Bridging Creativity and Commerce: Alicia Yau's Journey in Architectural Marketing

In this Architecture Social Podcast conversation, Stephen Drew speaks with Alicia Yau, a communications and marketing professional now with Brunswick Group in Hong Kong, about the business side of architecture: marketing, public relations, client relationships and fees. It runs for around 40 minutes.

Who this is for

Architecture students and Part 1 and Part 2 assistants weighing up careers beyond design; architects and practice leaders who want to market their work and negotiate better fees; and anyone curious about how public relations and communications work in the built environment.

Learning outcomes

1. You will be able to describe the range of non-design career paths that draw on an architectural education.
2. You will be able to explain how a communications or public relations agency works with architecture and property clients.
3. You will be able to recognise why low fees create knock-on problems for quality, resourcing and marketing.
4. You will be able to apply a clearer approach to negotiating fees and articulating your value.
5. You will be able to identify the relationships, including media and developer contacts, that support winning and promoting work.
6. You will be able to reflect on how communication skills strengthen an architectural career.

From architecture into the business of architecture

Alicia studied architecture at Part 1 and graduated from Westminster in 2014. She realised during her studies that her interest sat in the business of architecture rather than in design itself. Internships, including a spell at a structural engineering practice, showed her how architects, engineers, contractors and consultants come together on a project, and it was that collaboration, rather than the drawing board, that captured her attention.

A route through recruitment

Before moving into communications, Alicia worked in architectural recruitment at Shape Careers. Speaking to candidates across every role in a practice, not just architects, gave her a view of how a business is actually structured and run. That exposure helped her see marketing and communications as a serious career in its own right.

Inside a communications and PR agency

Alicia joined Carroll Communications, a London agency specialising in architecture and design, before later moving to Brunswick Group. She explains how an agency works with external clients, how strong writing and confident presenting sit at the heart of the role, and how consultants manage six or seven client accounts at once while tracking billable hours much like a law firm.

Managing clients and time

Because time is billed, senior consultants have to weigh how much attention each client demands against the fees they pay. Alicia is candid that some relationships are worth more than others, and that part of the job is judging where to invest effort so the work stays sustainable.

Why low fees cause problems

A central theme is the effect of low fees. When an architect accepts a fee that is too low, the knock-on effects reach everywhere: too little budget for marketing, too little resource to staff the project properly, longer hours, burnout and staff turnover. Alicia and Stephen describe this as a cycle that undermines both the work and the people doing it, and they note that pressure on budgets can raise the stakes on quality and safety in the wider industry.

Knowing your worth and negotiating fees

Alicia argues that architects are often too polite in fee negotiations, a view she says she hears from developers as well. Her advice is to be less apologetic about value, to hold firm on a fee that allows the job to be done well, and to frame the conversation around outcomes: a fair fee funds the people, care and marketing that deliver a better building.

Relationships with clients and media

Winning a client account is only part of the picture. Alicia stresses the ongoing work of building relationships with journalists and other stakeholders, much of which is unbillable but essential. In a small circuit of people who write about architecture, maintaining those relationships is what allows a project to be told well when the time comes.

Advice for smaller and newer practices

For young or smaller practices that struggle to compete with established names, Alicia suggests leaning into what makes them different. Rather than matching a larger firm on price, a smaller practice can offer something fresh and pair meaningful design with the marketing and coverage a client needs to sell space or units. She encourages practices to revisit who their ideal clients are and, if necessary, to change tack.

Key terms

• Billable hours: time logged against a client account that can be charged as a fee.
• Account management: acting as the main point of contact and coordinator for a client's outgoing communications.
• Fee negotiation: agreeing the price of professional services in a way that reflects their value and funds proper delivery.
• Stakeholder relationships: the network of clients, developers, media and others that supports winning and promoting work.

Reflective prompts for your CPD record

1. Where in your own work do low fees or thin budgets create knock-on problems, and what would a fairer arrangement change?
2. How confidently do you articulate your value to clients, and what would help you negotiate better?
3. Which relationships, inside and outside your organisation, most support your work, and how are you maintaining them?

About the guest

Alicia Yau is a communications and marketing professional in the built environment, currently based in Hong Kong with Brunswick Group, a global advisory firm. She studied architecture at Westminster and moved through architectural recruitment and specialist PR before her current role advising clients across property and the wider built environment.