the shortlist News
Q2 | 2015
The Award-Winning Publication of the Society for Marketing Professional Services San Francisco Bay Area Chapter
Marketing Outside the Box
Events
Education
www.smpssf.org
3 President’s Quarterly Update by Ginger Kelly
4 Marketing Across Industries
by Lisa Thomson, LEED AP
6 Demystifying Social Media by Karla Erovick
8 How Mergers and Acquisitions Impact Marketers – and How You Can Have an Impact By Diane Fischer & Sarah Coleman
9 The Society Page
by Daniel Carfora, CPSM, LEED AP
10 Arch
by John Grimes
11 New & Transferred Members The shortlist is produced and edited by the Communications Committee of the SMPS San Francisco Bay Area Chapter. Managing Editor - Al Anderson, NOVA Group, aanderson@novagrp.com Assignment Editors - Erin Clinch, Architectural Resources Group, e.clinch@argsf.com and John Covington, WSP, john.covington@wspgroup.com Designer – Ali Wasserman, Dome Construction, awasserman@domeconst.com Communications Committee Directors - Christiana Tjhin, Wilmer Hale, christiana.tjhin@wilmerhale.com and Traci Vogel, RMW, tvogel@rmw.com
11 Upcoming Events 12 Committee Member Spotlight: Catherine Clow by Tina Barni
12 New Member Spotlight: Hannah Mobarekeh by Tina Barni
the shortlist Thank you to our 2015 annual sponsors for making SMPS SFBAC such a success. We couldn’t do it without your generous support!
Platinum Golden Gate
Silverado Trail
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the shortlist President’s Quarterly Update by Ginger Kelly, RIM Architects
Building Relationships One Cup of Coffee at a Time… I can’t believe this is my last quarterly President’s Message for the Shortlist. The end of the term is coming up in August and Katie Spurlock will be taking over as your President on September 1, 2015. I am very excited for her term as she has some amazing ideas to continue to make SMPS SFBAC one of the best chapters in the nation. It has truly been an honor to serve the chapter. I look forward to working this summer with Katie and with the incoming board during our strategic planning. With the theme for my year being “Up Close and Personal,” this has been an inspiring time to get to know new faces and to build stronger relationships with such dedicated volunteers. Our National Striving for Excellence Award submittal was turned in last month and the theme was: “Up Close and Personal: Building Relationships One Cup of Coffee at a Time.” We were so fortunate this year to have Nespresso as our Top Bay Platinum Sponsor. What better way to build relationships than over a cup of coffee with our SMPS family and friends? If you have not had a chance to have coffee with me or another SMPS buddy, please reach out and let’s set a time.
This quarter’s issue is about “Marketing Outside the Box,” so I have been thinking outside the box to get some thoughts to share with our members. I watched carefully for different kinds of marketing over the long Memorial Day weekend. As I was driving around, I couldn’t help but notice the people that are hired to stand on a corner and wave a sign to get a passerby’s attention to come visit their store or buy their product. It made me wonder why they can’t just put the sign on a post and be done with it, but my son reminded me: “The waving of the sign is what gets your attention.” It’s true that you often have to make something move or flash in order to get someone’s attention. Don’t we do that when we think about our firm’s website or collateral? We want to do something to get the buyer’s attention. Would thinking outside the box be to use video or digital marketing? I know “flash” is out, so how are we drawing the attention of our clients?
