BD+C
credential, and then decided to do more than just pursue
continuing education credits. Yoka conducted research, created
The Collaborative Communicator
and hosted programs, and motivated her colleagues to pursue Running a corporate marketing department for a global company
LEED accreditation for technical professionals as well as with a staff of two is no small feat, but Maribel Castillo, associate
management and leadership. In one year, the firm shifted from vice president and director of corporate communications, has
a few outlier APs to more than 25% staff accreditation. She figured out how to do it at T.Y. Lin International (TYLI). Her
launched and spearheaded the firm’s Sustainability Initiative, team is credited with helping increase revenue from $163 million
educating staff on internal office sustainability programs as well in 2009 to $250 million in 2011.
as client-driven solutions that are now integrated into the firm’s
projects. These strategies include green roofs and walls, cool Here is her approach: Assist the company’s 35 marketers
roofing and lighting choices, renewable energy production, to work together, to collaborate, and to execute strategic
and water management and preservation. marketing programs.
“Great marketing happens when people open their minds to inventive ideas.
”
Marketer/December 2012

3. 10
“Her success comes from cultivating a vision that everyone can
buy into and then encouraging individuals’ strengths so that they
The President and COO
shine in their specific areas of expertise,” says Pam Ching, the firm’s One of the people we heard about is an unexpected champion
senior marketing coordinator. “Maribel guides marketers across of marketing: He is Robert Scaer, P.E., the president and chief
more than 50 offices to embrace a common purpose and share operating officer of Gannett Fleming.
knowledge and resources.”
Gannett Fleming’s marketing traditionally had been executed
By using this platform prudently and practically, TYLI’s corporate in silos. The various divisions of the company hired their own
marketing department has successfully implemented strategic marketing representatives, who rarely communicated, making
initiatives including a new client relationship management it difficult to ensure marketing standards across the board and
database, a global Web site in English and Chinese, an internal comprehensive messaging across the enterprise. Scaer supported
communications program, and a social media campaign that the consolidation of marketing into one team and changed the
has generated more than 3,540 followers on Twitter, Facebook, dynamic of marketing throughout the company.
and LinkedIn.
With all marketing now in one shop, the team is drawing on
In the past three years, Castillo’s team also has garnered a record- everyone’s combined talents, energies, and creativity. The team
breaking number of accolades, including six awards for TYLI’s provides a consistent and comprehensive message across the
new Web site, which won an SMPS Marketing Communications enterprise. This marketing strategy has been especially valued
Award (MCA). The team also earned three MCAs in the categories as companies continue to weather tough economic times.
of media relations, brochure, and internal newsletter.
Scaer told his people that smart marketing would be critical for
So, what is Castillo’s secret? “She brings the kind of forward- acquiring work and positioning the firm for better days. He called
thinking and energy that TYLI needs to compete in the global his strategy the “chicken-in-every-pot” initiative after a 1928
market,” says Marwan Nader, a TYLI vice president. presidential campaign advertisement. For Gannett Fleming, “a
chicken in every pot” means each region has a marketing champion
who helps to drive business growth. With marketing and business
development working together, the 2,000-person firm created
Professionals Featured in This Article
Megen Briars Wendy Burke Maribel Castillo Kelly McNair, CPSM
Director of Marketing Director of Business Development Associate Vice President, Marketing Systems Manager
OKW Architects Inc. HOAR Construction Director of Corporate Barton Malow Company
Communications
Chicago, IL Houston, TX Southfield, MI
T.Y. Lin International
www.okwarchitects.com www.hoarllc.com www.bartonmalow.com
San Francisco, CA
www.tylin.com
Society for Marketing Professional Services

4. 11
54 marketing and business plans in 2011. Scaer offered feedback The group’s mission is to provide a forum for female sales
for each business plan and helps staff remain accountable for executives to expand their personal ties and influence and,
executing the plans and achieving revenue and profit goals. consequently, increase the value of their professional networks—
and thus themselves—to their A/E/C firms. They targeted
Now, strategic business planning and strategic marketing are senior-level saleswomen and limited membership to just 60,
common terms used throughout the company, demonstrating using a formal application process. Ten percent of the group’s
how the firm values an integrated approach to marketing and members are younger women who are collectively mentored.
business development to achieve business goals.
