Case Study: Stevens & Wilkinson
Managing and facilitating an overarching integrated marketing strategy for Stevens & Wilkinson, a premiere Commercial Architecture, Engineering, Construction Management / Oversight, Interior Design, and Development firm across regional offices and national participants, in advance of the company’s 100-year anniversary.
Charged with the need to conceptualize, develop and oversee the client’s first, full-scale integrated marketing program, the Eberly & Collard Public Relations team generated proactively managed a variety of market research studies, marketing strategy development, annual branding plans, public / media relations strategies, advertising campaigns, speaking events, social media campaigns, and website design and content consultation, among other marketing projects.
How we got there:
The work involved collaboration spanning the client’s key 2 offices’ staffs, 11 states, 42 cities, 18 external business participants, and dozens of projects to grow brand cognizance about not one, but all of the services provided by the client’s company, including commercial architecture, engineering, construction / development management, interior design, and other practice areas for the firm among its clientele, construction / site owners, developers, communities, decision-makers, media members- all within and comprising the client’s mainstream marketplaces.
Eberly & Collard Public Relations conceptualized and executed a SWOT analysis and annual brand-based marketing plans, leading to a robust series of strategic public and media relations campaigns, scheduled and cost-negotiated advertising, branding materials and content marketing, and social / digital media programs, all geared toward building competitive advantages and earning publicity for Stevens & Wilkinson and numerous of its collaborative offices and project partners.
A dedicated team from Eberly & Collard Public Relations designed and managed annual marketing plan creation and implementation numerous consecutive years leading up to the firm’s centennial, giving rise to promotion for the array of services, projects, installations, and applications offered by Stevens & Wilkinson. This was done by way of monthly and ongoing branding assessments, applied brand standards, public / media relations management and general marketing communications consultation for the firm’s marketing staff and their select clientele.
Eberly & Collard Public Relations’ branding and publicity staff became the hub of communications and integrated marketing across the client’s regional offices, internal / external project teams, partners, and other collaborators in Georgia, South Carolina, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Massachusetts, Delaware, New York, and other states.
An integral part of the overall branding strategy resulted with unifying messaging, media interviews, media training, speaking events, publicity campaigns, ribbon cutting ceremonies, partner / team / investor communications, and other forms of marketing communications.
The Results:
Eberly & Collard Public Relations was able to streamline project planning and alliances for the client at a 96% increase in publicity as compared to their prior internal management of such efforts. This also provided the client the luxury of no longer having to serve as the marketing communications coordinator in-house.
The account team developed and maintained accurate trade magazine and website media lists and editor / publisher / reporter contacts spanning all applicable trade industry publication categories and applicable consumer, shelter, general interest, building / design, and other magazines / publications as well as blogs and channels of social media.
- Utilizing a created Associated Press-style electronic media kit to include company, corporate and service information as well as architecture / engineering completed and “before and after” case-study materials and imagery, the Eberly & Collard Public Relations staff earned articles, byline feature stories and / or news placements for 100% of predetermined PR campaigns.
- Ongoing and near-daily published content about the client was secured through strategic and organized campaigns. Several senior PR managers led the effort to implement individual and syndicated article campaigns to include feature stories and press releases about the firm and its accomplishments and case-studies.
- Editors of highly germane newsletter publications, newspapers, business journals, digital content, and print magazines, each spanning content in the U.S. read by Stevens & Wilkinson’s developer / site / facility owner clientele and prospects, became intimately familiar with the firm and its architecture and engineering work. Attaining scheduled media and reporter interviews, media training and written articles about and for company executives, press releases, and architecture project / service profiles quickly became the norm.
- Eberly & Collard PR also provisioned service support for Stevens & Wilkinson’s Speaker’s Bureau program, researching, acquiring and facilitating speaking engagements for the firm’s architect and engineer principals at coveted symposium events and conference venues. Other event support was offered in the form of ribbon cutting ceremonies, hard hat tours, completed project tours, media tours / interviews, and various sorts of on- / offsite meetings.
- In tandem with these forms of marketing, Stevens & Wilkinson’s social media channels and various messaging models were assessed as a group effort to include new strategic / creative content consultation. Creating union of marketing voice, tone and messaging, the PR team collaborated with the client’s marketing staff to brainstorm guidelines for social media engagement. Messages were deployed about the client’s news, projects, personnel, awards, accolades, and honors.
- Merging paid / advertising media with earned and owned media, as well as regionally focused advertising campaigns, the Eberly & Collard Public Relations team also planned and implemented promotional campaigns to market architecture, engineering, design, and construction oversight services in select regions where supplemental branding was desirable, including full ad research, ad planning, ad design / copy concept ideas, and coordination between the client and ad representatives.
All of the output was carefully managed on a daily basis, foundational upon the team’s original market research and annual marketing program plan strategy.
The client experienced augmented industry and segment marketing for 100% of its preferred sectors; an approximate 70% increase in search engine optimization for its website; a 50% reduction in advertising costs; and a near-100% increase in publicity as a combined result of Eberly & Collard’s annual plan and the implementation of public / media relations, advertising, social media, content, and print / digital involvement.
