Miller Brooks Symposium Gives Manufacturers Valuable Insight for Marketing to Architects. 2009 Qtr 2
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Miller Brooks Symposium Gives Manufacturers Valuable Insight for Marketing to Architects.By Jason Hathaway |
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 Check out a video of this year’s event. |
Eighty sales and marketing executives from 18 Midwest-based building products manufacturers gained a stronger understanding of architects at the 2009 Marketing to Architects Symposium, sponsored by Miller Brooks at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis.
Billed as “a better way to engage, interact and connect with architects,” the event’s aim was to initiate dialogue between manufacturers and architects and, ideally, spur the two groups to collaborate more in the future on product specifications and new product development. The symposium kicked off with a keynote presentation from Ned Cramer, editor-in-chief of ARCHITECT Magazine.
Cramer gave his audience an intriguing primer on the history of architecture, guiding audience members on a trip to key points, texts and personalities along the architecture historical timeline. This helped to define architects as a whole and explain the different ways they approach projects and how they view their work. The presentation did an excellent job of setting the stage for the highly anticipated second half of the program—a panel discussion on effective marketing strategies for reaching architects.
In the discussion, Cramer served as discussion moderator, sharing the stage with a panel of six seasoned architects, representing architectural companies ranging from a solo practice to a firm that employs more than 200. Beginning with panel members expounding on what they found most interesting from Cramer’s presentation, the discussion was driven by questions asked by Cramer and audience members. These questions stimulated discussion on a variety of key architectural topics, including:
- The influence of Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology on design. BIM is the process of generating and managing building data during its life cycle, often using three-dimensional, real-time, dynamic building software.
- The generation gap in architectural firms today—young architects are extremely well versed in new design technology, while many senior architects are not.
- The fact that architects are generalists—they are expected to be well informed about the design of every part of a building. This makes them very busy, and research time is precious.
- How architects research information on products before specifying them for projects—most architects search on Google,® stressing the importance of search engine optimization on the manufacturer side.
- Trade shows remain viable to architects as a research tool for new products and trends; however, at most trade shows, architects have a lot of ground to cover in a short time.
Most importantly, the panelists gave an overview of the specification process to manufacturers, providing them insight on how to be more successful in marketing to architects. The panelists recommended that in order to have a better chance of getting their product specified, manufacturers must find out exactly who specifies at a firm and contact them with the right level of information for the particular project stage.
Manufacturer reps must be well informed on the most important, relevant details of the product and on current design trends. This portion of the discussion seemed to stimulate the most interest from both the panel and the audience, as it demonstrated ways that manufacturers and architects can collaborate better.
Comprehensively, attendees learned that there is no one single way to market to architects. There are different-sized firms, all featuring architects from varying generations, who process information in their own ways. The key is to use a variety of tactics to cater to these different architects and make the best use of their time.
Following the completion of the Marketing to Architects Symposium, the room was abuzz with positive reviews and the talk of manufacturers and architects excited to go back to their offices with some new ideas.
“I really appreciated the fact that the symposium made me think about so many different sides of how we, as architects, interact with manufacturers, and how our firm and staff research product information,” said panel member Tad Lupton, director of design and architecture, American Structurepoint, Inc., Indianapolis. “I feel like I learned a great deal from the questions that were asked.”
“The program gave me a better understanding of what architects are looking for in specs from all of us manufacturers. I learned a lot today, and I have a lot of new information to take back with me. I would love to get our sales force out to an event like this,” said Tracy L. Frye, senior contract channel marketing manager, Whirlpool Corporation.
With the success of the symposium, Miller Brooks hopes to host similar events for manufacturing, building and design professionals in the future.
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