Key takeaways from Amplify AEC 2025

On August 6th, we joined 800+ AEC marketing, business development, and firm leaders in Columbus, Ohio for three days of learning, connecting, and growing together. This year's conference—led be a powerhouse creative team of Courtney VanOstren, Ashley Campbell, Ida Cheinman, and Damien Morris—showed these seasoned marketers that we can still learn new tricks. The content was confident and future-focused, covering everything from AI integration and private equity impact to strategic planning in uncertain times. The slate of keynote speakers was especially strong—with powerful messaging from Alex Sheen, Kat Kibbon, and Jeni Britton on owning your story, defining your values, and maintaining your integrity by prioritizing action over intention.

Amplify 2025 was a powerful reminder that our edge comes from building authentic connections, trusting our instincts, leaning into community when times get tough, and standing out through client care and empathy. Read on for a list of our key takeaways and follow-up to-dos.

Networking is good. Connection is better.

The real power isn’t in swapping business cards, it’s in sustaining relationships over years and picking up right where you left off. Being back at Amplify after a year away reminded us that strong professional bonds can outlast time and distance. 

Trust your gut—and know when to quit. 

Kat Kibben's keynote reinforced that intuition is a muscle. The more you use it, the sharper it gets. And sometimes, moving forward means stepping back. “Quit” isn’t failure—it’s recalibration.

Differentiate through empathy.

In a sea of sameness, the firms that truly understand their clients—what drives them, what they need, what they want—and tailor solutions to those realities are the ones that stand apart. Marketing isn’t about speaking at your audience; it’s about speaking their language.

Put your name on it.

Both Alex Sheen and Jeni Britton emphasized the connection between your word and your brand. A promise is a commitment—whether it's between two people or between your company and your community. Making them is easy. Keeping them is hard. But that's why we have to do it. Brands are built or broken on their promises.

VUCA takes a village.

Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. Our world and industry are dealing with them all. From the rise of private equity and alternative delivery methods to AI's influx and the ongoing talent shortage, we're in for one hell of a ride. Grateful to organizations like Stambaugh Ness, Client Savvy, and the SMPS Foundation for sharing timely research at Amplify to better equip us and the entire SMPS community to ride it out together.

Amplify AEC follow-up—what's next?

Every conference investment should come with follow-up activities to ensure we're transforming lessons learned into action. We're sharing ours here to hold ourselves accountable to the following to-dos:

• Downloading and devouring the SMPS Foundation's latest research reports—including the upcoming Trends report.

• Pre-ordering Kat Kibben's upcoming book, The Bounceback Factor.

• Investing in a true client experience program at Dragonfly to ensure we're practicing what we preach—and bring questions and lessons learned to next year's Amplify AEC in Vegas.

• Leverage LinkedIn and our CRM to stay on top of follow-ups and new relationships.

Hope to see you all next year in Las Vegas!!