Case Study:
International Code Council (ICC)
Outsourcing the Marketing Function
CHALLENGE 
Established in 1994, the International Code Council (ICC) is a non-profit membership organization with a primary mission of producing model codes and support products and services addressing building safety, fire prevention and energy efficiency. The ICC is the established leader for the public and private sector, including federal, state and local agencies, architects, builders, engineers, contractors, building owners and others concerned with the built environment. ICC’s products, services and activities help build better and safer communities.
In early 2009, ICC sought a solution to support all aspects of marketing, strategic communications, branding and product/service development. ICC’s objective was to enable continuity of marketing initiatives while reducing operations expenses. To address this need, McKinley Marketing, Inc. teamed with print and digital design experts Breckenridge Design Group to create the partnership, BDG+M. By combining core competencies, BDG+M can support ICC in marketing, branding, development, production and related services. The team also has the managerial experience, technology and talent to ensure that simultaneous projects are executed smoothly and on time.
ICC sought BDG+M ‘s expertise to:
- Delve deeply into ICC’s inner workings, products, procedures and corporate culture.
- Deploy experienced and appropriate senior staff to provide daily support and coordination between ICC and BDG+M, including engaging all necessary ICC internal stakeholders and securing graphic and production support.
- Deploy an experienced and competent writer to create and edit materials provided by ICC.
- Coordinate with ICC to secure technical contributions and content for materials.
- Carry out a process to routinely advise ICC on the status and progress of projects.
- Coordinate approvals by advancing drafts, incorporating input and assuring deadlines are met.
APPROACH
BDG+M has leveraged the following tools and practices to ensure proper oversight, file sharing, timely knowledge transfer and communications between all parties.
- Online project management: Integral to the success of the project to-date has been a web-based tool that facilitates project management and tracking, file sharing and collaboration. McKinley’s project management software is designed to facilitate smooth project management.
- Real-time updates: BDG+M’s primary project manager maintains a document tracking all ongoing, recently completed and archived projects. The tool is updated and uploaded multiple times per day as changes are made in real-time. This file is shared regularly with all parties.
- Weekly calls: BDG+M’s first order of business at the onset of the engagement was to schedule a weekly conference call to update weekly priorities and discuss upcoming projects.
Behind the scenes, the BDG+M team is constantly engaged to ensure that expectations are clear, deadlines are realistic and achievable and that ICC’s needs are consistently met.
RESULTS
In the first three months of this ongoing engagement, BDG+M completed approximately 60 discreet marketing projects. During this time period, deadlines were consistently met and an element of consistency was achieved. ICC has extended the relationship and plans are in the works to expand BDG+M’s role with ICC going forward.