September 2022

Insights from Steve Pacheco

President & CEO, American Advertising Federation

You Are Known by the Company You Keep

And the AAF is in very good company these days.

With the best, and most comprehensive roster of Corporate Partners the AAF has ever had, we find ourselves in some really great company. 

The AAF now has more than 60 Corporate Partners on board. These partners range from traditional Broadcast Networks to Nationwide broadband providers, from the premier Sports Marketers in the USA to global Social Media giants and from the World’s leading Ad Agencies to the very biggest and best innovators in Ad Tech.

The AAF has been incredibly successful in attracting and retaining some of the very best brands and some of the most awarded brand builders in the World. They choose to invest in the AAF and they support our mission to be “The Unifying Voice for Advertising” by helping bring in programming and content and leadership and guidance that benefit all of the Members of the AAF.

And throughout the pandemic and lock down, our Corporate Partners kept their AAF memberships active and they remained resolute in their support of the AAF. These individuals and companies could spend their time and money and resources in a thousand different ways—but they each have decided to invest in our important work in Diversity & Inclusion, advocacy for the industry, government affairs, developing young advertising talent, recognizing and honoring the best in our business and many other programs that help strengthen our industry. 

Scan the list of our AAF Corporate Partners and our Board of Directors (made up primarily from Senior level Advertising, Media and Marketing Executives that come from our Corporate Members) and you will see many bold face names you know and more than a few companies and organizations you trust.  

Many of these Corporate Partners have decided to join the AAF family as a way to build and grow their business and build awareness throughout North America. They want to connect with our Clubs, Chapters and Colleges in meaningful ways.

One of our newest Corporate Partners is the Spanish Broadcasting System, one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in North America. They target the U.S. Hispanic audience in eight geographic regions: Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco, Puerto Rico, Orlando and Tampa. SBS wants to grow awareness of their radio stations and entertainment brands to our diverse membership base.

Mondelez is an American based multinational confectionery, food, holding and beverage and snack food company based in Chicago. With annual revenues of about $26 billion and operating in over 160 countries, they are in the Top 100 of the Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. Mondelez supports developing talent for the industry through the AAF’s educational efforts through our Most Promising Multicultural Students program, and they have also sponsored our Hall of Achievement.

Sirius XM is an American broadcasting company that provides satellite radio and online radio services all across the USA. With approximately 35 million subscribers, chances are you (or someone you know) is an SXM listener.  SXM Media leverages the AAF for building out market by market awareness and coordinating with their local and regional Sales Teams to develop media and marketing plans that grow small and mid size businesses. 

As you can see, we are in good company here. And there are a number of potential opportunities to partner with our partners in areas that are important to you and your Club.

Let’s find a way to connect your AAF Club with our AAF Corporate Members.

Reach out to me or Dawn Reeves and let’s see what we can do…together.