noun [ C ] US (also redheaded stepchild, red-headed step-child)
UK/redˌhed.ɪd ˈstep.tʃaɪld/ US/ˌred.hed.ɪd ˈstep.tʃaɪld/
someone or something that is not fully accepted or wanted:
“Presidential speechwriters were once the redheaded stepchildren, kept hidden in case they spoiled the charade that the president wrote his own speeches.”
In the boardrooms of architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) companies, marketing rarely gets its say. Misunderstood and underappreciated, marketing is the red-headed stepchild to whom meagre budgets are reluctantly allocated and with whom senior leadership teams avoid engaging. After all, as everybody knows, leads are generated on the golf course or over a pint, and jobs are won because of track record and relationships. Marketing’s job is to promote the brand (whatever that means) organise golf outings and throw a few logo-laden photos up on social media.
..but seriously
What does marketing actually do? Well for one, it’s the microphone that records your team and the speakers that blast their value to the target audience. It’s the still that condenses your complex messages into simple one-liners, and the agar that nourishes ideas. It’s the yeast that raises the dough of your core values…ok, ok enough analogies, you get the idea.
So think of it this way, marketing grows an audience that is listening. Then it gives the members of the audience an opportunity to evaluate how you can help them solve the problems they have. And it funnels them toward a conversion where they become a lead, an opportunity, a new contact, or simply an audience member who is listening even more intently.
Awareness + Evaluation + Conversion = SALES
Marketing is not just a department
…but a critical function that can shape the trajectory of a business.
The biggest B2B brands in the world have founders who are pure marketers (and you’ll be relieved to know I’m not going to talk about Steve Jobs). They understand that marketing is about finding a market, delivering what people want, and doing it profitably. This isn’t some abstract concept; it’s the core of running a successful business. In AEC businesses, we solve problems - so for us it’s about finding solutions, and showing people how we can help them.
AECOM: it does what it says on the tin
AECOM co-founder Richard Newman, with a strong understanding of business development and marketing, helped form AECOM through the merger of several companies. AECOM leverages a strong marketing strategy to position itself as a global leader in Architecture Engineering Construction Operations and Management services (marketing genius - the name is what the company does!). Their marketing focuses on showcasing their expertise in delivering complex projects and sustainable solutions, which attracts major clients worldwide.
Foster + Partners: a compelling brand strategy
A British international architecture firm known as much for its innovative designs as for its powerful brand, Foster + Partners has grown globally thanks to its straightforward and compelling brand strategy. At its core, this strategy revolves around three values: collaboration, innovation, and sustainability. As AEC businesses looking to grow our audiences and opportunities, we can learn from this. Consistency establishes a strong brand voice that distinguishes us from our competitors. It allows us to craft a narrative around our work, making our projects more than just buildings but embodiments of our values and vision.
Arup: a progressive philosophy
Ove Arup, founder of Arup Group Ltd., was not only a brilliant engineer, but also a genius at crafting an authentic brand and imbuing it with value. Arup's vision when establishing the company came out of a combination of his wartime experiences and a progressive-minded philosophy broadly aligning with early modernism: for the organisation to be a force for peace and social betterment in the post-war world. To this end, it would employ professionals of diverse disciplines that could work together to produce projects of greater quality than was achievable by them working in isolation, a concept known as 'Total Design'. This idea permeated everything Arup did in those years when the company’s reputation was forged, and it facilitated a key brand differentiator - but it was truly authentic, not about slogans or logos.
These examples from the engineering, architecture and construction sectors illustrate that by effectively communicating their value propositions, showcasing their expertise, and building strong brand identities, these companies have set themselves apart in highly competitive industries. They did not treat marketing as the red-headed stepchild of business functions – seen but not heard, somehow necessary but not valuable. They understood that marketing is not slogans and logos.
In the B2B sector marketing is your core values, it’s your people, it’s your philosophy, it’s your culture, it’s your value add.
So whenever you’re ready to embrace the red-headed stepchild, give me shout.
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