How To Win Work The architect's guide to business development and marketing

You are a great designer, but no-one knows. Now what? This indispensable book, written by one of the most influential marketers in architecture, will demystify Public Relations and marketing for all architects, whether in large practices or practicing as sole practitioners. It bridges the distance between architects and marketing by giving practical tips, best practice and anecdotes from an author with 20 years’ experience in architecture marketing. It explains all aspects of PR and Business Development for architects: for example, how to write a good press release; how to make a fee proposal; how to prepare for a pitch. It gives examples of how others do it well, and the pitfalls to avoid. In addition, it discusses more general aspects which are linked to PR and BD, such as being a good employer, ethics for architects and the challenges when working abroad. Featuring vital insights from a wide variety of architects, from multinational practices to small offices, this book is an essential companion to any architectural office.

1 How we are supposed to work for free 2 We can do better 3 To specialise or not to specialise 4 Marketing: a dirty word 5 Mission and vision 6 Branding and company culture PUBLIC RELATIONS 7 "If I was down to my last dollar, I would spend it on PR" 7.1 Writing a marketing strategy 8 The office is your business card 9 Your website: your online shop window 10 Your work amidst a changing media landscape 10.1 Print 10.2 Online media 10.3 Social media 10.4 TV and Youtube 10.5 Vlogs and podcasts 10.6 Crisis communication and the outreach that might prevent it 10.7 Others 11 Lectures 12 Receiving or organising awards 13 Your product in the picture 13.1 The drawing 13.2 The render 13.3 Collages and hand-drawings 13.4 Talking to clients: the project text and press release 13.5 The model 14 The built project 15 The project book 16 Exhibitions 17 Prioritising BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 18 Business development, the direct way to win new work 19 Client relationships 20 Who are you as a person, and how do you approach selling? 21 Just do it 22 Going abroad 23 Fairs 24 How to calculate a fee 25 Contracts: managing risks and keeping promises 26 It’s not easy being green 27 The pitch 28 Broadening your portfolio 29 Planning 30 Collaborations 31 Learning from others 32 Styles 33 Ethics for architects 34 Suing your client 35 Spam and fraud 36 Crisis CASE STUDIES 1 shedkm 2 MgMaStudio 3 Studio MUTT 4 Coffey Architects 5 David Millar Architects 6 Feilden Fowles 7 Turner Works 8 From 0 to 100 staff in 15 years

Jan Knikker is Partner at MVRDV, leading the Contracts, Business Development and Public Relations efforts. He leads MVRDV’s branding efforts and has overseen the practice’s rapid expansion into new markets, focusing on solutions for global issues through its architecture and urbanism. Jan regularly lectures internationally, at commercial and academic venues in Germany, the UK, Israel, Colombia, Austria, Australia, Kuala Lumpur, and elsewhere. He writes for various publications and was Deputy Editor of Domus 2019.