The group meets monthly and features speakers about half the
When Scaer introduced the firm’s first CRM system, he worked time, recently including Houston Mayor Annise Parker. “Our
to make sure employees understood how the system supports speakers focus on their lessons learned and critical success factors,
marketing and business development. He let them know helping us leverage their experience,” Burke says. In August, a
why they should make the change, instead of just telling WiSER chapter began in Dallas, and the founders anticipate
them what to change. He also encourages employee involvement several more chapters in the next few years.
in professional organizations so that they become lifelong
learners. At Gannett Fleming, 14 employees are members of
SMPS; 8 of them are CPSMs.
The Builders
Seeking to help women succeed in the A/E/C business,
Wendy Burke, director of business development with HOAR
Construction in Houston, and Amy Moen, CPSM, vice president
and director of marketing for Haynes Whaley Associates, two
years ago founded WiSER: Women in Sales Executive Roles.
“SMPS is a fantastic organization, but we wanted something
senior-level and totally sales-focused,” Burke says.
Amy Moen, CPSM Robert Scaer, P.E. Jeffrey Taub, CPSM Rachel Yoka, LEED AP BD+C,
Associate Vice President, President and Chief Senior Marketing Specialist CNU-A, CPSM
Director of Marketing Operating Officer VHB Vice President, Strategic Business
Haynes Whaley Associates Inc. Gannett Fleming New York, NY Planning and Sustainability
Houston, TX Harrisburg, PA www.vhb.com Timothy Haahs & Associates
www.hayneswhaley.com www.gannettfleming.com Blue Bell, PA
www.timhaahs.com
Marketer/December 2012

5. 12
The Ethicist
Jeffrey Taub, CPSM, senior marketing specialist at VHB, both
walks the walk and talks the talk of ethical marketing, including
letting clients know the implications of hiring his firm.
According to Thomas Phelan, VHB’s Newark, NJ, office manager,
professional integrity has been a hallmark of Taub’s 12-year career
as a marketer.
“As the marketing director of Eng-Wong, Taub & Associates, an
MBE-certified firm which merged with VHB in 2011, Jeffrey was
in a position of profound ethical responsibility in representing
In 2011, Maribel Castillo co-led the publication of The Bridge at Hoover our MBE status to teaming partners,” Phelan says. “New York
Dam, an award-winning monograph by photographer Jamey Stillings City’s Local Law 129 stated that no MBE credit would be
and T.Y. Lin International, which commemorates the opening of the granted for Asian-American businesses (such as Eng-Wong,
Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Bridge, also known as the Hoover Dam
Bypass Bridge. The book has become a key marketing piece for the
Taub & Associates) providing professional services. Jeffrey first
firm, and it has been distributed to TYLI’s clients around the world. educated our clients of this statute and proceeded to diligently
cite the statute when we were approached by teaming partners—
even as our firm continued to be MBE-certified by the city. He
could have said nothing but chose instead to warn and educate
The Big-Picture Thinker prospective business partners about the law’s implications for
Kelly McNair, CPSM, marketing systems manager at Barton MBE utilization goals in their proposals.”
Malow, thinks big but uses a soft touch. Marketing director
Taub’s articles on marketing ethics and hiring MBE firms have
Donna Jakubowicz, FSMPS, CPSM, calls McNair the firm’s
been published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers and
“marketing secret weapon.”
Real Estate Weekly.
“Kelly’s overall approach to marketing and communications is
holistic,” says Jakubowicz. “She looks at the bigger picture to
determine positive impact to the largest, yet targeted, audience.