Another way to help stimulate a buyer is to create urgency around making the decision. When we were looking for a new apartment, both times we stopped to look at a unit the sales associate said we should put down a deposit as it might not be available if we wait. This is one way to tug at your emotions by suggesting this is the one and only opportunity to make the deal. Personally, I don’t like this pressure, but it does remind me that sometimes if you don’t take the opportunity as it presents itself, it may not be there when you do make the decision. Lately it feels like we are on “high-speed” throttle at all times, with everyone expecting it “yesterday.” We have to be more aware of how to make quick decisions while thinking outside the box! As I mentioned above, one of the major keys to marketing is to appeal to emotions. As I was sitting at the baseball stadium watching the game, there was an older gentleman selling popcorn. A song came over the loudspeakers during the change of innings and he started dancing up a storm and waving the popcorn. He was very cute and I couldn’t help but think that I wanted to buy some popcorn from him because he was so darn amazing. I didn’t want any popcorn, but I wanted to buy it from him because he made me feel something. I couldn’t believe this 80+ year young man was walking up and down the stairs of the stadium to sell popcorn, all the while having a smile on his face and a dance in his feet. While searching the internet for ideas on thinking outside the box, I came across three great tips I want to share (extracted from http:// www.entrepreneur.com/article/224807) from one of the creative directors at MBooth, an “out of the box ideas company” (http:// mbooth.com/about/): 1. Set parameters to focus your ideas. Too much freedom can hinder your creativity. Boundaries help your memory function, giving your ideas more depth and breadth. “Too many times, people start off really broad,” Andrew Rossi, MBooth’s creative director, says. “That’s a lot of pressure. It’s easier to anchor an idea somewhere.” continued on the next page Page 3
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Marketing Across Industries by Lisa Thomson
2. Search for random inspiration. To think outside the box, you need to trigger your brain to make connections it normally wouldn’t make. To do that, look for inspiration that seems entirely unrelated to the problem. Rossi often prompts his team with unexpected words, like pineapple or sparkles for a car company. “Nine times out of ten, the ideas people are excited about are generated by the ridiculous random prompt,” he says. To find prompts, look at popular photos on Pinterest and trending words on Twitter, or click “I’m Feeling Lucky” in a Google search. 3. Aim for quantity, not quality. While you’re generating ideas, turn off your internal editor. Exhaust your good ideas and start throwing out suggestions that seem absurd or wrong. Remember, you can always make a bad idea better after the fact. Rossi finds that speed and friendly competition help people churn out ideas without judgment. Once, he put 100 one-dollar bills in the center of a table and told his team they could take one every time they said an idea. “In 15 minutes, we came up with 100 ideas,” he says. “Fifty of them were really interesting.” As a fellow marketer in the industry, I know it is one of the greatest joys of my job to be creative. I love to be a part of this organization that has the goal of creating business opportunities. Let’s have as much fun and inspiration as we build our relationships that build our business. A Few Reminders… Don’t forget we offer two one-year SMPS memberships as scholarships to those who meet the requirements to apply. We have awarded one scholarship so far and are looking for another candidate. Please contact me if you want any additional information. We are also looking for more volunteers to join a committee. The best benefit of SMPS is to serve with other volunteers. I have made some life-long relationships over the past five years being a volunteer. Take time to reach out to some of our directors to get more information about the roles on each committee so you can get the most out of your membership. Please take the time to read through our articles and features in this quarter’s Shortlist. If you have any questions about SMPS or just want to have a cup of coffee, please reach out to me!
Ginger vkelly@rimarchitects.com
Through organizations such as SMPS, A/E/C marketers have ample opportunities to learn from one another and share best practices. From CHAT sessions to the Business Leaders Forum, we trade advice on everything from troubleshooting InDesign to staff development. However, A/E/C is a small community and its marketers are a tight-knit bunch; we don’t often interact with our fellows from other industries. To learn about practices outside of A/E/C, I spoke with marketers from tech, consumer goods, and other professional services companies about their experiences.
Jennifer Duran is the Senior Manager of Marketing and
Communications for a 370-person regional B2B insurance firm. Similar to most A/E/C firms, the company’s marketing group is responsible for developing deadline-driven client materials, sales proposals, newsletters, and other collateral to support the firm’s different practices. However, unlike the A/E/C, marketers in the insurance world don’t have tangible examples of their work – such Collaborating well with as a new mixed-use building or other departments, a renovated community center – to help promote their services. however, can be tricky. “Our product is our expertise,” Duran explains. “A big part of our job is to make our clients’ lives easier, and make their jobs easier. We help them to feel confident that they are managing their risk effectively.”
Bridging the technology gap between Engineering and Marketing is a challenge that many A/E/C marketers can relate to.
To achieve this, the company has developed a robust outreach strategy to educate clients about legislative changes in healthcare, workers compensation, and other policies that might affect their businesses, as well as trends in risk management. The company disseminates this information through a variety of venues from blogs to direct e-mail campaigns, and also regularly partners with business journals to publish articles and case studies. “We look for ways to tangibly show how to mitigate risk and how to continued on the next page Page 4
the shortlist Marketing Across Industries - continued from the previous page
save money,” Duran says. “As a result, we are big on data.” To this end, the marketing group also works closely with practice leaders to develop and conduct client satisfaction surveys that help identify areas for improvement and also provide “happy client” content for marketing materials. But staying abreast of changing insurance regulations is difficult, as is getting busy Practice Leaders to provide the necessary technical content. “Balancing day-to-day demands with strategic efforts is an ongoing challenge,” Duran says.
