The Foxtrot Summer 2025 Issue by Emerald Fox Marketing
THE FOXTROT
The source for marketing strategies and insights to help AEC firms win more work.
The Quiet Power of an SOQ Template
By: Audra Allen
In AEC marketing, most deadlines are tight, most documents are long, and most RFQs aren’t created under ideal conditions. You’re juggling input from a dozen people, chasing down project details at the last minute, and racing to upload before the portal closes.
In all that chaos, it’s easy to overlook one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal: a smart, well-built InDesign template.
This quiet workhorse won’t write content or chase resumes but it will help your team move faster, stay on-brand, and sidestep layout headaches. It takes care of the tedious stuff, gives junior staff a strong starting point, and keeps your formatting sharp, even on tight turnarounds.
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About Emerald Fox Marketing & Consulting
Emerald Fox Marketing works exclusively in the AEC space, and we’re tuned into the challenges firms like yours are facing.
Whether you’re navigating leadership transitions, team bandwidth issues, or shifting client priorities, we can step in where you need us most.
"It’s hard to imagine working without the Smart Template Emerald Fox created for us. It’s truly changed the game for how we put together our statements of qualifications. New marketing team members can hit the ground running, even without a background in AEC, because the template is so intuitive. You don’t need to be a designer to use it well. Just drop in the content and graphics, and you’re off and running.
Joyce Watson, CPSM
Principal | Cleary Zimmermann Engineers
RFQ Boss
Two-Part Virtual Training
Session 1
RFQ Project Management
Instructor: Adrian Grau, CPSM
When: September 12, 2025 9:00-11:00 AM CST
Session 2
InDesign for RFQs
Instructor: Audra Allen
When: September 19, 2025 9:00-11:00 AM CST TRAINING OPPORTUNITY
A smart template should:
• Include pre-built layouts for resumes, projects, letters, and more
• Be packed with paragraph and character styles to simplify formatting
• Use swatches to lock in branding and make color management a breeze
• Lean on margins and parent pages to keep layouts aligned and polished
• Work alongside a library of pre-styled content blocks for quick layouts
It’s not flashy but it’s a game changer. Every hour you save on formatting is an hour you can spend on strategy, storytelling, and tailoring your message to the client.
If your current process involves digging through “that one SOQ from last year” or rebuilding styles from scratch, it might be time to trade the patchwork for a smarter system.
Audra Allen is the co-founder and Director of Creative Services at Emerald Fox Marketing, where she leads all things design.
6 Steps to Making an SOQ Template
See a Smart Template In Action
Scan the QR code to take a peek at our Smart Template in action. Warning: It may blow your mind.
The Cost of Average: What AI May Be Taking From Us
A recent study out of MIT’s Media Lab, featured in The New Yorker piece titled “A.I. Is Homogenizing Our Thoughts,” explored what happens in our brains when we write with help from AI. The results? Eye-opening.
Researchers asked three groups of students to write SAT-style essays: one using only their own minds, one with Google, and one with ChatGPT. As they wrote, scientists monitored their brain activity. Those using ChatGPT showed significantly less brain engagement: lower creativity, weaker memory function, and fewer neural connections overall. Many couldn’t even remember what they had written.
But here’s what’s most striking. The AI-assisted essays all sounded the same. When given openended questions, the group using ChatGPT produced responses that skewed toward clichés, conformity, and consensus. Divergent thinking, the stuff of innovation, was nowhere to be found.
This isn’t an argument against AI. At Emerald Fox, we use it as a tool every day. But this research is a powerful reminder of what’s at stake when we let the machine do too much of the thinking for us. In an industry like AEC, where the challenges are complex and the competition fierce, sameness is not a strategy.
AI in AEC: The Smart Way to Save Time Without Losing Strategy
By: Maggie Seay, CPSM
Let’s talk about AI. (We know. You’ve definitely heard that before.) It’s the star of every conference panel, newsletter headline, and webinar invite in your inbox. “AI for Marketers,” “AI in AEC,” “Is AI Coming for Your Job?”
And yes, we’re talking about it too. Not because it’s trendy, but because it’s already reshaping how we all work. AI can be a powerful tool if you know how to use it wisely. But like any tool, it’s not magic, and it’s certainly not a substitute for strategy, industry know-how, or good judgment.
Here’s how we recommend making AI work for you without losing the human touch:
Add Speed, Not Sloppiness: AI can draft a paragraph or summarize a project fast. But before you drop that text into a proposal, ask: Does this sound like us? Does it reflect what the client needs to hear? A trained marketing pro ensures AI-generated content still aligns with your voice and your goals.
Pair It with Industry Insight: AI doesn’t know what your potential client has told you keeps them up at night about their projects, or that “CMAR” might not mean much to a municipal audience. AEC marketing is highly specialized. When AI lacks context, it’s easy to end up with generic or inaccurate messaging.
Support Strategy, Don't Replace It: Let AI help with first drafts, brainstorming, or summarizing. But keep the strategic thinking and storytelling in human hands. Winning work is about more than just “filling a page.” It’s about positioning, nuance, and knowing how to speak to what your clients care about.
Don’t Let Your Brand Get Blended In: Everyone’s using the same tools. That means content starts to sound the same unless someone steps in to shape it. Your firm has a distinct voice, culture, and perspective. We help you protect that, even when you’re working fast.
Bottom Line: AI Can Help—But You Still Need the Humans
We’re not anti-AI. But when it comes to building trust, winning work, and showing off what makes your firm special, no machine can replace deep industry knowledge and good strategic thinking. Thought leadership still starts with actual thought.
Maggie Seay is the CEO and co-founder of Emerald Fox Marketing, helping AEC teams grow, lead, and build lasting success.
Less Hustle. More Impact.
If you’ve been to a conference, opened a newsletter, or even glanced at LinkedIn lately, you’ve probably noticed everyone’s talking about how to work smarter. Whether it’s through AI, better data retrieval, or faster workflows, the message is loud and clear: do more with less.
But here’s the thing we’ve learned after years of supporting AEC marketers: working smarter isn’t about doing everything faster. It’s about doing the right things well and having the tools and strategy to back you up.
Inside this issue, we’re sharing what smart really looks like, from AI that actually supports your goals to the underrated magic of a strong template. Let’s talk about working smarter in a way that works for you.
Let’s work smarter together! hello@emeraldfoxmarketing.com emeraldfoxmarketing.com
FEATURE ARTICLE
The Quiet Power of an SOQ Template By: Audra Allen
STRATEGIC INSIGHTS
The Cost of Average: What AI May Be Taking From Us
SMARTER, NOT HARDER
Using AI in AEC Marketing: The Smart Way to Save Time Without Losing Strategy By: Maggie Seay
UPCOMING TRAINING
RFQ Boss: Project Management + InDesign Workshop
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