Club Updates November 2021

Club Updates - American Advertising Awards Planning

AAF Baton Rouge

The American Advertising Awards committee has been working on the upcoming awards show. $15,000 in sponsorships has been committed by local businesses and in-kind sponsors are committed for stage decor, printing, event entryway and more. All three judges have been secured and L’Auberge Casino in Baton Rouge has been booked for the event to be held on February 19. The casino even agreed to a higher in-kind percentage discount on the event rate, since no rooms at the hotel will be comped for judges with the continuation of virtual judging.

The competition has been set up in Open Water and the committee is issuing reminders to our membership about the call for entries dates and the continuation of virtual judging. In November, the committee is underway planning an event that will reveal the theme, but also share updates on the awards, including pointers and lessons learned about virtual judging. In addition, the December luncheon speaker will be a judge from the 2021 awards that participated as a virtual judge. The committee is putting particular focus on ensuring that the membership is prepared with knowledge and best practices to adapt to the continuation virtual judging this year, so all the work submitted is the best reflection it can be of the advertising community’s accomplishments.

Important dates:
CFE: January 13-14
Judging: January 21-22
Awards night: February 19


AAF Birmingham

AAF Birmingham has been hard at work getting ready for the Awards. Most vendors have been locked in for the show which we plan to host in-person on Feb 18th, we’ve had our entry portal open for about a month now and have begun receiving entries, we’re currently reaching out to individuals encouraging them to enter, and we have most of our judges secured to review entries between 1/24-1/30. We’re also using our December luncheon as an opportunity to discuss and answer questions about the Awards show and/or anything else related to the event.


AAF Mobile Bay

AAF Mobile Bay’s American Advertising Awards co-chairs Mallory Higgs and Jessica Turner have been busy preparing for entires and our show! We have started doing weekly social media posts to let professionals and students know our site is open for entries! AAF Mobile Bay’s new website launched in October which has given us a great place to direct people to receive more information on entering!

The early deadline for entries is January 3, 2022, and the late deadline is January 7, 2022. Our theme is for this year is Black & White and we plan to host our show in-person on February 22, 2022, at the Gulf Coast Exploreum!


AAF MS Gulf Coast

We have been busy here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast!

Jeff Harrison, Cece Shabazz and Alex Weems recently attended the Leadership Conference in Atlanta. They came back with so much excitement and new ideas to incorporate into our club – from vamping up our American Advertising Awards ceremony to better communication within our board.

Paul Morrone, our VP of Programs, has been working diligently to get us some fresh faces for our upcoming events. This is sure to get our members more engaged.

We have approved a theme for the American Advertising Awards event and have begun preparations for the upcoming show.

We are excited to be preparing for the upcoming Spring Convention since we have a date confirmed. We can’t wait to see everyone in May.


AAF Tuscaloosa

We have a committee that oversees all aspects of the awards:

  • Come up with a theme/create an identity package
  • Update the portal with new information and graphics
  • Create a prospect list of new entrants (reach out personally. share with them which piece specifically would be great to enter)
  • Schedule promotion across all of our channels (working with VPs Communications)
  • Secure judges (and get headshots, bios for award video and booklet—we ask that they send us a video intro to use & do video about special awards saying why chosen)
  • Secure venue, caterer, bar services, A/V, etc.
  • Set early, regular, and late entry dates with appropriate discounts/additional fees.
  • Secure venue early enough to announce open entry portal and open gala ticket portal at the same time to encourage ticket sales.

AAF Baton Rouge

The American Advertising Awards committee has been working on the upcoming awards show. $15,000 in sponsorships has been committed by local businesses and in-kind sponsors are committed for stage decor, printing, event entryway and more. All three judges have been secured and L’Auberge Casino in Baton Rouge has been booked for the event to be held on February 19. The casino even agreed to a higher in-kind percentage discount on the event rate, since no rooms at the hotel will be comped for judges with the continuation of virtual judging.

The competition has been set up in Open Water and the committee is issuing reminders to our membership about the call for entries dates and the continuation of virtual judging. In November, the committee is underway planning an event that will reveal the theme, but also share updates on the awards, including pointers and lessons learned about virtual judging. In addition, the December luncheon speaker will be a judge from the 2021 awards that participated as a virtual judge. The committee is putting particular focus on ensuring that the membership is prepared with knowledge and best practices to adapt to the continuation virtual judging this year, so all the work submitted is the best reflection it can be of the advertising community’s accomplishments.

Important dates:
CFE: January 13-14
Judging: January 21-22
Awards night: February 19


AAF Birmingham

AAF Birmingham has been hard at work getting ready for the Awards. Most vendors have been locked in for the show which we plan to host in-person on Feb 18th, we’ve had our entry portal open for about a month now and have begun receiving entries, we’re currently reaching out to individuals encouraging them to enter, and we have most of our judges secured to review entries between 1/24-1/30. We’re also using our December luncheon as an opportunity to discuss and answer questions about the Awards show and/or anything else related to the event.


AAF Mobile Bay

AAF Mobile Bay’s American Advertising Awards co-chairs Mallory Higgs and Jessica Turner have been busy preparing for entires and our show! We have started doing weekly social media posts to let professionals and students know our site is open for entries! AAF Mobile Bay’s new website launched in October which has given us a great place to direct people to receive more information on entering!

The early deadline for entries is January 3, 2022, and the late deadline is January 7, 2022. Our theme is for this year is Black & White and we plan to host our show in-person on February 22, 2022, at the Gulf Coast Exploreum!


AAF MS Gulf Coast

We have been busy here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast!

Jeff Harrison, Cece Shabazz and Alex Weems recently attended the Leadership Conference in Atlanta. They came back with so much excitement and new ideas to incorporate into our club – from vamping up our American Advertising Awards ceremony to better communication within our board.

Paul Morrone, our VP of Programs, has been working diligently to get us some fresh faces for our upcoming events. This is sure to get our members more engaged.

We have approved a theme for the American Advertising Awards event and have begun preparations for the upcoming show.

We are excited to be preparing for the upcoming Spring Convention since we have a date confirmed. We can’t wait to see everyone in May.


AAF Tuscaloosa

We have a committee that oversees all aspects of the awards:

  • Come up with a theme/create an identity package
  • Update the portal with new information and graphics
  • Create a prospect list of new entrants (reach out personally. share with them which piece specifically would be great to enter)
  • Schedule promotion across all of our channels (working with VPs Communications)
  • Secure judges (and get headshots, bios for award video and booklet—we ask that they send us a video intro to use & do video about special awards saying why chosen)
  • Secure venue, caterer, bar services, A/V, etc.
  • Set early, regular, and late entry dates with appropriate discounts/additional fees.
  • Secure venue early enough to announce open entry portal and open gala ticket portal at the same time to encourage ticket sales.