Megan Mitchell is the former Community Manager for Method cleaning products. Her position
started off as customer relations but evolved into more of a social media focus as the company increasingly targeted these outlets to promote their products as well as to showcase lifestyle factors around the brand. “There are a lot of scrappy ways to keep people engaged and make them feel that there is something in it for them,” Mitchell says. At Method, this includes a variety of contests – like ”tell us about your favorite product” or “show us your clean kitchen” – where winners receive a year’s supply of product or other prizes. Method also takes advantage of its cult following to post “love letters” from customers. Initially, Mitchell utilized pay-to-play models for promoted posts on Facebook and Twitter, but later focused on Instagram. “Facebook is so much noise now,” she explains. “It’s getting harder and harder to use it as a marketing platform.” The most common theme During Mitchell’s tenure, Method also ran several campaigns partnering with well-established bloggers to promote the company’s sustainable practices and stringent policies against animal testing, such as a Cutest Pet photo contest that tied in to donations to the ASPCA. “We thought, let’s have people do something they are already doing, which is posting pictures of their pets,” she says.
among all three of the individuals I spoke with was the ever-increasing emphasis on data collection and analysis.
Despite Method’s investment in social media, Mitchell found that it was still difficult to tie efforts directly to sales: “It can be hard to make the case for social media, because it’s actually not free.” But, as she points out, you can’t put a price tag on building brand loyalty. Over the last 20 years, Brigitte Mouchet has worked in marketing and communications for a number of tech companies – including Sun Microsystems, Harmonic, and NetApp. Her roles have ranged from event planning to international public relations and competitive analysis. For the last several years, she has worked in Partner Communications, creating marketing materials for
newsletters, social media, and webcasts to equip resellers with key information about products and services. Tech companies typically have significantly more resources than do A/E/C firms, including budgets that will make your mouth water. For instance, while with Harmonic, Moulet focused primarily on trade shows and product launches, often spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on custom booths and supporting materials for a four-day stint. But while the budgets and salaries are bigger, so is the volatility. According to Mouchet, when a company is doing well, the marketing department has a tendency to grow rapidly, disrupting communication processes and often resulting in job redundancies, which leads the company to downsize. “Marketing for tech pays the best,” she says. “But part of marketing life in the Valley is getting laid off.” Regardless, Mouchet loves her work and contends that the marketing department is usually the most energetic, creative, and collaborative in any company. “Marketing is at its best when there is a product launch,” she says. “People come together to support the effort. I don’t see other departments doing this as much, meeting huge deadlines and huge efforts.” Collaborating well with other departments, however, can be tricky. Bridging the technology gap between Engineering and Marketing is a challenge that many A/E/C marketers can relate to. “You depend on the good will of your engineering colleagues to share technical information,” Mouchet explains. “To gain the respect of an engineer, you need to be really smart; otherwise, you’re considered a nice flowerpot.” While tech, consumer products, and professional services firms have differing focuses, their marketing departments appear to share many of the same challenges. In addition to communications and resource management, the most common theme among all three of the individuals I spoke with was the ever-increasing emphasis on data collection and analysis. As Mouchet says, “Marketing is becoming more mathematical. We now need statisticians and big data, but Marcom and data people don’t usually understand one another. This is a big challenge to the marketing role.” continued on the next page Page 5
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Demystifying Social Media by Karla Erovick
The Takeaway: 1. Be the Expert: While A/E/C firms aren’t likely to hold contests for free test-fits or Revit models, we can better educate our clients about code changes, advances in technology, industry trends, and other issues that affect them. As Duran said, “Make their lives easier.” This can be achieved through social media, strategic partnerships with business publications, or even a simple email campaign. In addition, we can build on our face-to-face relationships through speaking opportunities, panel discussions, or other targeted presentations. 2. Collect the Data: This will help position your firm as an expert, whether you’re calculating average square feet per employee in tech companies, or gallons of water saved through efficient plumbing systems. Collect the data and share it readily. 3. Share Your Love Letters: We all appreciate a referral from a trusted source. When a client, consultant, or colleague gives your team kudos for a job well done, share it with the world.
About the Author
Lisa Thomson is the Director of Marketing for STUDIOS Architecture, and has served on both the Programs and Communications Committees. She can be reached at lthomson@studios.com.
