I’m reviewing a fascinating CD
from London, England, where various industry speakers discuss the challenges of marketing to architects. The issues there, as here, seem similar: How can you effectively position yourself either as a building materials or technology supplier to be specified, or, if you are a general contractor, how you can “connect” with the architect and owner before the project goes to public bid. One notable element of some speakers is the recognition by architects in many cases that power has shifted in the design-build space to contractors, and one speaker told about how he sometimes is required to specify/source materials from specific vendors associated with the overall project owner’s business (I suppose it is rarely wise to bite the hand that feeds you.)
In the U.K., as far as I can tell, the closest equivalent to the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) is the CIMCIG (Chartered Institute of Marketing Construction Industry Group).
I’ll provide some additional observations about the CIMCIG and architectural marketing tomorrow.
