October 2019

Insights from Steve Pacheco

President & CEO, American Advertising Federation

 ​

On behalf of our Board Chair Tara Walpert Levy of Google, and our Vice Chair Lynn Lewis of UM Worldwide, and on behalf of all those in the advertising industry we serve across the United States, through our nearly 100 corporate members, the 40,000+ advertising professionals in our 175 local ad federations from Coast to Coast and the over 5,000 students in our more than 200 college chapters, we are truly “The Unifying Voice For Advertising” and are grateful for the support, and your ongoing belief in our role to promote and protect the profession of Advertising.

The AAF network is unique and inter-connected—with advertisers, agencies, film studios & festivals, ad tech, and media of all types under one banner, along with local clubs, and college students—allowing us to operate industry-wide initiatives like the Advertising Hall of Fame (the Class of 2019 was inducted and Nike was the corporate inductee this past April), the Advertising Hall of Achievement (will be unveiled in Chicago on November 12), the Most Promising Multicultural Students Program (which connects talent with our Members), Summer AdCamps for high school students (which just wrapped up in Atlanta with plans to expand further), the National Student Advertising Competition (the premier competition of its kind in the nation, serving both the industry, as a source for new talent, and thousands of students across the country.  Adobe has signed on to support the 2020 NSAC), and the American Advertising Awards (with over 35,000 entries this past year)  to name just some of our signature initiatives, as well as a nationally-coordinated Government Affairs Team that allows our industry to win legislative battles to protect advertising not just in Washington, but in all 50 states through our unique network of local AAF ad federations.

We ask a lot of our members, we ask for their Time, Talent and Treasures and they deliver year after year.

Your monetary support of the AAF represents an incredible value when you stop to consider that it supports all of our must attend signature events, our World Class Education services, our ongoing Government Affairs work, our proven Diversity & Inclusion efforts and our Club Services resources and tools.  These programs and platforms are the envy of the industry and are highly regarded by everyone in Advertising.

I joined the AAF as President & CEO in June with big plans and bold thinking to help grow this great organization which means so much to so many.  Can’t do it without your help and support.  Mostly I need your sustained Membership, your consistent support, and your active engagement with our programs, plans, events, and initiatives.  We all have a stake in the future of the AAF.

We are an organization on the move, growing and innovating. To learn more about our programs and how you can become more involved with the AAF, please contact me directly, or contact our staff at (202) 898-0089. And if you have specific questions on one of our signature events—just reach out to these AAF Staff members who can help:

• Corporate Events (Hall of Achievement & Hall of Fame): Lisa Rubin
• Mosaic Center, Education & National Student Competition: Ayanna Jackson
• Government Affairs: Clark Rector
• America Advertising Awards & Local Ad Professional Membership: Dawn Reeves

I hope you see the value in your AAF Membership and your connection and access to World Class Advertising experts and industry leaders. 

I deeply appreciate your Membership, your support, and your engagement with our programs, events, and initiatives, and look forward to serving you and our industry in the year ahead.