Launching a Presence: Strategic Communications in the Digital Built Environment

2 May 2024

The launch of the Digital Buildings Council (DBC) on 1 May 2024 was a significant moment for the digital built environment, representing a new collaborative force. Securing media coverage for such an initiative is crucial, but in today’s evolving landscape, this requires a more nuanced and strategic approach than ever before.

Traditional, broad-spectrum B2B publications that once dominated the built environment sector are increasingly struggling. In their place, a new media ecosystem has emerged, dominated by more agile content platforms that cater to specific niches like BIM, AV, Smart Buildings, and PropTech, often aligning with trade shows and conferences. Gaining coverage in these targeted outlets is paramount for external validation.

However, mere publication is only the first step. The true impact of this external validation comes through a more connected marcoms approach. This involves:

  • Strategic Amplification: Leveraging the social network followings of key members, combined with significant personal networks, to amplify the reach of the published content far beyond its initial audience.
  • Direct Engagement: Supplementing broad dissemination with targeted 1-2-1 communications.

This multi-faceted strategy draws directly from established methodologies for strategic content marketing and connected marcoms approaches, areas in which I have extensive experience, as detailed in my published works (see here). It is this integrated approach that maximises visibility and ensures that news of the DBC’s launch, and its mission to enhance best practice and drive digital building adoption, resonated widely across the sector.

Here is a snapshot of some of the initial coverage of the Digital Buildings Council launch, serving as examples to illustrate how digital initiatives inherently cut across the built environment horizontally:

This strategic approach to communications highlights how new initiatives must navigate a complex media landscape, demonstrating that effective PR today is as much about targeted amplification and network leverage as it is about initial placement.

 Newer

Older 

About Me

Justin Kirby is a leading industry commentator, connector, and facilitator with over two decades of experience in catalysing stakeholder engagement and business transformation. He is a passionate advocate for bridging the persistent gap between the design-and-build phase and the long-term operational life of a building. This is the central mission of Start With Smart Group, a community he recently launched to bring together a global network of forward-thinking professionals.

Justin’s work applies the same strategic and entrepreneurial drive he used as the Executive Director of the Digital Buildings Council (DBC), where he helped to establish a collaborative platform for industry leaders and facilitate key initiatives, including the crucial Review of The RIBA Smart Buildings Overlay.

A respected voice in the field, Justin has been appointed to the Editorial Guidance Panel for Build in Digital magazine, and was nominated to the prestigious Digital Construction Power Players 2025 list by Digital Construction Plus, which he contributes to and helps judge their Digital Construction Awards partnership with Digital Construction Week. He is adept at turning complex industry challenges into clear, actionable conversations and initiatives.

Connect with him on LinkedIn or get in touch there.