At the time of this writing, I am stranded at a hotel near The University of Massachusetts Amherst for my son’s first college prospect baseball showcase. Our predicament is courtesy of “Henri” making landfall on the New England coast as a category one hurricane for the first time in 30 years. Though it was downgraded to a tropical storm, it was angsty enough to cancel our return flights to St. Louis. Not good. The showcase got moved from the campus’ pristine baseball fields to an upper gymnasium with no air circulation. The camp was reduced from 8 hours to 2.5 hours. The school tour was canceled. The only originally scheduled event was our free lunch at UMass’s “award winning dining hall.” What should have been a delightful campus stroll to lunch morphed into a gusty, mad dash through a torrential downpour. It was a no-frills, soaking wet showcase.

Let’s not let this happen to you.

When a company asks me, “What’s the best way to spend my marketing budget?” I say, “Create professional marketing assets that showcase your company’s talent, identity and culture.” I get really excited. “Let’s turn your work into art,” I add.

“Why?” They react. “Don’t we want to sell, sell, sell? Print up a flyer about our services? Promote our great products with a blast?”

While these things are important, “No,” I say, smiling. “Sit down. You’re making me nervous.”

Then I explain how professional, well-executed marketing assets like video and photography can transform a company’s image and brand to showcase the best part of who and what they are. When done right, these marketing tools are elevated to art. They evoke a sense of something bigger than a sales vehicle, while still becoming the engine that drives your sales.

It’s difficult to convey the culture of a company – the “who” behind the “what.” So much of our business comes through our relationships, longevity in the industry, reputation and referrals. It’s the nature of our industry. We network.

So how do we extend those relationships in this digital age through our marketing efforts?

In an age of endless Zoom, Microsoft Teams and digital influences – when everyone is grappling to be heard – production-value video and custom photography tell a deeper story. These assets provide more long-term, greater traction than the traffic and buzz of today’s next big thing in digital marketing.

Photography and video should portray something intangible about the identity of the companies they showcase. They create brand voice, a major marketing component necessary before unleashing the salespeople with flyers and promotions.

In other words, when you’re inviting a client to come to your proverbial “campus,” we need to show them the green, well-groomed baseball fields before we drag them through the rain to the dining hall. We need to show them our culture and identity – why we are worth doing business with – before we get to the hot upper-level gym.

I recently asked CEO of Solstice Productions, Amanda Aschinger, how important video is to our marketing. She gave a great answer:

“There are some set standard expectations in the A/E/C (architecture, engineering and construction) world, such as on time, quality, safety and on budget. What makes one company a better fit for a given project often comes down to the people, the experience and the approach. Construction is a long, sometimes painful and expensive process. The ‘who’ of the team can greatly impact the ‘how.’ Aside from an in-depth in-person session, a well-crafted video is the best way for prospective customers and employees to experience the who and how of your team.”

Aschinger adds, “Video is not a standalone solution. Like any marketing or sales tactic, it works best when used in a full strategy. All of the channels (social, email, web, trade show) can be made more effective when video plays a role.”

She recommends a standard package of videos that every A/E/C company should have:

• Company intro or overview
• Capabilities-specific videos (one for each)
• Market expertise-specific videos (one for each)
• Core values/culture – something that works very well for both business development and recruiting, and is really focused on your people

Aschinger also recommends highlighting key milestones as part of ongoing video campaigns. Adding a new division, targeting a new vertical, celebrating an anniversary, completing a high-profile or unique project and releasing a new product are all great times to use video to help communicate your wins.

The value of seeing and hearing a company’s faces and voices through video is more than a sales avenue. It is a way to portray a company’s true identity, culture and mission, beyond what we have to sell. In the relationship business, we don’t want to lead with sales slicks, fancy flyers or rock bottom deals. We want to lead with our voices. We want to show, not tell.

My dream clients are ones who need and want content creation. They want to figure out the best way to tell their story and convey their culture. Great marketing educates, energizes and engages. When a story is told right, customers get excited, too. They see the beauty of the campus, the “field of dreams” and can envision their own success. When a story is told right, customers see the company’s best assets and want to “go the distance.”