See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/271906914

MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR PROMOTING THE ARCHITECTURAL

ENGINEERING PROFESSION IN A RAPIDLY CHANGING BUSINESS
ENVIRONMENT A LITERATURE REVIEW

Conference Paper · March 2014

CITATIONS READS

0 1,724

2 authors, including:

Ayman Ahmed Ezzat Othman

The British University in Egypt
132 PUBLICATIONS   416 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

PTD: KM as a novel approach to enhance H&S in building design View project

Urban planning and landscape studies View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Ayman Ahmed Ezzat Othman on 07 February 2015.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR PROMOTING
THE ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING
PROFESSION IN A RAPIDLY CHANGING
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
A LITERATURE REVIEW
Epead, A.A.H.
Architectural Engineering Department
The British University in Egypt (BUE)
Cairo, Egypt
amany.epead@bue.edu.eg
Abstract— In today’s competitive business environment, the
increasing challenges that face architectural design profession
such as growing client expectations, lack of adapting to advanced
technologies, changes in policy, economy, law, technology, and
competition called for design firms which aim to improve their
performance and sustain their competitiveness, to innovate and
rethink their marketing strategies. Towards taking advantage of
these challenges and overcoming their adverse impact on the
firm’s future, many architectural design firms realized that
developing a credible brand image and maintaining a well-defined
marketing strategy are essential tools for enterprise success.
This paper aims to investigate the effective marketing strategies
essential for promoting the architectural engineering profession in
a competitive business environment. In order to achieve this aim,
a research strategy is designed to gather data sufficiently rich to
build a comprehensive background about the research topic
including: nature of the architectural engineering profession,
competitive advantage and marketing strategies. This literature
review is based on textbooks, academic journals, conference
proceedings, professional magazines, government and design
firms’ publications, Internet and related website.
The importance of this research stems from the need to enable
architectural design firms to cope with the rapid changes in the
business environment and promote their services through
adopting the appropriate marketing strategies. In addition, this
research sheds light on a topic that received scant attention in
architectural and construction literature.
Keywords— Architectural Engineering Profession; Marketing
Strategies; Competitive Advantage; Business Environment.
I. INTRODUCTION
In the current rapid paced information and appearance driven
business environment, it is conceivably astonishing that
Architecture, so extremely steeped in creativity, imagery and
innovation is still cautious to fully commit to bold marketing
1
Othman, A.E.E.
Architectural Engineering Department
The British University in Egypt (BUE)
Cairo, Egypt
Ayman.othman@bue.edu.eg
strategies. With the few, though greatly publicized exceptions of
Architects, whose iconic status eliminates them from this
discussion, the majority of medium and small Architecture
studios sell themselves short, or make no attempts to sell their
services at all. A limited percentage of them hire full-time
marketing staff or work together with marketing specialists, and
there is scant to no share of the budget to be paid to the active
promotion of the firm’s unique attributes or to securing work by
pursuing particular targets according to a definite plan [1].
In the Architectural practice, the implication of the word
“marketing” beside the word “Architect” is habitually taken as
offensive. A lot of Architects vision their line of work to be
beyond the rules of demand and supply, free from the pressure
of business endurance and the client-oriented marketing
strategies. It is, nevertheless, the reality of Architecture to be
both a profession and a business at the same time. While it
complies with the values of providing a service to the client in
the finest aesthetic yet functional conditions, is still has to make
a profit [2].
Architects at the moment are not able to afford believing in
such a myth. Reality dictates many situations that as anticipated
put the profession along with other services; services that are
mainly client-based and are subject to the market demands. The
client is currently shopping for the greatest achievable value, and
the market is wide open for competition at all stages of design
and construction [3].
II. THE ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING PROFESSION
A. The expanding call for Architectural services
“Fundamentally, architects are persons engaged in
a profession, which is responsible for the design and
construction of various buildings, and other
structures, which provide shelter for human use,
occupancy, protection, and property. This is, by
definition, a wide ranging and rigorous endeavor,
 much of which is not common knowledge among the
general public”. [4]
The demand for the facilities and services of Architects and
Architectural firms has been rising. This can be noticed from
the growing number of small firms being initiated by fresh
graduates, the multiple offices of miscellaneous sizes that are
busily working and requiring new staff, the growing focus paid
to Architecture in the public press, the media, and educated
circles. Even though demand is expanding, it is astonishing how
many participants in the profession believe in the total opposite.
Many reasons could be associated with this, and one of them is
that not all firms have gained advantages from the overall
increase in work. Some established offices have been dropping
their market share, and are being displaced by newer firms that
are more aggressive and eager to get the work or are in tune
with the updated demand for specialized services. It is well
understood that offices that are left behind would think that the
demand is being decreasing. One other reason would be the
intense competitive effort that is essential for a firm to get a
commission. A lot of Architects take the growth in competition
as evidence of a contracting market. Nonetheless it is wrong to
conclude that because there are more firms now engaged in
seeking work that the total volume of jobs available is
shrinking. The demand for services and competitiveness are
connected trends, but the relationship is based on the fact that
competition is a profession stimulates Architects to work harder
at marketing their skills. [5]
Today, philosophies of place and market, widely growing
information technologies, local authenticity, and universal
consumer culture have integrated to generate a nexus of complex
relationships. As we have moved from a one-size-fits-all
economy to a customization-for-all economy, the attention of
Architecture has changed towards the “experienced economy”.
This shift demonstrates that while form and function in
Architecture persist essential criteria, personal identity and
personal growth have become even more vital in the assessment
of Architecture’s value. In this changing environment,
Architecture can play an important role in determining how
people contribute in the ongoing restructuring of economic and
cultural practices, by acting as a catalyst for new experiences and
insights. [6]
on the market for services, especially with all the competition
from other professions is increasing. [5]
The persistent development of new clients/ customers is
also vital in order to maintain and grow a practice. This is where
understanding the science and art of marketing is essential. The
science part of marketing is the process of recognizing and
relating the different activities that make up the effort. The art
of marketing lies in the carrying out of those activities. [8]
C. Architects as learners
Most of the Architects are learners by nature with instinctive
skills in analyzing information and processing them. They are
continually involved in learning from each project; however,
they are most likely lean to gather information unsystematically
from informal and easily accessible sources such as work
associates, material suppliers, and building contractors. Skills
and information required are mostly linked to instant needs to
the work place rather than to achieving long term goals. While
executing projects, a huge number of factual information and
procedural knowledge is attained. This information is
physically and mentally hard to organize and is frequently not
fully applied to future projects. Moreover, the exceptional
nature if Architectural projects tends to make generalization
hard. Architects often achieve a significant type of knowledge
through their practice. This allows them to put lessons learnt
from past projects into fresh and ambiguous situations. [9]
The knowledge obtained has been called “reflection-in-
action” by Donald Schon. He also illustrated that this
knowledge cannot be taught through traditional didactic
methods but can only be facilitated through mentorship,
coaching, and self-reflection. [10]

