Lessons from marketing a legacy construction firm on its 100th anniversary

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 communications, about the strategic planning behind the firm’s 100th anniversary. They discuss how Barton Malow structures its team to facilitate cross-functional collaboration, the firm’s forward-thinking approach to thought leadership and the importance of getting internal communications right. Dana also opens up about her 17 years working in construction marketing and explains how participating in the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) shaped her career.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn

• About Barton Malow

• Insights from Dana’s rich career managing and marketing Barton Malow’s legacy brand

• Do’s, don’ts and ideas when planning your firm’s anniversaries and milestones

• Why Barton Malow decided to capture its history with a digital archive program 

• How to encourage cross-functional collaboration across multiple offices, geographies and brand families while maintaining messaging consistency

• The ways Barton Malow demonstrates its values (rather than simply talking about them)

• Using thought leadership to advance your firm’s strategic business goals, including how to improve buy-in with busy subject-matter experts

• The importance of internal communications, especially for geographically dispersed teams

• How Barton Malow is integrating artificial intelligence into its work

• Why making time to actively participate in professional organizations, such as SMPS, is a worthwhile investment

About our featured guest

As Barton Malow Holdings’ Vice President of Branding and Communications, Dana Galvin Lancour provides creative and strategic direction to the Barton Malow Family of Companies’ brands while overseeing a talented team of marketing and communication professionals across North America. She brings a vision that inspires her team to continually strengthen Barton Malow’s brand, reputation and unique approach to marketing Barton Malow’s services.

Throughout her 17-year tenure, Dana has reimagined the company’s marketing strategy, helping modernize and bring the enterprise’s marketing and communications efforts to the forefront of the industry. She helped implement an email marketing platform to design and optimize targeted campaigns, redesign the Barton Malow intranet and create a vision for the first all-employee conference. 

Dana is a certified professional services marketer (CPSM) and a dedicated member of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS), acquiring the prestigious Fellow designation in 2013. She was appointed as President of the Board of Directors in 2022, where she plays a key role in ensuring the organization continues to positively impact marketing and business development in the industry.

Resources mentioned in this episode