Julie Kost, CPSM
Since 2022
Active
SMPS Indiana member
AEC marketing professional
Julie leads comprehensive marketing strategy and brand development as Marketing Director and Associate at Schmidt Associates, a servant leadership-based architecture and engineering firm founded in 1975 that has grown to over 150 professionals across Indiana and Kentucky. In her senior leadership role, she directs a six-person marketing team managing public relations, social media, photography and video production, graphic and web design, proposal development, and industry relations while maintaining a remarkable 30%+ win rate on high-stakes pursuits across multiple states.
Her expertise spans strategic marketing leadership, brand strategy development, business development alignment, CRM and data governance, demand generation, pursuit and capture management, and team development across the AEC industry. Julie brings specialized knowledge in transforming marketing departments from order-taking support functions into strategic business partners that drive measurable growth, having successfully elevated marketing’s organizational perception and value throughout her career.
With over 33 years of professional marketing experience including 20+ years in AEC professional services, she has built a distinguished career helping firms align brand, business development, and enterprise strategy to support sustainable competitive advantage. Her comprehensive background includes 13 years as Head of Marketing & Communications at American Structurepoint where she shaped an “order taker” team into industry-leading marketing professionals who helped the company win its first ENR “Firm of the Year” award, and 16 years at USA Funds Services leading marketing strategy with a $700,000+ annual budget supporting higher education guarantee services and value-added products.
Julie demonstrates exceptional professional leadership through her CPSM certification, SMPS Fellowship (FSMPS), and service as 2021-2022 SMPS Indiana Chapter President, leading one of the most active chapters in the Great Lakes region through strategic growth and professional development programming serving hundreds of Indiana AEC marketing professionals. Her presidential year demonstrated commitment to advancing the profession during challenging post-pandemic transition periods requiring innovative virtual and hybrid engagement strategies.
As producer of Luminate: Navigating the Unknown Through Creative Leadership, Schmidt Associates’ acclaimed podcast launched under Julie’s marketing leadership, she created innovative thought leadership content that has reached 1,900+ downloads and featured visionary leaders including university presidents, school superintendents, healthcare executives, and community organization leaders. The podcast demonstrates sophisticated storytelling and brand positioning that elevates Schmidt Associates’ reputation beyond traditional architecture and engineering marketing approaches.
Julie’s transformational marketing leadership achievements include spearheading Schmidt Associates’ firmwide rebrand that shifted marketing perception from recognized weakness to celebrated strength, launching the Waypoint Strategies brand (Schmidt’s owner’s representation and facilities management division) with secured contracts within six months, and producing Schmidt Associates’ inaugural 50th Anniversary campaign blending storytelling, video production, and live events. Her strategic initiatives delivered measurable results including +26% pageviews and +32% time-on-site improvements to digital properties while building the firm’s first marketing KPI dashboard integrated into executive leadership reporting and scorecard tracking.
Her mentoring commitment extends beyond Schmidt Associates through active involvement in SMPS national initiatives, regular speaking engagements, and contributions to industry best practices documentation. Julie has also mentored several marketing interns, developing training models that influenced how technical teams throughout Schmidt Associates onboard their own interns, demonstrating marketing leadership’s broader organizational impact.
Beyond AEC industry engagement, Julie serves on the American Marketing Association (AMA) Indianapolis board, bringing cross-industry marketing perspective and strategic insights that enhance her AEC practice while building bridges between professional services marketing and broader marketing disciplines.
Julie’s career journey from data typist at USA Group in 1992 to SMPS Fellow and Associate-level marketing director demonstrates remarkable professional growth fueled by determination, hard work, and commitment to continuous learning. While working full-time and advancing through progressively responsible marketing roles, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Indiana Wesleyan University (2004-2008), exemplifying the perseverance that characterizes her leadership approach.
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