This is a Marketing Plan for MSA Architects to create brand awareness tactics to expand to the Columbus, Ohio, market.

1. 1
MSA
Architects
Capstone Project prepared by Consultant Maura Hickey,
MS Marketing, University of Cincinnati for MSA Architects.
January – May 2014

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
MSA Architects background 3
Business Objective 5
Marketing Objective 5
Project Charter 6
The Big Picture Framework 7
Source of Volume 8
Attribute Value Mapping 9
Core competency analysis 10
Competitive analysis 12
Market Research 20
Target audience description 21
Value Proposition 22
Communications strategy 23

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MSA ARCHITECTS BACKGROUND
-­‐‑ Founded in 1985
-­‐‑ Headquartered in Cincinnati, OH
-­‐‑ Office in Columbus, OH
-­‐‑ Over 40 employees
-­‐‑ 9 LEED professionals
-­‐‑ Partnerships in U.S., China, Hawaii and Canada
Sales Information
Estimated annual sales of $6 million.
Services
Renovation, new construction, expansion/addition, master planning, graphics,
wayfinding, branding.
Sports division prototype/rollout services.
Target sectors
Education, corporate, lifestyle, sport, government, religious, branded environments.
Awards
The firm has won over 75 awards to date.
Mission
MSA’s mission is to create positive environments for people to live, work, play and
learn in and to envision building the future.
Company culture
Providing excellent client collaboration and optimal standards in design solutions. It
operates on the principles of honesty, integrity, passion and commitment.

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Recent projects awarded
-­‐‑ Port Columbus Airport Authority Renovations, Visioning Package
-­‐‑ Otterbein University Track/Turf Renovation
-­‐‑ City of Dublin Citywide Indoor Recreation Facilities Assessment/Space Needs
Study
-­‐‑ Dublin City Schools Coffman High School Athletics Master Plan
-­‐‑ Marion City Schools Harding Stadium Renovation
-­‐‑ Kenwood County Club Renovation
-­‐‑ Wilmington College Sport Sciences Facility
Past projects
-­‐‑ CVG International airport renovation
-­‐‑ Paycor Corporate Headquarters
-­‐‑ UC Sheakley Athletics Center
Technology
Building Information Modeling (BIM) and AutoCad
Newsroom
27 February 2014
Indian Hill plans garner favorable response
Indian Hill Schools District conducted a community engagement session with
representatives from MSA regarding proposed plans to improve a high school
baseball field and theater, and potentially add a plaza and new facilities to the area
in the future.

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BUSINESS OBJECTIVE
The business objective identifies 3 elements: the fundamental entity (who are we?),
core competence (what are we good at?) and the main goal (where are we going?)
The fundamental entity for MSA Architects is providing architectural design solutions.
This represents the perspective from which the Big Picture analysis will be
conducted and how decisions will be evaluated as we move along the framework.
MSA Architect’s core competencies are technology, a strong client base and market
expertise. The dominance core competence is providing a fully integrated client
driven architectural solution process.
The main business goal is to expand their operations in Columbus.
They are based in Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio. They have established
themselves as a key player in their field of expertise in the Cincinnati and Southern
Ohio regions. However, they recently opened an office 2 years ago in Columbus,
Ohio, so they are still young and not relatively well known here. They need to
increase their clientele portfolio in the Columbus/Central and Northern Ohio regions.
Enhancing brand awareness and strengthening company image is crucial for them in
the Columbus/Central and Northern Ohio areas. They aim to secure themselves as
an expert resourceful architecture firm in the areas of new construction, expansion,
master planning, renovation, graphics and branding.
MARKETING OBJECTIVE
The main marketing objectives are to increase revenues by $150,000 by the end of
2014 in Columbus/Central or Northern Ohio regions and to enhance brand
awareness and strengthen company image through vital sponsorship and public
relations opportunities.
MSA Architect’s current customer base is divided as follows:
• Sport = 30%
• Government = 30%
• Education = 20%
• Lifestyle = 10 %
• Religious = 5%
• Corporate = 5%
•
The majority of their contracts are obtained through repeat business by client
referrals or word of mouth. Their repeat business is 95% of their overall business.
Each client accounts for approximately between $15,000 -­ $25,000 in revenue.
Therefore, $20,000 per new client equates approximately 8 new clients required by
the end of 2014.
This marketing plan will focus on generating new client revenues and increasing
brand awareness through identifying key sponsorship events in the concentrated
region and targeting specific media outlets;; magazines, newspapers, radio, TV and
the internet, to strengthen the public relations aspect of MSA Architects. A review of

