For builders, contractors, architects, designers & engineers
The shortlist is made before the phone rings.Are you on it?
Most firms honestly don't know. Not because the work isn't good, but because the decision usually gets made before anyone picks up the phone.
Owners, developers, and facility managers spend weeks quietly researching firms online. They look at your projects, your website, your LinkedIn. Then they narrow it down. We work alongside your leadership and marketing team to show you who's looking, start those conversations earlier, and make sure your best work shows up the way it deserves to.
30 minutes on Zoom. Bring your marketing lead if you have one. If it's not a fit, we'll tell you, and you'll still leave with your market data.
Or watch the 3-minute overview first ↓Some of the teams we've been trusted to work alongside
We've spent years on jobsites and in design studios, working alongside marketing and leadership teams to tell the story behind complex work. The same approach is available to firms of every size.
3-minute overview
How your brand's story becomes a lead marketing engine.
Overview • 3 min
Already know you want to talk it through?
Skip ahead to the conversationPlatform partners & affiliations
A few honest questions
Where is your next big project actually going to come from?
Not a trick question. Most of the principals and marketing leaders we talk to pause on this one. The work is good, the team is solid, but when we ask where the next two years of backlog is coming from, the answer is usually some version of "the same places it always has." Which works, until it doesn't.
How much of your current backlog came from a bid board or a referral you didn't create?
If it's most of it, you're not alone. But it means your pipeline is mostly in someone else's hands. When the referrals slow down, there isn't much you can do about it fast.
What happens to your crews if two pursuits slip a quarter?
Do you know who visited your website this week?
Owners and developers are almost certainly looking at your project pages right now. Very few of them fill out a form. They just add you to a list, or they don't.
How many shortlists have you been cut from without ever knowing you were on them?
When you finish a project you're proud of, what happens to it?
For most firms: a few phone photos, maybe a post, then it's on to the next job. Meanwhile the firm you're up against in the interview has drone footage and a two-minute project film.
If an owner had to choose based on what they could see online, would they choose you?
Does your marketing team have the hands to do everything that's expected of them?
Most marketing leaders in AEC are running proposals, the website, social, events, awards, and leadership's latest idea, often with a team of one or two. The strategy is usually there. The time, the production crew, and the data usually aren't.
What would your team get done if they weren't stretched across all of it?
If none of those landed, this probably isn't for you, and that's fine. If one or two did, it's worth seeing what's actually going on in your market.
Here's how we approach it ↓What Would Change if You Knew Who Was Looking, Reached Them First, and Your Work Spoke for Itself?
That's really all this is. Four pieces that work together, plugged into the team you already have, so your people can stay focused on what they do best.
Know Who's Actually Looking
"What if you could see the companies and the people researching your firm, before they reached out?"
LeadVault AI connects to your website and identifies the people visiting it: name, title, company, and which projects or services they spent time on. It also builds targeted lead lists for the project types and markets you want, and flags organizations actively searching for firms like yours. Your BD and marketing team stops guessing and starts seeing, with real data to bring to leadership.
Start the Conversation Earlier, Without Stretching Your Team Thinner
"How many opportunities go cold simply because nobody followed up fast enough?"
Brand Vault AI is a CRM and full business management system set up for how AEC firms actually sell and run their work: pursuits, bids, and active projects. It also runs as your MIS and ERP, so operations, project accounting, purchasing, and field reporting live in the same place as your pipeline. When a new lead comes in, AI agents reach out within seconds, ask the right questions about scope, budget, and timeline, and book a meeting on your team's calendar. After hours, an AI assistant answers questions about your capabilities and past work. Your marketing and BD team gets warmer conversations, not more busywork.
Let Your Work Make the Case
"If an owner only watched two minutes about your firm, what would you want them to see?"
Our crew captures your projects properly: progress timelapses, completion films, architectural and interior photography, case study videos, team and executive portraits, and safety, culture, and recruiting films. Think of us as your marketing team's crew behind the camera. They set the direction, we capture it, and everything comes back cut and ready for proposals, interviews, your website, and LinkedIn.
An Extension of Your Marketing Department
"When an owner asks Google, or ChatGPT, who to hire in your market, does your name come up?"
Whether you have a full marketing team, one person wearing every hat, or no one yet, we plug in where you need us: website, SEO, AI search optimization, Google and LinkedIn paid ads, social media, email marketing, proposal and qualifications design, award submissions, and trade show content so your firm is part of the answer when owners ask AI tools for a recommendation. Your team keeps ownership of the strategy and the brand. We add the capacity, the specialists, and the production, and we're built to stay for the long run, not a 90-day campaign.