She seeks to fit every assignment into the bigger picture of how
what she does will further client relationship development and
thereby positively impact Barton Malow’s bottom line.”
McNair’s recent initiatives for Barton Malow include implementing
a cloud-based system for digital asset management (graphics,
photos, and video) and turning the firm’s desktop-based
Filemaker database (for boilerplate text, staff resumes, and project
experience) into one that could be accessed by remote business
development staff through the Web. (The total one-time cost for
the latter was approximately $300, which is much less than systems
used by many firms.)
According to Jakubowicz, McNair has the ability to “sway hearts
and minds with her quiet confidence. She researches possible
outcomes and presents the facts to back up her suggested solutions.
Like Lyndon B. Johnson, she approaches building consensus by
working behind the scenes with individuals. By the time the larger
group of decision-makers convenes, she goes in knowing the
majority agree with her ideas and solutions.”
Society for Marketing Professional Services

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The Chapter Leader
In 2008, Megen Briars, director of marketing at OKW Architects,
Many thanks…
Inc., accepted the position of communications chair for SMPS To the many people who
Chicago. “Although her term as chair officially started in 2010,
contributed to this article:
she took on chair responsibilities with no questions asked in 2008,”
says chapter member Heather Askew. “She saw there was a need
Heather Askew
for structure and an opportunity to strengthen the chapter through
communications, and she has done that.” Megen Briars
From scratch, Briars created communications best practices, Arica Bukowski
a strategic plan, a committee mission statement, and roles and
Wendy Burke
responsibilities statements.
Matthew Campbell
In 2010, she conducted surveys and found that many member
frustrations could be fixed by effective communications. “She went Maribel Castillo
through hours and hours of Webinars on event registration systems
Pam Ching
and Web site platforms,” adds Askew. She brought the Cvent
registration system to the chapter as well as a new Wordpress Web Michael Costa, CPA
site designed by SMPS Washington, DC, member Frankie Bailey.
These two communication platforms increased event registration Ali Detar, CPSM
by more than 20% by improving the user registration experience. Danielle Feroleto, CPSM
Briars also enhanced the benefits for chapter sponsors with features Heather Hetherington
such as a “Sponsor Spotlight” in the chapter’s newsletter, premium
space on the home page, unique sponsor logo space on all Web site Donna Jakubowicz, FSMPS, CPSM
pages, and “Sponsor Shoutout” Wednesdays on Twitter. Judy Kienle, MPH, CPSM
Peter Kienle, FSMPS, CPSM
What’s Your Story?
Megan Kocchi
How will you innovate, influence, or inspire collaboration,
client service, communication, brand, technology, processes, or Megan Leinart, LEED AP BD+C
profitability in your firm, community, or chapter in 2013? Share
your story with us! Julie Lougee
Kelly McNair, CPSM
About the Authors Sylvia Montgomery, CPSM
Contributing Editor Linda Mastaglio, ABC, who Thomas Phelan
wrote the “Marketers Perform Their Own Reality
Checks” cover story in the February 2011 issue, Robert Scaer, P.E.
has helped many engineering, architecture, and
construction firms use public relations and Lindsay Scherr
marketing to improve their businesses, their
reputations, and their bottom lines. Linda can be Lisa Mary Shamakovh
reached at 903.963.8923 or Linda@twi-pr.com.
Jeffrey Taub, CPSM
Contributing Editor Matt Handal, who interviewed Mindy Wolfle
Cordell Parvin in the August 2012 issue, serves as
business development manager for Trauner Consulting Rachel Yoka, LEED AP BD+C, CNU-A, CPSM
Services, Inc. (www.traunerconsulting.com), and as
producer of the Construction Netcast podcast. He can
be reached at Matt.Handal@traunerconsulting.com or
Twitter.com’s @MattHandal. Subscribe to his articles
at HelpEverybodyEveryday.com.
Marketer/December 2012