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current marketing collateral was conducted to better facilitate an effective marketing
communications strategy. Market research was conducted with current clients
through in-­depth telephone interviews.
PROJECT CHARTER
The deliverables of this project is a marketing plan in the form of a written report with
analyses and a final presentation to the client. Modules to be included in the written
report are:
Program Module Module number
Core Competency Analysis 1
Competitive Matrix 2
Attribute Value Mapping 7
Customer Market Research 8
Value Proposition 10
Marketing Strategy 11
Communication Strategy 16

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THE BIG PICTURE FRAMEWORK
FE: Fundamental entity
CC: Core competence
STP: Segmentation, targeting, positioning
MV: Main variable (the main benefit customers desire)
DV: Dynamic variable (a variable on which the company can outperform the competition)
TA: Target audience
Marketing
Objective
Source of
Volume STP
FE: An
architectural
design
company
CC: providing a
fully integrated
client driven
architecture
solution
process
Goal: to grow
the Columbus
market
Retention
MV: Listening
DV:
Responsiveness
TA:
Mid to large sized
companies,
municipalities and
school districts for
long-­term business
in mainly
corporate, lifestyle
and sports sectors.
Positioning:
Current belief/do
Value Proposition
Desired beliefs/do
êê êê ê
ê
èè
Business
Objective è
Stimulate
Demand
Product
Price
Promotion
Place
Evaluateê è
è

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SOURCE OF VOLUME
This is the determinant of where our future purchases will come from, considering
both current and potential customers. MSA Architect’s business relies heavily on
repeat business and client retention, as mentioned earlier, their repeat clients
account for 95% of their business. In this case, we will focus on a stimulate
demand/retention strategy and increase consumption among current users.
Acquisition Retention
Stimulate
Demand
Attract New Category
Users
Increase consumption
among current users
Steal Share
Attract New Brand
Users
Increase consumption
occasions among
multi-­brand users

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ATTRIBUTE VALUE MAPPING
Attribute Value Mapping (AVM) is a tool that assists with the process of defining
attributes and values for communicating messages to the end user and building the
branding strategy. This is very important because the rationale behind most
customers’ decision to purchase is based on the value the product or service offers
them. Their motivation to buy is essentially driven by how relevant the product’s
values are to them. Hence, the essence of communicating the right message is
critical. A workshop was conducted with the client to map the product or service
attributes to the benefits they produce and to end values provided to the clients.
Those attributes are:
Relationships
Exceed
Trustworthy
Expertise
Consistent
Safety
Reliable
Visionary
Enjoy
Love
Innovation
Security
Athletic

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CORE COMPETENCY ANALYSIS
The core competency analysis examines the customer benefits, strategic assets of
the company, the core competencies and the dominant core competency.
In-­depth interviews were conducted with 8 employees representing principals,
associates and designers across the company.
The following 2 questions were posed:
1. What do you think the company is particularly good at doing?
2. What do you think the company could be doing that it is currently not doing or not
doing well?
Question 1 yielded the following responses:
-­‐‑ Nimble, flexible and adaptable to most markets.
-­‐‑ Efficient. Quicker turnaround time on projects.
-­‐‑ Provides thoughtful solutions to the design challenges within different
markets.
-­‐‑ Strong leadership focus and top down management values.
-­‐‑ The company is visionary.
-­‐‑ Exceeds clients’ expectations.
-­‐‑ Good client servicing. 95% of clients are repeat business.
-­‐‑ Client-­driven relationships. The client is deeply engaged in the entire process
of the project.
-­‐‑ Every project is looked at from a Design standpoint.
-­‐‑ Strengths are in dealing with complex projects, programming, multi-­faceted,
building, design, planning and problem solving.
-­‐‑ High level of commitment to projects and team.

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-­‐‑ Diverse employees with knowledge of different markets;; building codes,
project management, managing contractors and servicing the owners.
-­‐‑ Great people and culture that understand the markets well.
Question 2 yielded the following responses:
-­‐‑ Detailing buildings could be better.
-­‐‑ Need to grow and expand corporate and lifestyle sectors more.
-­‐‑ Could improve cost estimation, construction budgeting and scheduling.
-­‐‑ Build better brand awareness and public relations efforts and any other
means of communication to connect more with clients.
-­‐‑ The company needs to be more on the forefront of technology with our
internal and external communications and information sharing.
-­‐‑ Increase involvement with local athletic and recreational events for charity.
-­‐‑ Improve HR policies and professional development among employees within
the organization.
-­‐‑ Implement better employee compensation plans and rewards systems.