Video & photo production
Here's what it looks like when the work gets told right
Our award-winning productions help you attract more leads, close more sales, and build a stronger brand presence.
EPAC Brand Film
Cinematic brand film showcasing Howell Studios production and storytelling capabilities.
Client Testimonial: TLF Graphics & Durst RSCi Technology
Customer case story on high-capacity industrial digital printing technology and manufacturing impact.
Riverside Sheriff's Association: Specialty Vehicle Build
Client testimonial on custom specialty mobile command and mission vehicles engineered by SDG.
The Strong National Museum of Play: Architectural Impact
Showcase testimonial on transformative museum architecture and experiential design.
Careers at Röchling Industrial: Culture & Recruiting
On-site industrial manufacturing culture, skilled machining careers, and team pride.
Intergrow Greenhouses | Brand Film
Cinematic commercial brand film capturing large-scale high-tech agricultural infrastructure.
High-Speed Beverage Production Commercial
Dynamic high-speed macro cinematography showcasing precision bottling and beverage production.
Pure Green Cold-Pressed Commercial
Product commercial with slow-motion liquid dynamics and industrial bottling processes.
Eaton-Cambridge Inc. | Brand Film
Executive discussion, creative strategy, and corporate vision storytelling.
Premier Performance Interiors (PPI) | Marine Narrative
Luxury marine yacht craftsmanship, precision upholstery, and high-performance design.
Walton Press Monroe GA | Brand Story
Generational heritage, industrial press floors, and high-volume commercial printing.
Piedmont Plastics Experience | Workplace Culture
Recruiting and company culture film spotlighting regional branches and career advancement.
Paramount Prints & Durst Lift Software Story
Industrial workflow, digital press operations, and collaborative engineering in production.
SDG Trailers & Guy Fieri Foundation Holmes Beach
Community impact and mobile relief kitchen operations for emergency disaster response.
Mercy Flight Central: Natalee's Flight
Air medical transport and critical emergency response flight documentary.
In construction, the biggest projects are usually decided before the RFP goes out
So the question is simple: are you part of that early conversation, or are you finding out when everyone else does? Here's how we help your team get in earlier.
See who's looking
Identify the firms and specific people researching you, before they fill out a form.
- Name, title, and company
- Remote and mobile visitors
- Which projects and services they viewed
Start the conversation
An AI assistant trained on your firm engages visitors in real time and routes the serious ones to your team.
- Instant responses, day or night
- Trained on your capabilities and project history
- Every conversation logged in your CRM
Stay in the room
Construction sales cycles are long. Automated follow-up keeps you top of mind until the project gets funded.
- Long-cycle nurture for owners and developers
- Meetings delivered pre-qualified
- No one on your team chasing manually
Who we work with
Whether you run the firm or run its marketing, we work for you
If you lead the firm
You want a pipeline you can see and count on, and confidence that every dollar in marketing is pulling its weight. We give you visibility into who's looking at your firm and a partner who understands how construction is actually sold.
- Clear view of pipeline and who's researching you
- Your projects captured and used to win work
- One long-term partner who knows your firm
If you lead marketing or BD
You already know what needs to happen. You just don't have enough hours, people, or production budget to do all of it. We become an extension of your team: you keep the strategy and the brand, we add the hands, the crew, and the data.
- Production and campaigns you direct, we execute
- Visitor and intent data to bring to leadership
- Reporting that makes your department's impact visible
Most of our best partnerships include both. Leadership sets the goal, marketing steers, and we do the heavy lifting alongside them.
To be upfront, this isn't for everyone
Probably not a fit if:
- You have more work than you can handle and no plans to grow
- You're looking for a one-off project, not a partner
- You want the cheapest option to post on social media
- You're not open to letting us on site to capture your work
Usually a good fit if:
- You do great work that isn't being seen
- You want to rely less on bids and referrals
- Your marketing team has more to do than hours to do it
- You want a long-term partner who understands construction
If you're somewhere in the right column, it's probably worth a conversation.
Everything runs from one place
Your whole business, not just your pipeline. Your team gets full access, and nothing is locked away on our side.
Visitor Identification
See who's on your site and what they looked at.
Pursuit CRM
Opportunities, bids, and active projects in one pipeline.
Unified Inbox
Texts, chat, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook messages in one place.
Meeting Scheduler
Owners and partners book directly on your team's calendar.
Reviews & Local Search
Request reviews at closeout and show up in your markets.
Email & SMS Follow-Up
Stay in touch with past clients, architects, and partner firms.
Operations, ERP & MIS
Run operations, project accounting, purchasing, and field reporting in one management system.
