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OPINION
Creating non-traditional peer groups allows AEC marketers to gain fresh perspectives and enhance creativity. Choose your own marketing adventure
I n her article in the August 7, 2023 issue of The Zweig Letter , Julia DeFrances wrote about the value of professional associations. Without doubt, being involved with organizations like Zweig Group or the Society for Marketing Professional Services can enhance your career and introduce you to many established experts in the fields of architecture, engineering, and construction.
Jane Lawler Smith
However, sometimes breaking away from the establishment can also be beneficial. In 1979, the concept of choosing your own adventure was introduced to young readers by Edward Packard and R. A. Montgomery. In their beloved series of stories, still available for sale and on library shelves, young readers get to choose what happens next. The choices made throughout the narratives guide the stories and control the outcomes. The height of popularity for the books was in the 1980s, but the franchise is still going strong today. And in another plot twist, decades later, many other genres and industries have created their own spin on the concept: from cookbooks to date night plans to dinner with the kids – from travel itineraries to recruiting and retention themes. In September 2022, The New Yorker featured an article on the “enduring allure” of the series and in May of this year, The New
York Times ran an article about choosing your own cookout salad adventure. Clearly the concept of choosing your own adventure is alive and well in 2024. For AEC marketers, what I’m proposing is choosing your own marketing adventure by creating your own, perhaps non-traditional, peer group. This can be especially helpful for AEC marketers who work on a small team, or perhaps are a team unto themselves. THE CAST OF CHARACTERS. Group members might include marketing professionals from related industries such as your print vendor, photography studio, or promotional giveaways vendor. Maybe you invite your favorite shop owner/independent retailer. What about those professionals you met while staffing your table at your last trade show or conference? Where are the crossover points between business-
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THE ZWEIG LETTER AUGUST 26, 2024, ISSUE 1551
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