For Immediate Release

September 22, 2009

Contact: Michele Santiago

Society for Marketing Professional Services
800.292.7677, x245
michele@smps.org

SMPS Foundation Think Tank Program Will Aid A/E/C Firm Leaders to
“Break Through the Commoditization Barrier and Create Strategic Advantage”

ALEXANDRIA, VA. – The Foundation of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) is
hosting its second Think Tank of 2009 on November 12 and 13 in New York City for firm leaders,
marketers, and business developers in the design and building industry. Two panel discussions featuring
distinguished industry leaders will explore 1. the value to business of recalibrating the relationship between
marketing and business development and 2. how differentiating in a commoditized world enables companies
to command the fees their services are truly worth.

Panel 1 will examine how A/E/C firms are fostering greater integration between client development and
marketing initiatives such as branding, communications, and research to create strategic advantage.
Moderated by Nancy Egan, FSMPS, Principal of New Voodou, the panel features:
• David Harkleroad, Managing Director, Global Marketing, Hay Group
• Suzanne Lowe, President, Expertise Marketing LLC
• Sheryl Maibach, FSMPS, Chief Marketing Officer, Barton Malow Company
• Kirsten Sibilia, Assoc. AIA, Chief Marketing Officer, JCJ Architecture
• William Viehman, AIA, LEED AP, Principal, Perkins + Will

Panel 2 will address why professional services firms need to differentiate themselves in this commoditized
world to secure the fees their services are worth. Moderator Diane Creel, FSMPS, retired
President/Chairman/CEO of Ecovation Inc., believes this discussion will aid firms “to navigate in economic
waters we have never navigated before. The challenge for our industry will be to recover in a strategic way
and not a way where our services are now low-priced commodities.” Panelists are:
• Guy Geier, FAIA, FIIDA, Senior Partner, FXFOWLE Architects
• Ben Kaplan, Vice President and General Manager, Turner Logistics
• Jacque Rast, President, Major Programs, CH2M HILL
• Paul Zofnass, President and Founder, Environmental Financial Consulting Group

SMPS Foundation Trustee and Think-Tank organizer Rhodes B. White, FSMPS, CPSM, observes,
“Innovation is more than a process. Companies cannot grow through cost reduction and reengineering alone;
innovation is the key element in providing growth and for increasing bottom-line results. The Think Tanks
bring leaders together to discuss innovative ideas to make firms better by sharing best practices and
breakthrough ideas while offering varying perspectives.”
A networking reception for Think Tank participants will be held the evening of November 12 at The Terrace
Club, 25 West 51st Street. The program on November 13 will be hosted in the offices of McGraw-Hill
Construction, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY.

Additional details about and registration for the Think Tank are available at www.smps.org/foundthinktank.
A discounted early-bird registration fee of $260/person is available until September 30; after that date the
registration fee increases to $325/person.

Photo Caption: Moderator Diane Creel, believes the Think Tank discussion will aid firms “to navigate in
economic waters we have never navigated before.”

Please add this event to your calendar.

Media inquiries, including requests for media passes to the event, should be directed to SMPS Foundation
Marketing Manager Michele Santiago at 1.800.292.7677, ext. 245, or michele@smps.org.

About the Foundation of the Society for Marketing Professional Services

The SMPS Foundation is the principal nonprofit organization that identifies, researches, and educates the
design and construction industry on emerging trends and issues in marketing and business development.
As a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization established by the Society to promote research and education
that advances the body of knowledge in the field of professional services marketing, the Foundation
works to develop a greater understanding of the role and value of marketing in the A/E/C industry. To find
out more about the SMPS Foundation, its research, programming, and other contributions to the field of
professional services marketing, visit www.smpsfoundation.org.

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44 Canal Center Plaza, Suite 444 • Alexandria, VA 22314 • 800.292.7677 • www.smps.org