If your idea of a social media strategy is hoping it will just go away, you are going to be very disappointed. Social media has forever changed how we market our products and services. For better or worse, it has created the ability to communicate your message with an audience who can respond and interact with your brand. With a touch of a button we can disseminate our marketing messages throughout cyber-space. Twitter alone has 300 million users with over 500 million tweets each day in the Twitter universe. With so many conversations happening outside traditional marketing channels, wouldn’t it be beneficial if some of the conversations involved your brand? Even if you are late to the social media party, it’s not too late to catch up. So where do you start? 1. Have a Strategy. While most of us approach our personal social media in a haphazard fashion, that doesn’t work in business. We need to be clear about what we are trying to accomplish or we won’t be able to evaluate the success of our efforts. Know the purpose of why you want to be on social media in the first place. What do you want it to do for you? Is it part of your sales funnel? Is it a place to engage with clients? Will you use it as a recruiting tool? Who is going to manage it? How often will you post? Do you know who your audience is on social media? What do you know about them and their wants? What information do they need in order to continued on the next page
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make a buying decision? Are your existing clients on social media, and, if so, how will you keep them engaged with your brand? Once you know how you plan to use social media and your audience it’s important to consider the purpose of your content. Will you inspire, educate, inform, entertain, or a combination? What types of information will you share? And, finally, will you generate all of your own content, or will you also share other people’s content too? Social media is interactive, so it can’t just be about pushing out your message to your audience. No one wants to be talked at. There are varying ratios for using “direct selling” versus informative content. Personally, I like seven to one – for every seven times I share helpful information, I can share one thing that is more sales-oriented about my services or products. It’s really not too much different from sales training, where you learn to ask questions and listen to the prospect’s needs. Unless you are listening, you don’t know what your clients really want. Social media lets you engage your clients with your brand, if you do it right. It is a good idea to always ask, “What’s in it for them?” as you are putting together your content. 2. Pick your Platform. Knowing your objectives and who you want to engage informs the decision of which social media platforms align. Each social media platform has pros and cons and it isn’t a-one-size-fits-all scenario. To make it work effectively, it needs to fit your brand. In B2B communications, LinkedIn just passed Facebook as being a more effective tool for reaching business customers. If your brand is more B2C-focused Facebook might be a better fit for your business. Will you be sharing a lot of visual content? If so, it might be important to consider a presence on Instagram or Pinterest too.
frequency. Set a realistic goal for posting to each of your social media platforms. Map out the content you will be sharing that week or month (if you know what you will be sharing that far in advance), and gather the information in one place with links and photos so you can maximize your time. You probably don’t have unlimited resources or a dedicated social media person, so it’s critical that you can handle this in addition to your other duties. A Facebook Business Page allows you to schedule posts in advance, so you can sit down once a week to schedule all of your posts or use a tool such as hootsuite.com, which allows you to connect your social media channels and schedule posts in advance, all in one place. It doesn’t stop there; keep an eye on your social media activity. When someone comments, reply and engage them further. Identify which posts are generating the best response from your audience so you can share more content of interest to them. Keep in mind that learning something new always feels awkward and uncomfortable at first. We learn by doing, so the more you “do” the easier and more fun it becomes. About the Author
Karla Erovick is a social media strategist helping clients to utilize social media more effectively in their business. Karla brings 20+ years of marketing and business development experience in the A/E/C industry. In her spare time she is a wine and travel writer with over 500 articles and a nonfiction book to her credit. Connect with her on Facebook – Magnetic Marketing & Social Media; Twitter, Instagram & Pinterest @IntnlGal; and LinkedIn – Karla Erovick.
3. Create your Plan. Once you know who, what, and where, it’s time to create your plan. This plan becomes your road map for using social media effectively. Some elements to consider are: which platforms, frequency, types of content, and who will manage. In the early stages of implementation, consistency trumps Page 7
the shortlist How Mergers & Acquisitions Impact Marketers – and How You Can Have an Impact by Diane Fischer & Sarah Coleman
As the definition of the marketing and communications team continues to evolve, Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) are positively impacting and growing A/E/C marketers’ vocations. One could say we are in a hyperactive M&A world, with news seemingly every day of a new marriage between firms. Whatever the reason for these mergers – growth strategies, diversification, geographic positioning, strategic alliances, market sectors or, last but not least, people talent – marketers have a unique role to play, and must learn to get out of their comfort zones and consider approaching their work in new ways. Remember, it’s your future!
