Equitable, Inclusive, and Environmentally Responsible Practices at HDR At HDR, we do things right to make great things possible. As a 100% employee-owned company, HDR prioritizes equitable, inclusive, and environmentally responsible subcontracting and business practices. As part of our commitmen...

How AI Search Is Changing the Way AEC Firms Get Found Author: Brad Phillips, Founder of Fairbuilt Design Studio For years, the advice to AEC marketers, and marketers in general, about search was fairly consistent. Rank on Google, show up in the first few results, make sure your site loads fast. ...

2026 Amplify Recap Author: Katy Byers, Oregon Chapter Board President, Middle of Six After nearly a decade in the A/E/C industry, I attended my very first SMPS Amplify conference. Amplify is SMPS’s national conference, and includes three days full of sessions and connecting with marke...

The Clarity Gap: Why Clients Struggle to Choose Between AEC Firms Author: Brad Phillips, Founder of Fairbuilt Design Studio AEC firms rarely struggle because they have nothing to say. More often, they struggle because they have too much to say, and no clear hierarchy for deciding what matters mo...

2026 Boards, Bags & Brews Event Recap On June 18th, SMPS Oregon members and friends came together for our annual Boards, Bags & Brews event. The day was chock full of connections, friendly competition, and giving back to our community. Here is a look back at everything that made the day s...

Strengths at Work—Turning Insight into Traction Event Recap In May, the Education Committee hosted the "Strengths at Work—Turing Insight into Traction" event, led by Katherine Robinette of Keystone and Raven. The 2-hour workshop helped AEC professionals translate personal assessment i...

Going for Gold in the Emerald City: A Recap of SMPS PRC 2026 Three days. 500+ A/E/C marketers. One very caffeinated city. Here's what went down at the 2026 SMPS Pacific Regional Conference in Seattle. The 2026 SMPS Pacific Regional Conference brought its "Going for Gold" theme to the Hyatt Regen...

2026 Market Mixer Event Recap The 2026 SMPS Oregon Market Mixer brought together A/E/C professionals from across the region for an evening centered on meaningful conversations, industry insight, and connection. Held on April 28 at Avenue Portland, the event once again proved why it remains one of...

What's With The 'Hail Mary' RFPs? I had a PM that made me cringe inwardly every time they came to my cubicle. Because he only visited me when he had an RFP that was a total long shot. You know the situation: No prior connection with the client. Tangential project experience. No teaming dis...

Your Field Team Is Your Biggest Brand Ambassador In the A/E/C world, marketing teams spend a lot of time thinking about proposals, websites, and conference booths. All important things. But there’s one place where your brand shows up every single day that often gets overlooked: The jobsite...