TZL 1518 (web)

ON THE MOVE AECOM ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF DEREK KERR TO ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS AECOM, the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, announced the appointment of Derek Kerr to its board of directors. Kerr brings to the board extensive executive, finance and accounting expertise having previously served several leadership roles at the American Airlines Group, Inc., most recently as vice chair and president of American Eagle. In addition, Kerr previously served

as executive vice president and chief financial officer of American Airlines. “I am pleased to welcome Derek Kerr to our Board of Directors,” said Douglas Stotlar, AECOM’s chairman of its board of directors. “Derek brings a long-tenured professional career at the American Airlines Group, which will provide our Board tremendous insight to our global Professional Services organization and aid our leadership in advancing our strategy to create long-term value for our stakeholders.”

Kerr originally joined America West Airlines in 1996 and served a variety of financial and operational roles, including through America West’s acquisition by US Airways in 2005 and US Airways’s acquisition of American Airlines in 2013. He also currently serves on Comerica Bank’s Board of Directors. Kerr graduated from the University of Michigan with a master’s degree in business administration, as well as a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering.

Unlike the medical and financial industries, AEC firms don’t have industry-defined restrictions on marketing and contract language. However, your legal counsel should be consulted on a consistent, periodic basis to ensure contracts are free of wording that over-promises. GET THE WORD OUT. Do you have a style guide? Many companies do. And unfortunately, a lot of them are the definitive resource for logo use. And that’s all. I would argue that it is just as important to take a clear, consistent, and defensible stand regarding language as it is to define the white space required around your firm’s insignia. Language is not your brand but it can definitely impact your brand – positively or negatively. TIME TO INVESTIGATE. You don’t have to be a grammarian or walk around the office clutching your coffee mug that proclaims “I’m silently correcting your grammar.” (Although I don’t think there is anything wrong with that.) But you might need to become an investigator for a while. Talk with your team. Read recently submitted proposals, social media posts, or any written materials that have been produced for external and internal use. Talk with your spec writers. Connect with your attorneys. Where are the inconsistencies and the points of confusion? Talk with your clients. Listen to how they talk about your work. What words or phrases can you borrow from them that may better represent your firm and your services? CHANNEL YOUR INNER EINSTEIN. Albert Einstein is credited with saying, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” Therein lies the challenge: First, out of all the knowledge and understanding your firm holds, what needs to be communicated? Second, how do you say it – clearly and consistently? Third, what defensible choices will you make that are most relevant for your firm and your audience? Fourth, follow Merriam-Webster on Instagram, regardless. Jane Lawler Smith, MBA, is the marketing manager at Derck & Edson, LLC. She can be reached at jsmith@derckandedson. com.

JANE LAWLER SMITH , from page 7

Nitpicking you say? Tell that to your family and your pets. YOU ARE THE AUTHORITY. I’m not here to tell you which way is correct any more than I am going to write to Merriam (yes, we are on a first name basis) to try and get irregardless removed from the dictionary. What I am here to tell you is that it is important for you to decide. Marketers in the AEC industry fulfill many roles – one of which is creating, implementing, and defending communication standards. Think of yourself as the Merriam-Webster of your firm. You decide what’s in and what’s out. Or you should. It’s not about being picky. The point is to create rules for the firm that result in clear, consistent, and defensible communication. An example: What is a “master plan”? If you ask my friend Merriam, you’ll find this: A plan giving overall guidance. If you google that term – master plan – you’ll get more than 2.3 million results. And if you search on the term masterplan, as some firms represent it, you’ll get about 84 million results and a different definition from Oxford Languages: A comprehensive or far- reaching plan of action. Even the Dictionary of Architecture & Construction (Fourth Edition, McGraw Hill) is vague in its attempt at a definition: A plan, usually graphic and drawn on a small scale but often supplemented by written material, which depicts all the elements of a project or scheme. Is any of that specifically relevant to what your firm means when they use the term master plan? Or masterplan? I suspect the answer is no. YOUR SPEC WRITERS AND ATTORNEYS WILL THANK YOU. It isn’t just AEC marketers who are concerned with your word choices. Consulting your internal specification writers will go a long way toward precise communication too. Asphalt is not the same as bituminous; decorative is not the same as ornamental; turf is not the same as lawn.

THE ZWEIG LETTER JANUARY 1, 2024, ISSUE 1518

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