As the marketing and communications team begins to converge the brands into one, the essentials to take into consideration during the transformation are images, words, feelings or approaches, thoughts or point of view, and ideas. Another approach is to consider the reputation(s), client services, websites, presentations, business cards, colors, appearance, etc.
Below, we cover four key aspects of the M&A which involve the marketing and communications team. When approaching each of these, remember: • Be INSPIRED! • Be PASSIONATE!! • Be SOLUTION-DRIVEN!!!
Engagement
Culture
Employees are key to making a company what it is. Seeking feedback and addressing employee concerns is the best way to make them feel part of the process, and keep them engaged in the future of the new company. Include employees and make them feel heard, through both formal and informal avenues of communication. The marketing and communications team is a big part of this!
Every business has its unique culture, made up of its people, processes, norms of behavior, and communication. Stakeholders, including the marketers, should have an understanding of each of these characteristics and the associated nuances when embarking on an M&A. The impact on There will be challenges, no doubt, marketing is tremendous, given it will influence for each of the business lines, but and/or redefine websites, marketing materials, with those challenges will come new business development, social media, public relations, interviews, community involvement, opportunities, the chance to build new etc. Honoring the culture of the organization relationships, and the ability to sustain joining your firm is vital to embracing each one’s a high-performance culture. heritage, embarking on close collaborations, and growing successfully together. There will be challenges, no doubt, for each of the business lines, but with those challenges will come new opportunities, the chance to build new relationships, and the ability to sustain a high-performance culture.
Brand Mine the associative DNA of each organization’s brand! Sometimes the firm name becomes the brand, as with Coca-Cola or Apple. The culture and brand are living elements that demonstrate and support the essence of your mission statement and core values. These statements are crystal clear and inspire the organization’s future plan on how, where, when, and why the firm exists. Think about what the brand evokes!
Keeping employees engaged throughout an M&A can be challenging, but that doesn’t have to be the case. There will, naturally, be worry and chatter surrounding an announcement of M&A from both entities.
The important thing to remember is that managing and maintaining employee engagement is not a “one and done” process. Continuous effort must be made following the initial announcement, over the course of many months, to make employees feel as connected to and involved in the new company as they did to the one they were part of prior to the M&A.
Communication The communications program is imperative to an effective M&A. It is vital that the marketing and communications team be involved in the process early on, in order help craft the message to employees, clients, and the general public. Make your voice heard!
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The Society Page
By Daniel Carfora, CPSM, LEED AP, SMPS Chapter Society Liaison
Test messaging and consider all potential reactions to the announcement of the M&A. It is natural to want to focus on the positives and downplay concerns. But saying things like “we expect business as usual” is a big no-no. If that’s the case, why are you merging? Be straightforward about the changes to be expected. This is your first chance to present your newly combined company. It can be tempting to focus entirely on you – the combined histories, the new services – and how great you think this M&A is. It is crucial, however, that these messages be focused on what this means for your clients. Why is it a benefit to them that you now offer a service they’ve happily been getting elsewhere? And it may be great that your values align with those of the company you’re acquiring, but how will it help you offer better service? In summary, an M&A will require the marketing team to think in new ways and take their marketing efforts in new directions. In the current business climate, this is a challenge that many of us will certainly face. Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand. - Chinese Proverb
About the Author A member of the SMPS San Francisco Bay Area chapter since 1995, Diane Fischer has served on both the board and committee levels. She has also been an integral member of the Mentoring Pathways Program, actively participating since the program’s inauguration seven years ago. Her career in the industry spans over 20 years, and during that time she has worked for firms in Washington, DC, St. Louis, and San Francisco, where she currently serves as the Director of Marketing for WSP. About the Author Transitioning from the legal field to A/E/C when she joined WSP in 2010, Sarah Coleman quickly became an active member of the SMPS San Francisco Bay Area chapter, joining the Communications Committee and helping out with the production of Shortlist. In 2013, she moved to New York to serve as WSP’s corporate Communications Manager, overseeing the firm’s internal and external communications within the US, including e-blasts, social media, monthly newsletter, and website.
