Block Party BBQ

On June 13th, our chapter celebrated summer by getting together for a Block Party and BBQ at Carmichael’s Courtyard in Chicago – and it turned out to be a great evening!

See our Flickr page for the photos from this event … thanks to Bob and Rachel for their photography!

This year, archi-treasures is turning up the heat with Havana nights. Enjoy delectable Latin cuisine and our signature cocktail – available only at Jewels in July – while listening to live music and taking in the beautiful views of the city. Indulge in a silent auction, showcasing art, crafts, photography, specialty items and services, and more!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013
6 – 9 p.m.

Drinker, Biddle & Reath LLP
191 N. Wacker, Suite 3700
Chicago, IL 60606

Advance tickets $75

http://architreasures.org/

The Midwest PMCM Business Development Specialist (BDS) will identify and assess markets, clients and opportunities that are within the City as well as outside of Chicago. Lead generation, research, tracking opportunities and client activity within the expanded Midwest region will be primarily via computer and phone, with an occasional opportunity to connect in person. Research will include monitoring local news, obtaining the real story behind client CIPs, following client board meetings via agenda and client websites, and monitoring local news. The successful BDS will be able to work with the operations and marketing leads, pursuit teams, clients, and organizations locally, as well as, at a distance.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Identifying and tracking market trends, potential pursuits and strategic clients
• Participation in planning client and pursuit development
• Conduct opportunity and client research
• Assist Central Marketing Lead and Operations Lead with developing client relationships
• Participation in industry and client organizations as a strategic part of client development
• Set up meetings with clients, internal teams and professional organizations
• Support preparation for key presentations and proposals
• Work with Marketing Manager in the development of collateral pieces and client submittals, as needed
• Maintain client contacts in the CRM and SharePoint systems
• Track goals and produce internal reports, as needed

REQUIREMENTS

Minimum years of experience- 5

Education-  BS/BA degree in Marketing, Communications, English, Business or a related field (or equivalent professional experience)

Required Qualifications:

• Professional demeanor
• Ability to network and connect with clients, teaming partners and professional organizations
• Strong Microsoft Office skills for letters, reports, spreadsheets, and presentations
• Strong Outlook skills for calendar management
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Proficient with internet research

To apply, email Vicky Foster

Vicki.foster@arcadis-us.com

The committee is creating videos made up of a collection of photographic images of SMPS members, and their dreams, in any setting of their choosing. The video that is created will loop periodically throughout conference with differing lengths.

Here’s the scoop, it’s this easy:

Take a photo of yourself and tell us your dream!

The photo can be in any setting you wish, or photoshop the destination of your dreams in the background, and add a word bubble stating your dream. The dream could be for yourself, your firm, your family, your SMPS Chapter, anything at all that you dream about.  If you choose to complete the whole image, thought bubble and all, perfect! But if you are challenged in the graphic arts, like a lot of us, when you send the photo in, explain the background you want or leave the background alone, and we’ll add the word bubble with your dream statement.

A recent example was a member with the image of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in the background (using Photoshop). Their word bubble said: “I dream of finding marketing inspiration while traveling through Italy”

Here are the instructions of what to do and where to send it.  http://www.buildbusiness.org/attachments/0003/4776/video_instructions.pdf

Inspired by: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r5gBPM2SuA&list=PLB77DF7E51C8E2D54

And of course, make sure you’re tweeting or following all the great tweets from Conference July 31-August 2.

#smps2013 – for all conference information and promotions #smps2013dreams – for inspirational quotes and sharing dreams

See you in Orlando this summer!

Our 2013 EMA Awards Event was hosted at Cannon Design on May 9, and good times were had by all! … see our chapter’s Flickr page for photos from this event.

At this event, the stars of the AEC industry came out to see who would be the first ever SMPS Chicago Excellence in Marketing Awards winners. Held in Cannon Design’s innovative office space, the inaugural EMA Cocktail Reception was a resounding success.

