Seattle Represents at ADmerica 2013
The American Advertising Federation's national conference, also known as ADmerica!, was held June 5-8 at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix. AAF Seattle board members Renee Peterson, George Riddell, Martin McGee, Luis Antezana, and Audrey Berglund represented our club, which won a Club Achievement Award for winning the Division III ADDY Challenge. Our own George Riddell impressed while performing his duties as National ADDY Chair. And Eric Weaver of Spring Creek Group led a panel of experts in the social media panel. All in all a tremendous few days of learning and interacting with our AAF brethren from District 11, Western Region, and around the nation.
The National ADDY Awards were held June 8th, with Keith Rivers and Eli Martin of Workhouse Creative, Keith Goldberg of Rally, and GreenRubino in the house to pick up their National ADDY Awards. Creature, Wong, Doody, Crandall, Weiner and Cole & Weber United also won National ADDYs for their work. Full list of winners here.
A few words from George Riddell, Secretary and National ADDY Chair, about his experience:
ADmerica was especially gratifying for me this year because of the large AAF Seattle contingent that attended the conference. Having such strong Ad Club representation meant that more club leaders are gaining the benefit of networking with clubs from other markets, and participating in professional development programs offered by the AAF. The group also spent time together looking ahead to the coming year for AAF Seattle. The experience should provide great momentum for an exciting year of Ad Club activities in Seattle.
Martin McGee, Treasurer and Vice-President:
One of the sessions I attended at the AAF National Conference focused on one of the key benefits AAF provides to our members and the advertising industry in general -- Government Affairs. AAF champions causes at the local, state and federal level that impact advertising including the critical issue of allowing advertising services to remain tax deductible as a business expense. Various clubs around the country presented ideas they implemented to work with elected officials both during their campaign and while in office. AAF Seattle will be exploring ways to apply some of these ideas to our region in the future.
From Luis Antezana, Director of Communications:
This being my first AAF national conference, I was impressed by the breadth of the community of creative professionals that care so much about the health of our industry and work to ensure its viability and high standards. This organization works more in the background than they probably realize, as I had no idea all that was involved in what they do. As would be expected, along with a lot of work came a decent bit of fun after hours, sealing new and old relationships. I was proud to represent our city and our club, to have our board make a great showing, and to have so many agency people along with us. The members of AAF Seattle should know we stack up well against any other city!
Check out AAF National's ADmerica photo set for more pics from the big event.
Business Up Front: We're On LinkedIn
Facebook has served us well for social posts like photo sharing, but it's not the ideal place for thinky work mode posts. That’s more of a job for LinkedIn. And given its recent enhancements, including a familiar-feeling news feed, as well as a decent, targeted ad system and improved company pages, it’s become more enjoyable to spend time there.
So we'll be utilizing LinkedIn on two fronts. First, through our company page, we'll be sharing notable links related to work and news about local agencies and vendors along with AAF Seattle club news. Second, through the AAF Seattle group, we'll provide a forum to converse about Seattle-specific topics, to continue discussions and networking begun during our events, featuring participation from our speakers and panelists, and for club-related chatter. There may even be gossip.
So follow our company page and join our group, and we'll do our best to make it worth your while.
Now on Instagram: @AAFSeattle
We thought the Seattle ADDY Awards would be a perfect opportunity to launch our presence on Instagram. No food or kitten pics for us, just some behind-the-scenes and in-progress shots from AAF functions, some teasers, and a few choice glamour shots. It's also a great way to keep up with official event #hashtags to see what others are posting.
Check us out at @AAFSeattle and give us a follow.
Under Construction
Welcome to the shell of our new website. It's clearly not ready but we just got so dang sick of the old site we couldn't take it anymore.
It's raw and unfinished. The colors are off-brand. We know. Don't judge. Let's just pretend it's cute in the meantime and then we'll never speak of this again.
The good part is we'll be making lots of frequent changes. So check back in to see our progress. We're going to try to impress you.
In the meantime, enjoy the lo-fi. Try not to get too attached.
Ad Club Seattle rebrands as AAF Seattle
Back sometime in late 2011, when the American Advertising Federation suggested all affiliate clubs adopt their naming system, Ad Club Seattle saw that as a great opportunity. We didn't just rename, we rebranded and rededicated ourselves to connecting our members and sponsors with creativity everywhere it exists in Seattle, not just in the ad business.
At the same time, we've been Ad Club Seattle since 1909. So while we'll call ourselves AAF Seattle, we'll still answer to Ad Club Seattle. Or Big Papa.