Better, faster, stronger. Those opening words to the Six Million Dollar Man sum up the goals and accomplishments the Society has set and realized for SMPS’ membership. SMPS headquarters just released its latest membership report, which shows a 3% growth since last fall; nearly 200 new members have joined SMPS within this time frame, and more than 600 members have joined since the national economy started to recover in 2011. Member retention has remained consistent at a rate of 84% over the past few years as well. One of the benefits of a larger membership is the Society’s ability to realign program offerings with member needs. As new members join, it not only provides the added revenue to develop programs, or possibly add another staff to the national office, but it also brings new perspectives from the A/E/C profession. Member firms who join for the first time bring their experiences in business development, public relations, internal communications, marketing resources, and staff training, and the Society is paying close attention to how member firms are approaching these practice areas within their businesses. In addition to research, the SMPS Foundation conducts polls administered to the local chapters, and the Society is informed about the current trends and needs of marketers by what new members want to get out of SMPS. As existing members, we should not forget to voice the needs of our San Francisco chapter or even our individual needs to the Society. It’s clear they are listening and responding. For the upcoming Build Business Conference in Los Angeles, the Society is utilizing a community-building consultant group, MindMixer (http://www.smpsbuildbusiness.org/mindmixer/), to collect member input and feedback on potential program topics in order to tailor the conference. This marks the first time the national conference has been programmed to user needs and has used social media to garner comments from the membership at large. And, for the second year, the Build Business app will allow conference goers to customize their itinerary on mobile devices, making the event more user-centric.
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Another current initiative that will interest members is the Foundation’s call for researchers and authors for the development of white papers. Since its creation in 2007, the Foundation has spearheaded more than 30 papers that have been published and are available free of charge to SMPS members, and for a fee to nonmembers, on http://www.smpsfoundation.org. What’s new now is the Foundation’s Quarterly Reports, which dive deeper into topics addressed in the “A/E/C Business Development: The Decade Ahead.” Members who volunteer to research and write on behalf of the reports are paired with a Foundation Research Advisor who brings institutional knowledge from past subjects. Topics and research assignments kick off in June, and published reports are anticipated to be available in November.
Arch
by John Grimes
Another member benefit and Society initiative is the new ECAMPUS (http://www.smps.org/ ecampus/), an online educational platform that provides resources for both marketing and business development tracks. ECAMPUS was created to help members further develop skills identified in the six Domains of Practice. As the number of CPSMs has also increased among SMPS membership (more than 13% of active members are CPSM), ECAMPUS provides learning opportunities that satisfy the requirements for recertification. Finally, the Society will launch its Business Development Workshops this summer. The workshops are scheduled in four locations across the country, but for the first time, SMPS is offering in-house training for member firms that may need to limit travel expenses and time out of the office, or want to customize the program for its staff. West Coast dates for the BD Workshops are June 23 in Sacramento and August 19 in Los Angeles, at the opening of the Build Business conference. For more information or to register, visit http://www.smps.org/bdworkshops/. And there’s more to come this year. The social media-based Marketer Online is due to be up and operational in October. Do you have questions or suggestions on other member programs and benefits? Send me a note at the contact information below.
About the Author
Daniel Carfora is the Director of Marketing for Huntsman Architectural Group. In addition to serving as Society Liaison for our SMPS chapter, he’s co-founder of the award-winning Business Leaders Forum and served as the 2008-09 Chapter President. Reach him at dcarforahale@huntsmanag.com or www.linkedin.com/ in/dcarforahale.
