GHD — a global professional services company offering engineering expertise in the markets of water, energy, environment, and transportation — sought Marx Layne’s public relations expertise as they sought to expand their presence and awareness among current and potential clients in the United States.

In the wake of the passing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), GHD anticipated a growing need for their services and looked to  third-party, impactful media placements to keep the company top of mind for work on the nation’s roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects. They also sought media exposure in several key target states related to issues and projects specific to those regions.

INSIGHT

GHD sought Marx Layne’s experience and contacts to position their experts to stand out in the media vs. its competitors in the field of Architecture, Engineering and Construction.

Marx Layne utilized its decades of experience developing and implementing local, state and national communications campaigns for professional services firms to deliver results garnering GHD significant exposure in top media publications around the nation and globally.
 

STRATEGY

Marx Layne’s strategy initially involved a deep dive into GHD and its roster of practice area leads/subject matter experts (SMEs) — conducting interviews and determining the topics these experts could comment on and submit articles that would resonate with targeted media.

Marx Layne then conducted extensive research into media targets in key states, nationally and globally, broken down by business media, print, broadcast, online, podcast and key trade media topics in all areas of GHD’s expertise (water, environment, transportation, etc.) and determined the higher-value targets that deserved the most attention. We also researched editorial calendars of impactful media outlets to proactively offer GHD SMEs for future planned articles.

CAMPAIGN

After identifying the key members of GHD leadership and staff who could speak to media and submit articles to offer their thought leadership as an expert in their fields, developing appropriate messaging, and conducted media training sessions, campaigns were launched to media nationwide, as well as targeted campaigns in specific states.

Extensive media outreach was conducted to promote GHD projects and campaigns, grow awareness of their capabilities via thought leadership content, and share the company’s expertise relating to key issues in the news such as climate change and the ongoing transition to renewable energy.

Our outreach dramatically increased share of voice, generating significant media coverage in print, online, broadcast, podcasts, and other media, including:

· Thought leadership pieces from GHD leaders published in relevant media outlets on both state and national levels

· GHD experts were offered as expert sources with media targets resulting in many strong repeat relationships that were established with those publications.

· Marx Layne secured a monthly, ongoing column opportunities for its U.S. infrastructure lead in prominent trade publications

· Appearances at top podcasts were secured for GHD leaders

· Broadcast coverage included radio interviews with NPR and appearances on national media such as The Weather Channel

· Our work also involved tracking the growth of GHD’s share of media coverage and voice vs. key competitors in its field, so we could show the measurable impact of our work, placing the GHD name before potential and existing clients.
 

RESULTS/MEASUREMENT

In 2024 alone, the Advertising Value Equivalency of media coverage earned for GHD through Marx Layne’s outreach efforts was more than $3 million dollars.

As a result of our extensive outreach, GHD and its experts were featured in hundreds of articles — ranging from global attention via media syndicates such as Reuters, to prominent mentions in leading industry publications such as Engineering News-Record, to niche content published in trade media targeting one particular sector.

Combined, these efforts led to worldwide media exposure for the GHD brand — with the potential to reach millions of readers — and cemented GHD’s status as a leading service provider in their industry, both nationally and in their targeted states.