Guest mingled, enjoyed cocktails and snacked on appetizers as they excitedly awaited the announcement of the night’s big winners.  President Kate Mullaney did the honors of presenting the awards to the EMA winners, who also received a registration for the upcoming Heartland Regional Conference. 

For External Marketing, the EMA went to Wiss Janney Elstner for their Book/Monograph, The WJE Perspective.  As one judge noted, the book was a “striking, beautiful work.”  “A great concept. I could look at this for hours,” added another judge of the gift for employees and clients that showcases the best photography submitted as part of an annual employee photo contest.

For Internal Marketing, the EMA was awarded to Pepper Construction for their Special Event, Health Wellness Week.  Described by the judges as “excellent internal marketing for HR and strengthening of company culture,” the Health Wellness event sought to introduce and publicize the newly created Pepper Illinois Wellness Committee and its mission to promote a worksite culture supporting healthy lifestyle choices.

The event would not have been possible without the generous contributions of our sponsors.  Thank you to the following companies for their support:

• Pepper Group
• Bob Elmore Photography
• Astek
• Multivista
• Davey Resource Group
• Cushing, in-kind sponsor for all signage
• Cannon Design, event host

A note of thanks also goes to the Executive Advisory Panel who graciously donated their time to serve as the judging panel for the EMAs.  Their participation provided all nominees with expert feedback on their marketing materials.

And last but certainly not least, thank you to all SMPS Chicago members for supporting the EMAs and making this a spectacular inaugural event.  And don’t forget it’s never too early to start planning your 2014 EMA entry!

Thanks to Brooke Beckner (www.benesch.com) and Bob Elmore Photography for photographing this event!

Please contact Bob with inquiries about these photos, or how he could help your firm document a featured building project: BElmorePhoto@comcast.net

The Marketing Specialist is responsible for providing marketing and business development support to individual Business Lines within the company, with a focus on strategic marketing, pursuit positioning strategy and proposal development/content authoring. The position will operate as part of the corporate marketing team and also have responsibility for marketing support across the organization, as needed.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Supports the development of materials for proposals, statements of qualification, case studies, interviews, and presentations, recognizing the unified branding of the company.
• Writes proposal text and cover letters.
• Coordinates customization of staff resumes, project experience lists, project case studies, graphics and cover letters.
• Assists with preparation of interview/ presentation materials which may include poster flipcharts, PowerPoint slides, and/or multi-media productions.
• Works directly with assigned project pursuit team including Pursuit Leaders, Project Managers, Client Service Managers (CSMs), and technical staff to gather information for the above and developing content tailored to individual Request for Proposals (RFP) requirements.
• Manages project pursuit process and schedule and coordinates timely receipt of assigned task materials from project pursuit team, including sub-consultants.
• Identifies opportunities for press releases and coordinates with technical staff and Branding/Communications department to facilitate development.
• Maintains and provides support for staff on marketing information systems, including the Vision CRM and Proposal database.
• Manages concurrent proposal efforts.
• Coordinates production, distribution, and shipping of above materials and other client deliverables within required schedules.
• Maintains collateral/materials library in the firm’s content management systems and Vision database.
• Identifies strategic marketing campaigns.
• Tracks marketing campaign response and effectively uses client/prospect system to track leads and communicate follow-up items to CSMs.
• Coordinates participation in selected trade shows and conferences including booth space selection and registration.
• Coordinates development of display graphics and booth literature, give-away selection/ordering, staffing the booth, as well as shipping and return of display.
• Attends tradeshows and/or other events as needed to represent the Business Lines.
• Coordinates website updates with the Marketing team.
• Available for occasional travel.

Education and/or Experience

• BA/BS degree, ideally in Marketing, Communications, or a similar discipline is required.
• Must have at least five years of related professional experience that includes proposal development, preferably in an engineering, architecture, environmental services, or related environment.
• Must have demonstrated strong written and oral communications skills with a predisposition to proactive communications.
• Must be detail-oriented and set high standards for quality.
• Must have ability to work within a team, build relationships and work effectively at all levels of an organization including business development and technical staff.
• Must have demonstrated ability to work effectively on a variety of projects concurrently, in a demanding environment, under tight deadlines.
• Must possess strong proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook as well as Adobe Photoshop, InDesign and Acrobat. Experience using Deltek Vision a plus; database or content management experience is helpful.