About the Author
Cartoonist/Illustrator/Marketing Manager John Grimes, CPSM, recently left his position at Gould Evans Architects to focus on several freelance projects. However, he’s likely to be back in captivity before long, just as assuredly as tanned shivering tourists will flock to Union Square in the summer. Learn more at www.grimescartoons.com
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the shortlist
New & Transferred Members
Kerry Barloglo, Branch Administrative and Marketing Manager, Wiss, Janey, Elstener Associates JoAnn Cruz, Business Development Coordinator, Rosendin Electric
A Look Ahead at the Upcoming Months
John Ferguson, Marketing Specialist, RMW Architecture & Interiors
July: 7th Annual Make the Connection Date: July 23
Fran Fuller, Bay Area Studio Director, NUVIS Landscape Architecture & Planning
August:
Penny Desatnik, Account Supervisor, Blattel Communications
Alyssa Graham Johnson, Marketing Assistant, PAE Thai Lam, Marketing Coordinator, CSDA Design Group Daniel Landucci, Marketing Coordinator, XL Construction Leslie Lyons, Senior Marketing Coordinator, Guidepost Solutions LLC Alicia Magddleno, Student, St. Mary’s College Deserae Mallori, Marketing and Production Coordinator, DKS Associates Rose McTigert, Marketing Coordinator, HGA Architects and Engineers Hannah Mobarekeh, Marketing Coordinator, McCarthy Building Companies Mary Petrie, Marketing Coordinator, Consolidated Engineering Laboratories Cassie Salgado, Student, San Francisco State University Ryan Sprangers, Project Executive, KJWW Engineering Consultants Katelyn Surprenant, Administrative Assistant, RIM Architects
Build Business National Conference—Los Angeles Date: August 19 to 21
Annual Business Meeting & Giants Game Date: August 26 Reception: Tres (130 Townsend Street, San Francisco) 5pm to 7pm Giants Game: 7pm to 10pm
September: Big 4: Housing Crisis Date: September 17 October: SMPS SFBAC Golf Tournament Date: October 2 VIEW SMPS CALENDAR OF EVENTS http://smpssf.org/programs-and-events/calendar/
Meagan Thomas, Assistant Marketing Coordinator, Skanska Chrystal Ulanday, Administrative Specialist, K2A Architecture + Interiors Hannah Vizza, Marketing Coordinator, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. Valerie Wagenfeld, Student Mills College Jude Wellington, Principal Event Director, In the Mix Productions
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the shortlist Committee Member Spotlight: Catherine Clow by Tina Barni
Catherine Clow joined SMPS three years ago. Upon entering her membership with SMPS, she became actively involved in the Programs Committee. Catherine came to the A/E/C industry three years ago. She was looking for job that would allow her to work with print and design. She is currently the Marketing Coordinator at Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects in San Francisco. In this role, Catherine enjoys the creativity and autonomy the position provides. Program committee co-directors Samantha Stettler, Business Development and Marketing Coordinator at Cammissa + Wipf, and Tricia Costella McGuirk, Marketing Manager at Biggs Cardosa Associates, Inc., know they can rely on Catherine, who has taken on the role of Accommodations Affiliate. In this role, she coordinates with venue contacts and program leaders to ensure that all event details are met. “Since joining she has always been willing to help out our event leaders when needed, even when she’s had her own events to lead,” said Tricia Costella McGuirk. For Catherine, being part of the Programs Committee means being able to make great connections and friendships. “I most enjoy being able to work with other motivated and fun people,” said Catherine. “We all share the same goal in wanting to provide the best service to our SMPS members.” Catherine is originally from Missoula, Montana. She is also a Boston Celtics fan and is passionate about practicing Yoga. About the Author Tina Barni is a Senior Marketing Coordinator at Degenkolb Engineers. She is a member of the Communications Committee. Contact her at 415.354.6511 or tbarni@degenkolb.com.
New Member Spotlight: Hannah Mobarekeh by Tina Barni
After graduating from the University of Central Florida in 2012, Hannah Mobarekeh decided to take a road trip from Florida to California. With high hopes, she made her way to San Francisco. At the time, Hannah was a freelance copywriter for a luxury real estate publication. Upon moving to San Francisco, her plans shifted and she found herself inspired to try something different and went to work as a marketing assistant at a local high-performance consulting engineering firm. Hannah has worked in the A/E/C industry for three years. She is currently a marketing coordinator for McCarthy Building Companies in San Francisco. Hannah joined SMPS this year. “When I joined McCarthy, I decided to become involved to expand upon my professional network through SMPS,” said Hannah. “I want SMPS to serve as a brainstorm platform to help myself, and other local marketers, to really reach our target clients in perhaps nontraditional ways.” Hannah has made it a personal goal to attend one to two networking events per month. Between the CHAT, special programs, and online webinars, she is certain she can gain value from the organization. “I see SMPS playing a crucial role to make this a reality,” says Hannah. “I attended the ‘More Cowbell’ series and left the panel with some off-the-beaten-path ideas for interview prep.” Hannah enjoys working at a large firm, attending site visits and formulating value propositions with technical staff.
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“I now know a side of the A/E/C world that I had only heard of,” said Hannah.” Beyond SMPS, Hannah enjoys roadtripping. She is also a member of the Commonwealth Club and frequently attends their lectures.
About the Author Tina Barni is a Senior Marketing Coordinator at Degenkolb Engineers. She is a member of the Communications Committee. Contact her at 415.354.6511 or tbarni@ degenkolb.com.
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