34
marketing
Jumpstart Your
Project Descriptions
BY JEFFREY TAUB, CPSM
Y
our company has a comprehensive and
powerful project description database.
Every project cost, date, and client reference
is stored for safekeeping, and sortable reports are
a click away. The database may even brew your
coffee in the morning. But summaries of brand-new
projects are hard to come by—and you have
a proposal deadline knocking on the door.
The ability to craft project descriptions from scratch is one mark
of a proactive and resourceful marketer. There should be little need
to rely on technical staff to provide work summaries when project
reports, contracts, design drawings, invoices, progress reports, web
sites, news articles, and other resources are often readily available.
When faced with writing a new project page (or award submittal,
resume update, etc.), professional marketers can tap into their
inner-journalist to find, review, prioritize, and synthesize
project-related information from a variety of sources.
Most marketers have access to network folders, SharePoint sites,
and project files. The first step is figuring out the folder structure,
understanding where materials are saved, and recognizing file
naming conventions for drafts and final deliverables. There is an
art to hunting for project information in project folders and files,
in addition to client and stakeholder web sites, agency planning
documents, and other information-rich sources. More than simply
digging in the right locations, one must be able to cull the most
appropriate information. Here are some resources at your disposal
and tips for getting started.
The ability to craft project descriptions
from scratch is one mark of a proactive
and resourceful marketer.
Society for Marketing Professional Services
Start from the beginning. The request for proposals can be
helpful in providing background and context for the project,
identifying project goals and desired outcomes, and presenting
task organization and structure. It must be understood, however,
that the RFP (and subsequent proposal) is a statement of what
should be done—not what was done. Similarly, the client
contract is useful as an early scope of work, but it must be
confirmed whether these and other services were performed.
Look for written documentation. Project reports and technical
memoranda, when available, should provide a thorough
summary of your firm’s approach, methodology, findings, and
conclusions. Traffic impact studies, for instance, will tell you how
many intersections were analyzed and under which conditions.
Environmental impact statements will describe the proposed
site plan and development program and identify the mitigation
measures your firm identified and evaluated. These technical
summaries can be adapted easily for marketing purposes.
Tap public information. Public information is abundant.
Community outreach is integral to most planning studies
these days, and project web sites are ubiquitous. These web
sites typically outline project goals and issues and host project
memoranda and reports, stakeholder presentations, and study
area maps. Links often are provided to media coverage and
resource documents. Public planning documents, funding
agreements, and construction reports also can be tapped
for information.
Social media should be part of your web-based research, as well;
look for client- or project-specific Facebook pages and Twitter
accounts to stay informed of project milestones, quotes and
accolades from elected officials, and other information.

All this sleuthing will help you ask intelligent, probing questions and better
differentiate your firm’s work as you develop the project story.
Lean on partners and teammates. Engineering-firm marketers,
for instance, can glean important project data from the project
web sites of architects—which often cite square footage, list
programmatic details, and describe the urban, suburban, or
rural context of a project site. If your firm hasn’t written up the
project yet, there is a chance the architect, contractor, or another
teaming partner has. One must be careful to use another firm’s
description only for information and context; tell your own story
in your own words.
Access site photos. Site photos can be telling. Photos of
community outreach events, design charrettes, and public
hearings can be understood to mean that your firm was involved.
Did your staff plan event logistics, facilitate workshops, or deliver
presentations? This puzzle can be solved by digging deeper for
clues. Are there design files for event flyers and venue signage
in the project folder? If so, there is a chance your staff played a
planning and coordination role in getting the public engagement
program off the ground. Similarly, photos of intersections and
curbside parking signage can indicate traffic impact analyses,
and photos of boilers, chillers, and other mechanical equipment
could indicate an energy audit or systems commissioning role.
Photos can easily be misinterpreted when taken out of context;
substantiation with a member of the project team is essential.
Leverage an outsider’s perspective. Marketing professionals
may not have the technical know-how to fully understand
detailed site plans and design drawings, but here too are clues
that can make a project page more engaging. Does a rail line run
through the property? How many parcels are being developed?
How long is the highway corridor? What type of bridge is being
designed? This information can then be leveraged to identify
key issues or challenges your planning or design team may have
faced. Design plans are blueprints—literal manifestations of a
firm’s project work. Along with project reports, they are among
your best guides to the type, size, and scale of the project.
35
Check invoices for reality. Invoices provide the most accurate
inventory of a firm’s actual work, and invoices are often
accompanied by progress reports. Comparing the RFP, project
report, and invoices also can be illuminating—particularly in
identifying services and analyses not documented elsewhere.
Perhaps your urban design plan required an economic impact
analysis or your structural design of an airport terminal
included blast protection elements? Further, invoices can help
you pinpoint whether certain work was done in house or by a
subconsultant. It is important to compare the requested, proposed,
and performed services to get the full picture of a project.
No amount of detective work on the part of marketing writers
negates the need for thorough vetting and verification of your new
project description, but your technical colleagues will appreciate
facing more than a blank screen. All this sleuthing will help you
ask them intelligent, probing questions and better differentiate the
firm’s work as you develop the project story. Your enthusiasm for
their work—and the time you took to understand their project
from multiple resources and perspectives—also will go a long way
toward gaining their trust and securing their earlier involvement
the next time around.
About the Author
Jeffrey Taub, CPSM, is regional marketing
manager for the New York and New Jersey offices
of VHB (www.vhb.com), an engineering, planning,
and environmental services firm with 22 offices
along the East Coast. He can be reached at
jtaub@vhb.com. Jeffrey previously wrote
about merged marketers for Marketer.
Marketer/February 2014