Join SMPS SeLA on Wednesday, April 27 at the Metairie Country Club for a day of knowledge sharing and training with AEC marketers, business developers, technical professionals, and principals.  Additionally, we will celebrate and honor exemplary achievements in communications, marketing, and professional development in the build environment at our awards luncheon.  Limited seats available!

This full day annual event covers the six domains of practice:

• Marketing research
• Marketing planning
• Client & business development
• Proposals
• Promotional activity
• Management
  
  
  

Important Dates and Information

Call for Sponsors

• Closes April 18, 2022
• Click here to learn more and contact Olivia Szczerba at [email protected]
  
  

Call for Roundtable Speakers

• Now closed
• Click here to learn more 

Call for Communications and Achievement Awards

• Now closed
• Click here to learn more 
  
  

Event Registration

• Early bird rate ends April 15, 2022
• Registration closes April 25, 2022
• All event registrations are final and non-refundable. Registrations are transferrable.
  
  

Workshop Speakers and Schedule

7:30 AM – Breakfast & Registration 

8:00 AM – Opening Remarks

8:15 AM – Keynote Presentation with Dr. Tommy Karam, Ph D

Utilizing Your Personal Brand in Professional Presentations 

Session Description
Whether you are presenting to others, working with customers or clients, interacting with fellow employees, or engaged in community activities, your personal brand can help you be more effective.  This highly interactive presentation will build upon how to utilize your personal brand in both formal and informal settings with large or small groups.

About Dr. Karam
Tommy is a Senior Instructor in the LSU E.J. Ourso College of Business and the Flores MBA program where he teaches sports marketing, personal branding and negotiations. He also teaches in the Executive Education program.  Outside of the classroom, he works with and conducts seminars for college and NFL coaches and athletes on media training and personal branding. He also works with a variety of companies on personal branding and professional communication.

9:30 AM – Break

9:45 AM – Keynote Presentation with Dr. Melissa Thompson, Ph D

Enhancing Your People Strategy

Session Description
You’ve likely heard the phrases – “it’s not what you say, but how you say it” and “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Both of these phrases have never been more true in today’s business climate. Communication and relationships are two of the most important aspects of enhancing your people strategy. In this session, we’ll discuss best practices for both, and participants will leave with a mini-development plan to put into action as soon as you leave the conference.  

About Dr. Thompson
Dr. Thompson is as a consultant and coach at Success Labs with extensive experience in interpersonal communication, public speaking, and talent development. She works with individuals and companies to grow leaders, build teams, and drive results through great people strategy. In addition to her role at Success Labs, she also serves as an organizer and speaker coach for TEDxLSU since its inception in 2012 and is an adjunct faculty member in the LSU E.J. Ourso College of Business. She holds a BA in Communication Studies from LSU and an MA and PhD in Communication Theory from the University of Memphis.

11:00 AM – Break

11:30 AM – Awards Luncheon with Matt Lundy, REI Promos

Thank you to our awards program judges!

• Nicole Marshall, CPSM, Founder/President, Curated Communications and SMPS Utah Chapter President
• Kaitlin Virding, CPSM, Business Development Manager, Stoel Rives and SMPS Oregon Chapter President
• Julie Kost, Marketing Manager/Associate, Schmidt Associates and SMPS Indiana Chapter President

1:00 PM – Break

1:15 PM – Roundtable Sessions 

Making Proposals Read Like a Magazine with Lyn Vicknair, EskewDumezRipple
Taking lessons learned from editorial design and bringing them to the world of proposal production to help give your submissions a stand-out design that is polished and easy to read.

Website Whiz-Bang, Bells, and Whistles with Brad BonGiovanni, Rockit Science Agency
Website whiz-bang, bells, and whistles. Does buying Emeril Lagasse cookware make you a chef? Not even close. Learn how to leverage what actually goes into a great dish, website builds, why the IT folks need to chill out until marketing is ready for them, and the strategies that will light up your online experience. But what about that great dish? We can also share with you our secret to being back-to-back champions at our last two cooking competitions.

Running your Marketing Department like an Agency with Perryn Olson, REX.one 
Marketers juggle proposals, websites, social, company culture whiling working across multiple business units – so what is a marketing department supposed to do? As an agency, your brands are your clients. Centralize tools and personnel, think in frameworks, and plan ahead to get more done.  Let’s discuss the why, how, and pros & cons of operating your marketing department as an agency.

Content with Your Content? How Technical Writing Improves Your Marketing Efforts with Sam Olmsted, Online Optimism
In such a relationship-based industry, you may not fully appreciate the value of your digital presence. When done well, technical writing and other web content can increase your company's credibility, your website's search visibility, and your overall sales. Learn how you can make the most out of your marketing efforts. 

Social Media Bootcamp with Jeff Januszek, Perk Social Media

Pitch Perfect with Dr. Melissa Thompson, Ph D with Success Labs
Ever get nervous or clam up when someone says, “tell me a little about yourself.” The elevator pitch response should be an easy one since you are talking about yourself, but have you ever taken the time to craft one that adequately sells yourself and piques the interest of your audience? In this roundtable discussion, we’ll learn more about elevator pitches and participants will leave with an outline of their own perfect pitch.

 2:30 PM – Break

2:45 PM – Keynote Presentation with Scott Walker

About Scott Walker
Scott is a former Emmy and Murrow-winning news anchor who left the local news game in 2018 – after 23 years! – to launch Scott Walker Consulting | Scott Walker Media. In 2019, Scott was elected to the Jefferson Parish Council as Councilman At-Large, representing all of Jefferson Parish.

4:00 PM – Networking & Cocktail Reception

Thank You to our Sponsors

Event Sponsor

Reception Sponsors

Awards Luncheon Sponsors

Breakfast Sponsor

Contributing Sponsors

In-Kind Sponsor

Making Big Moves Team