25 Years on: what's really changed in construction marketing

Welcome back to The Built Environment Marketing Show hosted by me Ayo Abbas.

To mark me working for 25 years in the construction industry, this epsiode is an interview with my very first boss, Anna Hern from Ridgemount. Together we chart the evolution of construction marketing: from the old PR vs advertising divide, through the explosion of digital channels, to the AI era we're now navigating.

Anna brings sharp, no-nonsense realness on what great clients look like, why strategy is still misunderstood, how digital measurement changed everything, and the counter-intuitive case for investing in your brand hardest when the market is at its toughest.

Key takeaways

1. What great clients do differently (and strategy vs tactics)
2. Trust, AI, and the role of media / gatekeepers
3. Expectations, complexity, and measurement in modern marketing
4. Future-facing skills: brand building, critical thinking, and using AI well

Resources and links

1. Ayo Abbas on LinkedIn
2. Abbas Marketing website
3. Ridgemount agency website
4. Anna Hern on LinkedIn
5. Contact Ayo: [e-mail]

About the show

The Built Environment Marketing Show is hosted by marketing consultant and content creator Ayo Abbas from Abbas Marketing. It is a show that is unashamedly about marketing for architects and engineers, as well as bringing forward voices that we don't always get to hear.

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