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COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
There are over 252 players in the Columbus market. For the purposes of conducting
a competitive analysis, 4 competitors were closely studied;; Moody Nolan, NBBJ, M +
A Architects and Design Group. Moody Nolan and NBBJ are large sized architecture
firms with 170 – 850 employees and revenues of over $28 million per annum. The
other 2 competitors are smaller companies with 45 – 50 employees and have over
$250,000 in annual revenues.
Moody Nolan
Background
-­‐‑ Founded in 1982
-­‐‑ Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.
-­‐‑ Other offices: Chicago, Covington KY, Cleveland, Dallas, Indianapolis,
Nashville, Houston, Washington, D.C.
-­‐‑ 170 employees
-­‐‑ 65 in-­house LEED accredited professionals
-­‐‑ 100 partnerships
-­‐‑ Have worked in 40 out of 50 states.
-­‐‑ The largest African American owned and operated architectural firm in the
nation.
Sales Information
Estimated annual sales $28.1 million
Designed more than $4.5 billion of construction in the last three years.
Services
Construction, administration, architectural services, interior design and civil
engineering.

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Target sectors
Sports and recreation facilities, collegiate education, PK-­12 education, public
assembly centers, healthcare, retail, transportation and commercial work.
Awards
To date, the firm has been honored with more than 150 awards.
Mission
Mission is to create functional yet iconic design statements that respond to ever
evolving space, aesthetics and site dynamics.
Company Culture
Operate on the principles of integrity, purpose, honesty, creativity, character,
commitment and passion.
Recent Projects awarded
Columbus airport
Fairfield Inn
Past community projects
-­‐‑ Revitalization of BW Cooper in New Orleans after the devastation of
Hurricane Katrina.
-­‐‑ Riverside Methodist Hospital Breast Cancer
-­‐‑ 18th
and Vine Jazz District in Kansas City
New Technology
Incorporated ‘View Dynamic Glass’ into projects. The new technology works like
sunglasses that change tint with the light.
Design Technology
3D Virtual Environment Team
creates photo-­realistic images and custom animations of the building to allow
simulated movement through the design.
Building Information Modeling (BIM)
used to display the project in different ways. Construction documents,
schedules, cost estimation, life cycle analysis and phasing plans are some of
the examples of information that can be coordinated with BIM. The model can
study energy, daylighting analysis and sustainability issues. It allows all key
stakeholders to be actively involved in the design process, saving time and
money, as well as increasing productivity for the design team. It helps prevent
conflicts during construction and improves coordination throughout the entire
design and construction process.

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Newsroom
January 2014
Recently awarded Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C. It was featured in
‘Architectural Record’. They modernized its design with solar components, natural
light and designing it to suit the neighbourhood.
February 2014
Designers at Moody Nolan proposed an idea of a 1000 feet tower located in the
center of Columbus’ urban core. It would be the tallest tower in the Midwest outside
Chicago. The singular tower could house an entire surburban corporate campus. It
provoked questioning about the future of Columbus. This article was featured in
‘Columbus Monthly’.
M + A Architects
Background
-­‐‑ Founded in 2011
-­‐‑ Single office location in Columbus, OH
-­‐‑ Over 45 employees
Sales Information
Estimated Annual Sales is $250,000
Services
Building design, interior design, renovation, environmental graphics and wayfinding,
LEED design, medical planning, technology integration and branding.
“M+A Healthcare Studio”
-­‐‑ Offers extensive experience with local and national inpatient and outpatient
projects.

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Target sectors
Higher education, religious, retail, recreational, municipal, industrial, housing,
healthcare, K-­12 and corporate.
Awards
The firm has won over 32 awards to date.
Mission
Mission is to focus on an integrated design process, from conception to construction.
Exceptional team collaboration, advanced modeling technology and precise project
scheduling enables efficient completion of coordinated construction. M+A offers
tailored solutions and builds environments that are sustainable, sophisticated,
efficient, exciting and creatively inspired.
Company culture
Believes in balancing the art and science of architecture through poise, purpose and
symmetry. Matching creativity with practicality for optimal results.
Recent Projects Awarded
Columbus City School’s Georgian Heights elementary school
Technology
M+A Architects were an early adopter of Revit BIM software. It delivers project
visualization, thermal performance studies, component specification and budgeting
estimation, all on one platform.
Newsroom
February 2014
M+A was recently recognized for their work on Columbus City School’s
Georgian Heights elementary school, one of Ohio’s first one hundred LEED
certified schools. LEED certified schools are 35% more efficient, use 37% less
potable water and have diverted over 188,000 tons of construction waste from
landfills.
February 2014
M+A partnered with Miller Valentine Group, in Cincinnati, and were selected as
an Architect for 6 different housing developments across Ohio. The projects range in
size and scope and include new-­construction, adaptive reuse and rehabilitation of
existing housing units.

