SmartSKILLS: Paid Media for AEC: Making Smarter Decisions That Actually Support Growth

Most AEC firms aren’t short on marketing activity. They’re juggling business development, pursuits, thought leadership, recruiting, client communications, and internal demands all at once.

What’s hard is understanding where paid digital fits inside that mix. How does it support business development? How does it reinforce Account-Based Marketing? What role should it play alongside relationships, proposals, and long sales cycles?

This SmartSKILLS™ session goes beneath the surface of “we should be running ads” and into how paid digital actually works inside an AEC growth strategy. It’s designed for marketers, seller-doers, and firm leaders who want a clearer understanding of where their digital dollars could be going, what those investments could be doing, and how paid media can meaningfully support business development and pursuits.

Rather than turning you into a channel operator, this session gives you a practical way to think about paid media so you can make intentional choices, ask better questions, and feel confident about how digital fits into your firm’s growth plan.

You’ll learn how to:
• Recognize most common pitfalls in AEC paid media
• See how easily campaigns can drift off course when goals, audiences, and channels aren’t aligned
• Think more clearly about who you’re actually trying to reach and why “AEC” is not an audience
• Match the right channels to the right outcomes (awareness, consideration, pursuit support)
• Understand how intent differs across LinkedIn, Google, and other paid media channels
• Ask smarter questions of vendors and internal teams

You’ll walk away with:
• A clear mental model for how paid digital fits into BD and ABM
• Greater confidence in how marketing dollars can be spent in paid digital
• Practical guidance for evaluating performance and strategy
• The ability to defend digital investments with clarity not guesswork

This session is ideal for professionals who are accountable for digital spend, expected to report results, and need to make informed decisions in an increasingly complex marketing landscape.