Certificates, Licenses, and Registrations

The employee must be capable of driving/operating a motor vehicle for company business, and maintain a valid driver’s license in the state of residence.

Language Skills

Ability to read and interpret documents, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write reports and correspondence. Must be able to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with employees, managers, and vendors.

Reasoning Ability

Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

Relationship to Others

Reports directly to the Marketing Director with daily oversight by the Marketing Specialist III and works closely with other Marketing team members, Project Managers, Client Service Managers, Pursuit Leaders, and technical staff.

Physical Demands

Work is primarily performed in the office with occasional trips to a client’s site, post office, bank, or other locations as needed. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to sit for prolonged period of time, stand, walk, talk, hear, and reach with hands or arms. Hand eye coordination is necessary to operate computers and other office equipment. The employee is also required to kneel, crouch, bend and lift/move up to 30 pounds.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

To Apply, email Nicole Dunbar

ndunbar@hrgreen.com

http://www.smpsheartland.org/2013-heartland-regional-conference-registration/

Roundtable discussions

Updated photos!
Our May Luncheon Program was held in the East Bank Club, and was a great success! Here’s a slideshow of photos from this event.

Thanks to Bob Elmore for his professional photography at this event.

Here are ways your investment in Build Business can pay off for your firm, your career, and your staff.

Identify new business and partnering opportunities—and solidify those you already have. Extend your sales force by building critical relationships and contacts among attendees representing the Engineering News–Record Top 500 Design Firms and Top 400 Contractors.

Secure business intelligence. Discover what other professionals know about upcoming projects and opportunities to win work or make new connections.

Master service to your clients. The key to success in this economy is to stay focused on clients. Attend client panels on the transportation and retail markets, as well as the future of public-private partnerships. Use this knowledge to develop stronger client relationships for your firm.

Differentiate your firm. Gain cutting-edge data, best practices, benchmarks, and marketing and business development ideas—information not available anywhere else—to position your firm more solidly in its markets.

Access the latest industry research. Be among the first to hear the results of new research by the SMPS Foundation on the future of business development.

In this podcast, hear how SMPS member Cricket Robertson, CPSM, makes her case to attend conference:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4-lAguNfOs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

We’re looking for someone who can help us leverage McKissack & McKissack’s track record for consistently delivering results on time sensitive, complex, high profile projects performed for both government and private sector clients. You’ll need to have the following qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, Communications, or Business
• At least 2 years of relevant experience in the A/E/C industry
• Superior verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to directly contact clients and set up meetings for our firm’s key managers and executives
• Ability to attend presolicitation meetings and networking functions, as needed
• Experience maintaining marketing materials and developing proposals
• Ability and willingness to work evenings and/or weekends, when needed, and on short notice
• Ability to understand the big picture, but still get the details right
• Proficiency in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Internet research, Photoshop, and proofreading
• The initiative and drive to follow-through without prodding or direct supervision
• Strong prioritization and organizational skills
• Professional appearance and demeanor
• Valid driver’s license
• Ability to lift and carry 40 pounds

McKissack & McKissack is a 150-person, minority woman-owned architectural, engineering, and construction services firm with offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. We provide services in three primary practice areas: Buildings (facilities planning & management, architecture, and interior design); Infrastructure (transportation, civil site design, hydraulic design, and linear utilities), and Program & Construction Management. Our firm is ranked by Engineering News-Record as one of the top 50 program management and top 100 construction management for-fee firms in the United States. The firm is also ranked by the Washington Business Journal as one of the top 25 Environmental Consultant firms in the Washington Metropolitan area. To learn more, visit www.mckissackdc.com. For consideration please send a cover letter and resume with salary history to resumes@mckissackdc.com. Equal Opportunity Employer.