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NBBJ
Background
-­‐‑ Founded in 1943.
-­‐‑ Headquartered in Columbus, OH.
-­‐‑ 10 Offices worldwide. Locations in Beijing, Columbus, London, Los Angeles,
New York, Pune, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai and Boston.
-­‐‑ 150 employees in Columbus and over 700 worldwide.
-­‐‑ Partnerships with some of the world’s most innovative companies;; Google,
Amazon, Samsung, Microsoft and Tencent.
Sales Information
Estimated annual sales $34.23 million
Services
-­ Planning
Campus planning, facility planning, institutional master planning, land-­use
planning and urban design.
-­ Design
Architecture, Environmental graphics, interior architecture, landscape
architecture, lighting design.
-­ Consulting services
Change management, feasibility studies, medical equipment planning, operational
improvement, post-­occupancy evaluation, transition services and workplace
strategy.
Target sectors
Civic and cultural, commercial development, corporate, healthcare, higher education,
science and technology, and sports.

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Awards
It has received over 24 awards in 2013 alone!
Mission
NBBJ’s mission is to design spaces that enable the pursuit of success, wellness and
joy. Design practice helps our clients drive innovation by creating highly productive,
sustainable spaces that free people to live, learn, work and play as they were meant
to. Design environments that disrupt the status quo and effect real, meaningful
change.
Company culture
“Ideas are the sources of innovation. They propel us forward, fueling new insights
and breakthroughs”.
Recent projects awarded
Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
University of California, Riverside
-­‐‑ NBBJ are envisioning a new sports and rec facility with 6,700 seats and 1,000
parking stalls. Scheduled to open in 2015 – 2016 for basketball season.
Recently completed a major renovation and expansion of Pauley Pavilion at
UCLA.
Technology
In 2006, NBBJ launched an initiative called Change Design. They have a Design Lab
and use BIM and design computation software. Design computation software
programs uses algorithms to link geometry with data to address specific problems.
This optimizes efficiency, creativity and produces better quality buildings and a
higher standard of client servicing. It enables NBBJ’s designers to explore a wider
range of design variations in a shorter amount of time, ultimately improving the
design quality of the buildings. Also, the tool analyzes walking time inside and
between buildings to ensure connectivity between people and spaces.
The results of the change design initiative are found in their book, Change Design:
Conversations about Architecture as the Ultimate Business Tool.
Newsroom
21 February 2014
NACDA and NBBJ Join Forces in Multi-­Year Agreement
The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) has
announced a new multi-­year sponsorship agreement with NBBJ. The partnership
provides an opportunity to expand the discussion between architects and athletic
directors on the changing needs of collegiate athletic facilities and their role in the
overall education experience. NBBJ has a long history of athletic facility design for
collegiate institutions, including work for The Ohio State University, the University of
California, Xavier University, Marquette University and the University of Washington.
10 February 2014
Featured in Sports Illustrated, CBS Sports, NBC Sports and NCAA “Kentucky’s 38
year old Rupp Arena in to undergo a $310 million renovation, that includes re-­
invention and a new facade”.

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DESIGN GROUP
Background
-­‐‑ Founded in 1972
-­‐‑ Over 50 employees
-­‐‑ 45 in-­house LEED accredited professionals
-­‐‑ 15 LEED Projects
-­‐‑ Located in Columbus, Ohio
-­‐‑ Partnered with Energent Solutions to provide energy analysis and energy
management and sustainability design for new and existing facilities.
Sales Information
Annual sales figure TBF
Over 450 clients served
Services
Planning, architecture, interiors, graphics, branding, wayfinding and sustainability.
Target sectors
Student housing, civic, healthcare, libraries and commercial offices across the U.S.
Awards
They have won over 58 awards to date.
Mission
Design Group’s mission is to create healthy communities, civic responsibility, life-­
long learning and sustainable architecture.
Company culture
The firm supports a culture of commitment to improving quality of life and creating
more sustainable communities through ongoing leadership in design and corporate
responsibility.

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Recent projects
The Hocking College Energy Institute, Ohio’s first LEED Platinum higher education
facility.
The Diley Ridge Medical Center, Ohio’s first LEED Gold healthcare facility.
Technology
BIM & Revit software
Newsroom
January 2013
Design Group unveils museum addition for the Columbus museum of art
expansion project;; expanded special events areas, increased special exhibition and
collections spaces. A new retail store and restaurant and installation of a new
sculpture garden.
All information taken from Orbis and Hoovers databases, American city business
journals and respective websites for each company.

