AAF's Most Promising Minority Students

February 4-6
Roosevelt Hotel New York
45 East 45th Street
New York, NY 10017

Building Bridges for Our Future Awards Luncheon
Tuesday, February 5
Noon – 2:00 p.m.
Roosevelt Hotel New York
Grand Ballroom
45 East 45th Street
New York, NY 10017

11:30 a.m. Reception

Purchase luncheon tickets

For sponsorship opportunities and information, click here.

The AAF's Most Promising Minority Students program connects the advertising industry with the nation’s top minority college seniors. This premier event provides opportunities to recruit fresh talent, to further prepare advertising’s best young prospects and to help the industry's workforce better reflect the multiculturalism of today's society. The program not only honors the students, but enhances their knowledge and understanding of the advertising industry by offering networking, interviewing and industry immersion opportunities with industry professionals.

Nominations: The nomination period has ended.

View photos from last year.

The American Advertising Federation's minority program has changed lives and impacted careers for the past 15 years. To see exactly how - alum went into the field with their own cameras to give us a raw look at what they're doing now:

2013 MPMS Distinguished Alumni Award

Sponsored by Omnicom Group

Mark McKenzie, Account Manager, Cox Radio

In the course of a diverse 13-year career in all aspects of the advertising and marketing industry, Mark McKenzie has proven to be a skilled executive, managing sales and marketing in the field of radio, throughout the national urban marketplace. He has demonstrated his ability to increase sales volume, negotiate favorable deals, and build strategic partnerships with various clients, including Bacardi USA, Heineken USA, Walt Disney World, BET Networks, Moet Hennessy, and many more for Cox Media Group.

Early on, Mark was poised as an advertising talent through being honored as one of 25 Most Promising Minority Advertising Students, by the American Advertising Federation (AAF) & Ad Age. Later on that year, Mark won the AAF’s Vance L. Stickell Memorial internship, which afforded him the rare opportunity to intern with the prestigious advertising sales staff of the Wall Street Journal in New York City.

With his newly charged interests in the advertising arena, Mark honed his intern experience by serving as the Print Media Manager at Central Talk Management, a full-service Ad agency based in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. There he managed the media buying responsibilities of over $12 million dollars. To date, Mark McKenzie has generated a solid contribution of over $15 million dollars in sales for South Florida's #1 rated Hip-Hop and R&B radio station, WEDR-FM/99JAMZ. As a Marketing expert, Mark continues to deliver solid customer-focused programs for perspective creation, conversion and key accounts.

Mark holds a BA, Journalism degree, from Florida International University.

If you have questions about the Most Promising Minority Students Program, please contact Candace Elliott at celliott@aaf.org.