B. Challenges to Architecture

Architects used to get new projects using the old-boy

network, although there is an increasing competition than ever,
some are still unwilling to abandon their seines for disciplined,
modern marketing. [7]
There are three main challenges to Architectural practice, the
first one is the urge to match the demand for practitioners to the Figure 1 Learning from Experience
supply of Architects and to adjust the number of Architects to
the potential demand for their services. The second challenge is
the need to improve a philosophy of practice which is
dependable but at the same time it also has to match with the
expectations, requirements and demands of the building
industry. The third one is the need to sustain a vulnerable hold

2
D. Competitive Advantage
Currently, Architectural Firms undertake different
strategies to ensure their existence in the market. Some consider
people to be very important assets within the organizations for
achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. Thus, a job
development is a crucial matter for enhancing the employees’
abilities. Other organizations Lead in using information
technology; technology has been endlessly improving, among
the Architectural profession. This causes a high business
pressure that affects organizations’ present and future
competitiveness. Focusing on continuous improvement through
applying total quality management -TQM- concepts in the
construction industry has also been indicated as an effective
tool of competitive advantage. Commitment to quality and to
continuous quality improvement is crucial for the profession to
endure its market share. LEED certified projects add a viable
benefit to the firm, as well. Applying Porter’s competitive
advantage model and strategic marketing, in addition to,
building business image and branding are new disciplines in the
Architectural profession that help adding uniqueness to the
practice and gain sustainable competitive advantage.
III. ARCHITECTURE AND MARKETING
A. Historical background
Marketing is defined as “An organizational function and a set
of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value
to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways
that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.” [11].
Architects are relatively new to the field of marketing. In the
past, marketing was forbidden. The first principles of practice
implemented by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in
1909 banned Architects from using even the simplest means of
marketing. They were not allowed to advertise -defined as paid
publicity- or rather put their names on a sign in front of one of
their buildings during construction. They could not present free
services, like proposals or sketches. They could not be involved
in any competition except if it was held under the AIA’s
guidelines. Before 1970, the biggest obstruction to competition
between firms which led to the prevention of marketing was the
regulation that had forbidden a firm from intentionally
competing with another by offering less charge of the same
work. This rule was reinforced by the obligation that fee
schedules, disseminated by the AIA, were to be used to
determine what firms could charge for work. The exact same
percentage of construction cost was to be charged by every
Architect. It was assumed that if one Architect charged less than
the other, the bidder with the lower price would generate a
building of lower quality. [12]
In Europe, the predominant mentality until lately was that of
the artist working under charge, responsible solitary for the
quality and refinement of his art. Which such general,
prohibitive practices as the ones established by the AIA in
America weren’t that common in Europe, competition between
firms was nonetheless not an important matter, since
commissions were mainly awarded according to the Architect’s
3
reputation and the quality of their work. Marketing and
advertising were similarly infrequent. Ranked amongst the high
arts, Architecture did not have to advertise in the same way that
painting and sculpture had no reason to: a good Architect would
never find himself short of work precisely by way of being a
good Architect. Meaning that, the amount of commissions an
Architect could get by word-of-mouth referrals and due to
accumulated professional prestige were only consequences of
professionalism and the superiority of his work. [6]
B. Architect’s essential of marketing
Marketing is a function of the social, political, economic and
technological features of the society in which it functions. As
these characteristics develop and change, so must the marketing
process. This is a mainly a crucial aspect of marketing and its'
relationship with architecture. Architects must accept and
respect the social conditions that characterize and differentiate
their work. [13]
Architects will not be able to play in today's competitive
environment unless they are capable of marketing their services
successfully. For an Architectural firm to develop a marketing
strategy, the major tasks that should be followed are:
establishing a mission statement, vision statement, and action
plan; signifying the firm's identity and position in the market;
and allocating and managing a marketing budget. There is a
great significance of earning clients' trust; their choice of
Architect regularly depends on intangible qualities like
individual chemistry, personality, and passion. Architects have
to be practical and identify their clients' needs. The key is to set
marketing as a consistent part of the firm's work, continuously
assessing what strategies work for getting new business and
publicity, and which methods need modification. [14]
The RIBA’s communications chief, Roula Konzotis, has
demanded Architects to be more outward looking, enhance their
marketing skills and put less importance on peer recognition.
She added that the profession has “a lot to learn about
marketing”. [15]
C. Marketing strategies for Architectural practice
The very broad definition of architecture is intended to help the
profession overcome the 'micro-definitions' that have led to the
rapid degradation of our built environment. That is to say that no
existing definition allows for the architect to overcome the many
influences on architecture that create problems and diffuse the
initial purpose of the discipline. The reason for this is that a
contradiction exists between the creation of architecture and the
business of architecture. This contradiction is manifested in the
differences between the rationality of sound business practices
and the intuition and sensitivity of design. There is. However,
one business practice that seeks to bridge the gap. This practice
is 'Marketing.'