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MARKET RESEARCH
12 current clients that use MSA Architects for design, new construction, renovation
and interior design were interviewed. These clients are in the sport, education,
lifestyle and corporate sectors. Interview questions enquired about what work the
current clients chose MSA Architects to do, which other architecture firms they use,
what factors they consider when choosing an architecture firm and rate those factors
on a scale of 1 – 10 of importance, with 10 being the most important and 1 the least
important.
Some research findings were:
• 6/13 clients use other architecture firms for other project requirements
• What the important factors are when choosing an architecture firm
• The factors of highest importance were rated on a scale of 1 – 10 (1 being
least important and 10 being the most important)
• 2/13 clients said deciding on which architecture firms to use is project specific
driven
Important factors for current clients when choosing an architecture firm
• The factors rated 10 of highest importance when choosing an architecture firm
were:
Listening
Track record/references
Cost/budgeting
Experience
Reputation
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

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Responsiveness
Expertise
Creative guidance
Quality of work
• 6/13 clients said they would not use other architecture firms for all the factors
mentioned above.
• The remaining 5 clients would use the following architecture companies for
the factors mentioned:
Williams Architect (Chicago)
McGill Smith Punshon
Steel, Hammond & Paul
Cole & Russell
MS
Kinselman Kline Gossman
TARGET AUDIENCE DESCRIPTION
MSA Architect’s target audience is medium to large sized companies, municipalities
and school districts for long-­term business in mainly corporate, lifestyle and sports
sectors. Continue to target current clients in all core markets:
Education
Lifestyle
Corporate
Sport
Branded Environments
Religious
Government

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VALUE PROPOSITION
The Value Proposition is a statement on how MSA Architects will position itself in the
minds of consumers and compete in the marketplace. The current belief and
desired belief is from the customer’s perspective and reflects the main and dynamic
variables. The current do describes the client’s current behavior. The customer
proposition is a statement from the company to the customer and supports the main
dynamic variable. The desired do considers current and desired states to execute
the whole marketing strategy. The customer proposition is a statement from the
company to the target customer and contains the main/dynamic variable theme.
Current Belief:
“ I want an architecture firm
that listens and is responsive
to our needs. Although cost is
not the most important factor,
fair budgeting should be
considered in the process”.
ê
Current Do:
“I deal with architecture
firms that perform
quality work, have a
good reputation and
track record relevant to
the project’s
requirements”.
Customer Proposition:
“ MSA Architects exceeds
your expectations with
exceptional client
servicing”.
“MSA Architects provides
thoughtful solutions with
quick turnaround”.
Desired Do:
“Contact MSA
Architects for the best
solutions”.
Desired Belief:
“MSA Architects will
provide the most efficient
solutions”.
“MSA Architects will adapt
to your needs”.
è è
ê

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COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY
The communications strategy should primarily focus on media placement for TV,
print, radio, public relations and the Internet.
Sponsorship of events in Columbus, such as bike races, marathons and sports
events needs to take place. See below the list of events to sponsor. Great Columbus
Sports Commission lists upcoming sports events on their website
www.columbussports.org. The main and dynamic variables, listening and
responsiveness, should be iterated in the communication messages.
Public relations efforts can be enhanced through magazine/newspaper articles, radio
and TV interviews. Columbus is the 34th
largest TV market in the U.S. with 12 TV
stations and it is home to the 36th
largest radio market with 36 radio stations. See list
of recommended newspapers/magazines below.
Increase social media activity. For example, post more frequently about recent news,
awards and projects. Post defined information about the company’s mission, culture,
external news, most recent projects and the design technology used on projects.
Hosting a blog relating to company news, projects, awards, staff announcements
would also help increase traffic flow to the website.
Print Media Recommendations
Newspapers/Magazines
• The Columbus Dispatch
• The Columbus Citizen-­Journal
• Dispatch’s ThisWeek Community News
• The Daily Reporter
• Uweekly
• Live Local
• Columbus Business First
• Columbus Monthly
• CityScene
Events to Sponsor
• Columbus Marathon
• Komen Columbus Race held annually in May
• Capital City Half Marathon
• The New Albany Classic Invitational Grand Prix and Family Day
• Bike races (monthly listings on www.ohiocycling.info)
• GoBike Columbus hosts monthly “alleycat” bike races
• Pelotonia grassroots bike tour held every August
• Annual Arnold Class Fitness Expo held every March
• Columbus Motor Speedway monthly motorcycling races