Western Regional Conference Roundup
AAF Seattle Administrator
Your trusty board recently took Reno by storm in hopes to double our revenue and advertising brain power at the AAF Western Regional Conference. Now that they've all recovered from the whirlwind of experts, seminars, buffets and lounge singers, we asked them to share their thoughts and things they learned at the conference.
AAF Seattle board and friends
Martin McGee, President
What I wanted to get out of this conference was to network with other clubs in the region to see what is and is not working for them. I want to get ideas to implement in Seattle and possibly provide ideas for other clubs to try.
My priorities coming out of this conference are around planning for the club—both short and long term. While the club has goals identified for the current year, I would like to develop a multi-year strategic plan.
The ever photogenic Martin
Mark Kurtz, Diversity & Multiculturalism
AAF Seattle is a force in the Western Region. We have the foundation in place to grow. The landscape of the term "advertising" is expanding to include many forms of marketing and we need to flexible in order to cater to the needs of our members.
This conference reinforced the responsibility we have as advertising and marketing professionals to elevate our work to the highest level. Numerous examples were given throughout the conference that rely on the many skill-sets that AAF Seattle represents—especially around creative storytelling and how to connect audiences to those key messages in a meaningful and relevant way. The collective work that our members produce has the ability to impact billions of people and this is a great industry to represent.
Mark puts his lucky charm to the test
Charlotte Boutz, Vice President & Programs
I love to hear what other clubs are doing—both their success stories and their challenges. Each market is so different, so clubs approach serving their communities differently, but there’s still a lot to learn and share.
The Reno team did a great job producing “bonus” content that was not directly related to the business of the organization, but helped open our minds and keep the energy level up. I was especially inspired by the team at Goodby Silverstein & Partners sharing the NBA Jingle Hoops campaign, and Jonathan Woytek from Pereira & O'Dell on the Skype Stay Together campaign. Beyond the concept development, which was incredibly powerful in both cases for different reasons, the creative problem solving that these teams pulled off throughout the production processes was jaw dropping. What a fun pair of reminders of why we’re in this business, and what it takes to tell a good story well.
Charlotte enjoys the Reno nightlife
Audrey Berglund, American Advertising Awards
I always look forward to networking with other ADDY chairs and figuring out best practices based on their experiences. It’s a great place to share ideas and gain support.
This conference served as a great kickstart to this year’s American Advertising Awards. I got a lot accomplished in the way of event timeline, budgeting and committee building. I definitely have a plan of attack moving forward and am set up to run effective committee meetings.
Audrey strikes up a convo with the locals
Cindy Pennington, Executive Director
I want our membership to know that your elected board desires to learn more about growing and promoting the advertising industry in Seattle. They want AAF Seattle not just be relevant to the agencies, but to the businesses, vendors and clients in the Seattle area.
Cindy takes in the sights
Nik Amar, Advertising Education
I got some great ideas for programs from other clubs. It's a priority for me to work with the board to create greater, more bombastic membership drives, considering how essential membership is to the survival of our club.
Our club is large and diverse in membership and behavior. Members can take an active role in our club’s future through regular attendance and simply meeting and suggesting things to the board (not to mention volunteering).
Nik explores Reno's culture