Figure 2 Sales orientation relies on selling, while Marketing focuses
on market needs
A-list Architects like Philip Johnson, I. M. Pei, and Kevin
Roche have gained their prestige in great measures from their
design quality. The difference nowadays is that employing a
famous Architect is not only concerned with enhancing the
design value, it is also about adding cachet, since individual
architects have accomplished a much greater measures of
celebrity than the past. In some circumstances, their names are
so well-known to the public that they have attained the statue of
brands.
D. Marketing and Architects response to socoiety
Architects should comply with the idea that marketing is not
merely a means of selfishly furthering the objectives of the firm,
nor a means to surrender, compromise or sell out to the client.
Rather, architects who engage in the 'business of architecture',
must embrace the idea that marketing begins with the notion of
furthering both the goals of the client and architect, and seeks to
benefit both parties. [13]
CONCLUSION
Marketing is considered the function that manages
relations between the organization and the customer/
client. It is best known as an art that requires a twenty-four
hour commitment, bringing the right message to the right
audience with suitable emphasis and tone is a full-time
challenge for all Architects in the practice. Cities such as
Bilbao, Shanghai, and Dubai have in recent years all
successfully used Architecture to enhance their position in
the global business environment.
View publication stats
REFERENCES
[1] A. Mitrache, "Branding and marketing - An Architect's
perspective," Procedia - Social abd Behavioral Sciences,
no. 62, pp. 932-936, 2012.
[2] A. H. Karam, "Marketing and Architects in South
Africa," Engineering, Construcction and Architectural
management, vol. 10, no. 6, pp. 402-412, 2003.
[3] D. Ballast, The Architect's Handbook, Englewood Cliffs,
NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1984.
[4] R. W. Liebing, The Other Architecture: Tasks of Practice
Beyond Design, 4th ed., Vienna, Austria: Springer-
Verlag/Wien., 2011.
[5] R. Gutman, Architectural Pactice: A critical View, 1st
ed., New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1988.
[6] A. Klingmann, Brandscapes: Architecture in the
Experience Economy, 1st ed., London: Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 2007.
[7] J. Kolleeny and C. Lin, "Marketing: The unsung heroine
of successful architectural practice," Architectural
Record, vol. 189, no. 2, p. 66, February 2001.
[8] H. Linton, L. Clary and S. Rost, Marketing for Architects
and Designers, 1st ed., Singapore: W.W. Norton &
Company, 2005.
[9] H. Gruenwald, "Learning and change in the marketing
approach of architects," The University of Oklahoma,
1995.
[10] D. A. Schon, Educating the Reflective Practitioner:
Toward a New Design for Teaching and Learning in the
Professions, 1st ed., San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1990.
[11] M. R. Solomon, G. Marshall and E. Stuart, Marketing:
Real People, Real Choices, 5th ed., Pearson Education,
2007.
[12] J. Kolleeny and C. Linn, Marketing: Lessons from
America’s best-managed architectural firms, New York:
McGraw-Hill Construction, 2002.
[13] . K. O. Brown, "Marketing for the Architectural
Profession: Applying Marketing Principles to the
Business of Architecture," University on Arizona, 1990.
[14] L. Babij, "Architect's Essentials of Marketing,"
Architectural Record, vol. 194, no. 1, p. 61, 2006.
[15] "Architects must improve marketing, says RIBA,"
Building Design, no. 1534, p. 5, 4 May 2002.