Case Studies

This is an overview and a brief description of social media leaders (e.g. contractors, consultants, suppliers, agencies, developers) within the construction industry.

PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT 2.0™ is the process of managing, analyzing and evaluating public participation and comment-gathering on transportation and infrastructure projects using RSS, social networking, video, blogs, web-enabled applications and social media.



TARMAC has become one of the few construction-related organizations in the UK to deploy social media for business purposes. Case study presented by Daniel Maddocks.


tCn - the Construction network is a central, industry specific and independent platform for professional networking and digital marketing within the UK's built environment. Created by industry people for industry people it is available on a registration or invitation basis and connects professionals, companies and communities to share information and opportunity.

IT manager John Keleher (@johnkatcrittall) from the UK company Crittall Windows successfully implemented a Social Media marketing strategy using Twitter and blogs and other tools. An interview with John can be found on the Renegadeconservatoryguy blog.

EnBauSa GmbH is a German online platform specialized on energy-efficient construction and renovations. EnBauSa has a successful blog, a discussion platform and has a presence on Twitter, Facebook, and Xing.

McGraw-Hill Construction connects people, projects, and products across the design and construction industry. The web site uses social media to connect construction professionals. McGraw-Hill's slogan is "Get Smart, Get Found, Find Work, and Do Work using the trusted tools, resources, and services we have provided to construction professionals for more than 100 years".

Constructive Communication, Inc. is a recognized leader in marketing strategy, public relations, online social media and communications tactics for the AEC (Architecture, Engineering, Construction) and other technical industries. Their website shows how social media can be efficiently applied.

Founded in 2009, the Construction Marketing Association (CMA) is a professional association which supports marketers in the construction industry with specialized resources on construction brands, products and services, as well as marketing to construction-related targets. CMA's Construction Marketing Institute provides informative webcasts, conferences, training programs and a professional certification program. CMA's website makes considerable use of social media and web 2.0 applications.

Be2camp is for people interested in how the latest web applications and web design techniques (Web 2.0; eg: RSS, blogs, Twitter, Wikis, etc) could help build a better, more sustainable built environment - planning, design, construction, even occupation and management of buildings, infrastructure, landscape, etc.

Interview questions for my case study:

1. Could you please give me a brief description of yourself, your professional background and the company you work for?
2. How do you and your company apply Social Media within your organization?
3. Your customers are from the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) Industry, which is known to be relatively conservative. What is your experience working with this industry trying to implement marketing / communication strategies which use Social Media as a tool? 
4. How do you convince your customers? 
5. What are your customer's expectations? Can you always meet these expectations?
6. Who are your customer's customers?
7. Do you and your customers have to put many resources into your Social Media projects? People or money? Do you outsource or in house? What are your limitations?
8. What is a typical success story you can tell?
9. Where do you see the future of Social Media and the AEC Industry? And how important will Social Media be?
10. What can AEC learn from other industries which are already in transition towards Web 2.0?
11. Finally, what brief recommendation can you give me if I had to convince senior management to implement an e-marketing strategy?