BuiltEnvironment

The value of being an award program juror

Once again, I have been accepted to serve as a juror for this year's Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Marketing Communication Awards (MCA) program. I have done this three times in the past, and I always learn a lot about what A/E/C marketers are doing in different markets across the country. And I get some very usable ideas for my own consulting work.

In my three previous participation years, I have evaluated proposals for public and private sector projects, including highways, airports, and railroad facilities; municipal utilities; parks and recreational facilities; sports stadiums; university campuses; upscale hotel complexes; and a broad range of environmental projects.

In those three past services, most of the entries we evaluated involved only proposal documents; however, one year the committee was given all the pursuit documents on a private sector hotel project, starting with the first introductory letter when the potential project was identified, and ending up with the thank you letter sent when the firm was awarded the project.

I have seen a proposal for the rehabilitation and renovation of a historic site, done as a black-and-white document because some of the images were from before the invention of color photography. The committee selected this document as that year's winner in the proposal category because, among other reasons, the black-and-white presentation was so appropriate given the subject matter.

I have seen a proposal for the management of a large city's sewer rehabilitation program that made use of the most recent publishing software and high-gloss paper, which made the entry look like an issue of the very upscale Town and Country magazine. We thought it was a bit "over the top," that the presentation wasn't actually appropriate for the subject, and didn't give the entry the first place position.

And one year, I reviewed an amazing proposal for the design of a major league baseball stadium presented on 11" x 17" paper in landscape format, with resumes and project descriptions on 11" x 17" card stock to resemble old-fashioned baseball cards. This was one of the most innovative presentations I have ever seen, much less evaluated.

This year's program is going to be particularly interesting for me because I have no input concerning the category to which I will be assigned. It may be proposals once again, but it's equally possible that it will be websites, videos, holiday events, corporate identity, or any one of a number of other subject areas. If it is proposals, I will be very comfortable with the assignment. If any other category, it will be exciting to be pulled out of my comfort zone, and to see and learn a number of different approaches and ideas that I might never have considered because they're outside the scope of my usual project work.

Project sheets — what information do YOU collect?

Recently, there has been some discussion in one of the MySMPS communities about project experience—specifically, what information should be included in a project description or project sheet. Over my 40+ year career, I have developed numerous project description templates for a variety of A/E/C firms. Each of those templates has contained what I thought were the "standard" components and whatever else was important to my then employer.

These days, when I see this question, my response is to advise the collection of all the relevant information you can into one project file. This will eliminate the frantic search for small details at the last minute, when you are trying to finalize the document. Then, when you prepare the description for your proposal, or for your prime consultant, use all the information that is generally accepted as "standard" or "required," plus anything else requested in the RFP or by the prime consultant.

The following is a listing of every relevant component I can think of. All of this information should be in your project file. Those components which I would consider "standard" are shown in blue.

• Project name
• Project location
• Project start and end dates
• Why is the project being undertaken?
• Why now?
• Your project position (prime, sub)
• General project description (project components, statistics)
• Your firm's specific services and activities
• Special challenges and solutions
• Special equipment required
• Proprietary equipment or hardware/software utilized
• Other firms that worked on the project
• Minority participation goals and levels achieved
• Current pursuit team members who worked on the project
• Required permits
• Awards and other recognition
• Project construction cost (if applicable and known)
• Project fee
• Location in your computer network of project photography and other images
• Client information (firm name, address, phone, URL)
• Contact information (person's name, office and cell phone numbers, email address)

The major question an owner asks in an RFP is, "what have you done lately that's just like my project?" Your project descriptions answer that question. They tell the story of your firm's relevant experience. The experience stories should be as compelling as the rest of your proposal or they won't get the attention and consideration you believe they deserve. That's why I always try to include information on challenges and solutions, whether related to permitting, design, or some other project activity. They help the reader understand the complexity and scope of your project, and "humanizing" your story—helping the reader relate—is an important part of constructing a compelling read.

Every client (whether the owner or a larger A/E/C prime) will want different information. That's why I recommend collecting all the project information you can into one file. Two things you should remember:

Collecting as much information as you can up front (what government contractor SAIC Inc. used to call "front-loading the agony"), will save you time that you won't have as the proposal's due date approaches.

You can always delete the information you don't need for a specific use, and that will take much less time than having to locate and/or assemble the small details at the last minute.