Construction Writers Association Discusses Big Projects, Environmental Issues, Digital Media and E-Newsletters
December, 2006
(Buffalo Grove, IL) The Construction Writers Association's Midyear Meeting, held October 19 in Chicago, saw record attendance and featured a wide range of topics in a morning session. A tour in the afternoon offered CWA attendees the opportunity to see the massive construction project at O'Hare Airport. The evening's activity was an Awards Dinner with presentation of CWA's Marketing Communications Awards, Website Awards, and the new Electronic Communications Awards.
The morning session was emceed by conference co-chairs Jeff White, principal at Two Rivers Marketing, and Tina Grady Barbaccia, senior editor with Aggregates Manager magazine.
Tudor Hampton, associate editor in Chicago with Engineering News-Record, opened with a review of "Big, Big Projects" around the country. Among the highlighted projects were the $6-billion expansion of Chicago's O'Hare Airport; the $5.3-billion I-355 tollway in Illinois; and the $6.2-billion Bay Bridge project connecting Oakland to San Francisco. Other notable projects were the Hoover Dam bypass, Chicago's Aqua Building, and the Trump International Hotel & Tower, also in Chicago.
Hampton also discussed trends such as new lifting technologies designed specifically for a project, automated site technologies, and greater fuel efficiency in construction equipment. He cited labor shortages, especially on major projects such as the Freedom Tower and Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Project in New York and the City Center Project in Las Vegas, as a major challenge for contractors in the next few years
Pete Stukas, senior project manager with V3 Companies of IL, and Rocco Zucchero, deputy chief of engineering with the Illinois Tollway Authority, described the challenges and successes of building Illinois' I-355 during their presentation, "Environmental Concerns on Construction of I-355 Extension." This project is a 12.5-mile, three-lane extension that is part of the tollway's $5.3-billion Congestion-Relief Program to reduce travel times. Stukas and Zucchero explained that value engineering was needed to save money on the project, which also involves extensive coordination with communities and utility service providers along the route.
The project itself encompasses wetlands, 13 stream crossings, three forest preserve districts, a nature preserve, threatened and endangered species, and historic sites. The Tollway Authority and the construction partners have been involved in wetlands mitigation and monitoring throughout the project, and they will continue these monitoring efforts for five years after construction is completed. The project team has brought in scientists who have performed extensive studies and species surveys. Additional environmental plans have involved habitat creation and conservation and tree mitigation. All of this has been done to ensure that this area of the Des Plaines River Valley is minimally affected by construction activity and the completed project.
Jason Meyers, director of content development with Prism Business Media's Telephony magazine, Chicago, defined and described "Digital Media." He pointed out that digital editions of print media are not a replacement for online content. Instead, digital editions allow a publisher to electronically distribute a publication without adding to print and distribution costs. Meyers explained the many benefits of digital editions. For example, they can be downloaded and links provided to the editor, advertiser and related articles. Digital publications can be easily customized for their designated audiences. With the proper software and resources, digital media can also provide valuable feedback for a publisher such as tracking what readers view, how long they spend on an article, and which advertisers they visit.
Meyers pointed out, however, that there are several factors to take into consideration before employing digital media. Your existing e-mail database and relationship with readers, how and what your audience reads, and the number of your print readers who would convert to a digital edition are just a few of the factors to be considered before implementing a digital format
Melanie Kirin, director of marketing with Proximity Marketing, Brunswick, OH, offered important suggestions for "Designing E-Newsletters." Kirin pointed out several factors that are often taken for granted. For example, just because an e-mail is sent, doesn't mean it's received. She cited mail certification services and detailed management of an e-newsletter's distribution list as good tools for ensuring your e-mail is getting to your readers
Another e-mail myth dispelled by Kirin is that just because an e-mail is received, doesn't mean it is read. She pointed out several things that can be done to ensure that it is. Make sure you're offering the content your audience wants; establish realistic goals that demonstrate an actual return on investment; and take steps to ensure your message is read -- such as proper subject and "from" lines, pass-along and link tracking, and interactivity in the e-mail's content
Kirin concluded by pointing out that producing e-newsletters - just like digital media - is not free and requires dedicated human and monetary resources to make them successful.
Marketing Communications Award Winners
The Construction Writers Association, founded in 1958, is a non-profit, non-partisan, international organization for professional journalists, photographers, marketers and publicists serving the information needs of the construction industry. In addition to its journalism, photography, marketing communications and website and electronic communications awards programs, CWA provides educational and networking opportunities for its members. For more information, visit the Construction Writers Association website at www.constructionwriters.org.
For information:
Deborah J. Hodges
Executive Director
P.O. Box 14784
Chicago, Illinois 60614
Telephone 773 687-8726
Fax 773 687-8627
info@constructionwriters.org