Project Accounting
Track job costs, budgets, and billing without a separate platform.
Field Reporting
Crews report from the site and it flows straight into your records.
Curious what this would look like for your firm?
We'll walk through your market, show you what we see, and you can decide from there.
Step 1 of 2
Let's see if this makes sense for your firm
This isn't a sales presentation. It's a 30-minute working session for you and, if you have one, your marketing lead. We look at your market, you ask whatever you want, and if it's not a fit, we'll both know quickly.
What happens on the call
- ✓
We look at your market together
Which organizations are actively searching for firms like yours in your area right now.
- ✓
You keep the list
A real list of companies showing intent in your market. It's yours whether we work together or not.
- ✓
You see the AI work live
Watch an AI agent respond to, qualify, and book a lead in real time.
- ✓
Where we'd plug in
We look at what your team already has in place and where an extra set of hands, production, or data would make the biggest difference.
- ✓
Then you decide
No follow-up pressure. If it makes sense, we'll talk next steps. If not, no hard feelings.
We only work with one firm per discipline in each market. That's not a sales tactic, it's so we never end up working for two competitors. If your market is already taken, we'll let you know upfront.
A few quick questions
So we can come prepared and not waste your time.
Where we work
On site across New York and Florida
Howell Studios has crews based in Rochester, New York and Orlando, Florida. We work on site with construction, architecture, design, and engineering firms across both states, and support marketing teams nationwide.
New York
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Howell Studios is an AI business solutions company. We help firms tackle the Monday morning problems and bottlenecks that slow work down, not just in marketing and sales but across every part of the business. Our work includes marketing, video production, and AI sales technology, all built to plug into the team you already have.
We are headquartered in Rochester, New York, with an office in Orlando, Florida, and we work as an extension of in-house marketing and business development teams at general contractors, construction managers, design-build firms, industrial and specialty contractors, architecture firms, interior design firms, engineering firms, and building products manufacturers.
Our services include construction and architectural video production, drone aerials, construction timelapse, architectural and interior photography, website design, SEO, AI search optimization, Google and LinkedIn advertising, social media, email marketing, paid advertising, proposal and qualifications design, and trade show content. We also build and operate two proprietary platforms: LeadVault AI, which identifies the people and companies visiting a firm's website and monitors buyer intent, and Brand Vault AI, a CRM, MIS, and ERP with AI sales agents and AI customer service built for how AEC firms sell and run their business.
Howell Studios has worked alongside teams including Walt Disney Imagineering, Universal Studios Florida, NASA, General Electric, HGTV, LMC Industrial Contractors, Pike Construction, Haley & Aldrich, Channellock, Engineered Group, Architectural Products Group, and Nichols Team.
Questions firms usually ask
Howell Studios is a marketing, video production, and AI sales technology partner for construction, architecture, design, and engineering firms. We capture projects on video and photo, run websites, SEO, ads, and social, and provide tools that identify who is visiting a firm's website and follow up automatically. We work alongside a firm's existing marketing team rather than replacing it.
Yes. Howell Studios is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and works on site with firms across New York State, including Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, the Hudson Valley, New York City, and Long Island.
Yes. Howell Studios has an office in Orlando, Florida, and works on site with firms across Central Florida, Tampa Bay, South Florida, and Jacksonville.
No. We work as an extension of your marketing and business development team. Your team keeps ownership of strategy and brand, and we add production crews, specialists, data, and capacity they don't have time or budget to build in-house.
We produce project completion films, construction progress timelapses, drone aerials, architectural and interior photography, case study videos, executive and team portraits, and safety, culture, and recruiting films. Every asset is edited for use in proposals, interviews, websites, and LinkedIn.
LeadVault AI, a Howell Studios platform, identifies the individual people and companies visiting a firm's website, including name, title, company, and which pages they viewed. It also builds targeted lead lists and monitors organizations actively searching for construction, architecture, and design services in a firm's market.
Brand Vault AI is a Howell Studios CRM, MIS, and ERP built for how AEC firms sell and run their business, with pipelines for pursuits, bids, and active projects alongside operations, project accounting, purchasing, and field reporting. AI sales agents respond to new leads within seconds by text or email, qualify scope, budget, and timeline, and book meetings on your team's calendar.
Yes. AI search optimization is part of our marketing services. We structure a firm's website, project content, and online presence so AI tools understand and recommend the firm when owners and developers ask who to hire.
It's a 30-minute Zoom working session. We look at your market together, give you a real list of organizations showing intent for your services, show an AI agent working live, and look at where an extension of your team would help most. If it's not a fit, we'll say so.