Spill The Ink

Reaching 100 years is a commendable accomplishment for any business and should be celebrated to the fullest extent. As Dana Galvin Lancour leads Barton Malow’s centennial marketing campaign, she joins us to discuss the challenges and opportunities in marketing a legacy construction firm with deep community roots. 

In this episode of Spill the Ink, Michelle interviews Dana, Barton Malow’s VP of branding and...

It’s as untraditional as it gets, but having a non-attorney in the driving seat of your law firm can do wonders for streamlining operations, enhancing the client experience and strengthening team culture. But it’s not without its challenges — as our guest discovered when he built a law firm from the ground up (with the help of a team of attorneys) in just two weeks. 

Before Jonathan Delk was CEO of Colorad...

Michael Mantese brought a fresh perspective to Eskew Dumez Ripple, a nationally recognized architecture firm, when he joined in 2017. Coming from a New York City digital marketing and advertising agency, he brought a data-driven, people-centric approach to the firm’s marketing and content creation strategies. As marketing director, he leads the firm with the same values and elevates its brand storytelling through his p...

Reports of attorneys grappling with issues like anxiety, depression and substance abuse remain alarmingly high as the legal industry continues fighting for ground in the battle against mental health and well-being issues. 

This Mental Health Awareness Month and Well-Being in Law Week, we’ve invited well-being consultant Tara Antonipillai to discuss the state of the legal industry and actionable strategie...

Soon after starting as an intern architect, Heather Blazi realized the job didn’t spark joy quite the way she imagined while watching HGTV as a kid. So she adjusted her path. Today, she’s the marketing director at Pfluger Architects, a design firm specializing in the education market.

Heather joins us to discuss owning your niche, market expansion and building an effective team with diverse skills. She sha...

Law firms are relationship-driven businesses — and not only in terms of attorney-client relationships. Aricia Gallaher’s recipe for success is to approach marketing with an understanding that nurturing connections is kingpin, both internally and externally. 

Aricia is the marketing director at Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, a full-service law firm in Chattanooga. In this episode, Aricia reflects on the lesso...

Professional services buyers want to see more than simple boilerplate to inform their decision about why they should hire you. Marketing needs to be tailored as much as possible to address their specific needs and concerns.

Derek Goodroe, marketing director at Ashley McGraw Architects, talks about why he invests time and resources into carefully tailoring each request for proposal (RFP) — even if it takes ...

The legal industry isn’t known for its trailblazing progress on the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) front — but it is improving. Many law firms are integrating DEI strategy into their core business model, and the benefits of this shift are touching nearly every area, from prospecting and marketing to recruitment and talent development.

In this episode, Lee Watts joins us to talk about her new role as...

Jill Davis leads the marketing department at Cline Design, an interdisciplinary architecture, planning and interior design firm in North Carolina. She recently guided the 35-year-old firm through a successful rebrand and website redesign and is constantly re-examining Cline’s marketing strategy to meet evolving client needs.

In this episode, Jill and host Michelle Calcote King discuss Cline’s marketing str...

You don’t need to work in an extremely visual industry to create video content that drives revenue and brings in new business. You don’t even need to hire a fancy, high-tech production team.

Philip Fairley helps law firms and attorneys craft and execute video marketing strategies that resonate with target audiences and yield ROI. He and host Michelle Calcote King discuss how to get started, including equip...

The architecture, engineering and construction industry is severely lagging behind in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Black workers represent 13% of the industry’s workforce but only hold 7% of its jobs. Meanwhile, white workers comprise 77% of the workforce and hold over 80% of all AEC jobs.

AEC Unites, a nonprofit membership organization, was founded in 2023 to advance DEI in the industry. The org...

Running a business is hard. Now try being a lawyer on top of it all.

Having spent 20 years helping law firm owners and senior partners implement strategies that turn their firms into thriving businesses, Gary Mitchell has a treasure trove of knowledge and advice to share about the subject. He and host Michelle Calcote King discuss the many facets of running an effective law firm business, including best pr...

Angels sing when marketing and business development (BD) work in harmony. Together, the departments highlight the business’s value at every stage of the buyer’s journey. 

Michelle Hamilton, VP of Business Development at Vessel Architecture, talks about how BD and marketing complement each other and how to make genuine connections that go beyond transactional interactions. She and host Michelle Calcote King...

Many businesses have spent the past year navigating the increasing use of artificial intelligence in the workplace. Law firms are especially cautious due to lingering questions about the legal implications of using AI, particularly related to confidentiality and privacy concerns. Meanwhile, many professionals are exploring how AI might enhance their expertise and simplify workloads. 

Jessica Aries is one o...

Architecture, engineering and construction firms are increasingly integrating video content into their marketing strategies. Thanks to smartphones, AEC firms don’t need expensive equipment or large production crews to create high-quality videos. Field professionals can now use their phones to capture on-site perspectives, resulting in authentic and engaging behind-the-scenes content.

Jessica Whitlock, a st...

Jennifer Sebranek helped shape GBBN Architects’s marketing into a vibrant, creative and attention-grabbing masterpiece — much like the buildings the firm’s architects design. Their success truly cemented as the firm focused on building a client-first brand, which Jennifer refers to as GBBN’s “You, not us” approach. It captures GBBN’s unwavering commitment to prioritize the client experience and foster lasting connectio...

Extracting, capturing and communicating knowledge from project team members are fundamental responsibilities of an architecture firm’s marketing department. LS3P, an architecture, interiors and planning firm, has honed these processes over the years to drive its success, elevate its marketing efforts and provide greater value to its clients.

In this episode of “Spill the Ink,” Michelle Calcote King intervi...

The marketing industry is evolving at warp speed, as Jennifer Haferbecker tells Michelle Calcote King in this episode of “Spill the Ink.” Role specialization, branding, research and technology are increasingly important players in an architecture firm’s strategy. Keeping pace in this constantly changing landscape means being more intentional with both strategy and professional development.

As chief marketi...

Some say that running a business is an art, not a science. But professional services firm owners should have a documented strategy for growing and scaling their business to one day (fingers-crossed) sell their company for millions of dollars.

In 2017, Greg Alexander sold his consulting firm for $162 million. Now he’s on a mission to help other business owners achieve similar success. 

In this ...