Category: News

Dear AAF Central Minnesota Community,

I’m thrilled to kick off another season with the American Advertising Federation of Central Minnesota! We’ve got an exciting schedule ahead, full of opportunities to connect, learn, and celebrate the incredible creativity in our community.

This year, we’re bringing back some of your favorite events, such as the CMYK Poster Show, Coffee with Creatives, and, of course, the American Advertising Awards. Your Board of Directors are also looking to add new ways to connect, and as always, would love your feedback.

I am new to the Board, but not AAFCM. I was previously on the board in the late 1990s – early 2000s, and served as president 2001 – 2002. Fun fact: We printed and mailed a monthly newsletter and had just purchased www.adfedcentral.com with hopes of having a website someday.

To say it’s been a minute is an understatement. But as countless others have taken their turn to help out this wonderful organization, I felt it was time to get my team involved again and to personally help out where I could. 

________

A little bit about me:

I’m the owner and director of marketing at Moxie Creative. For more than three decades, I’ve worked in the ever-changing world of advertising and design. I’ve witnessed many transitions – from manual layout to pagination to websites and digital media. While my first two gigs were in-house positions, I’ve worked as an account manager / copywriter in an agency setting for 28 years, 17 of which I was also an agency owner. 

Although I’m originally from Michigan, I’ve called the St. Cloud area home for almost three decades and raised my family in Sauk Rapids. Currently, I live in St. Cloud with my husband, Eddie, while my two adult children are wrapping up college and launching their professional careers. 

________

I look forward to seeing you at one of our events. Whether you’re a long-time member or brand new to AAF Central Minnesota, your participation is what makes this organization thrive. Let’s make this year one of our most dynamic yet!

Cheers to what’s ahead,

Kelly Cane
President
American Advertising Federation of Central Minnesota

We’ve got an exciting season ahead! Mark your calendars and join us for networking, inspiration, and creative fun all season long.

October

• 23 Member Mixer | Season Kick-off | Bad Habit Brewing Co. | 5 – 7 pm  
• 28 Coffee with Creatives | B-Side Music Café | 7:30 – 8:30 am  

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November

• 6 CMYK Poster Show | Spooky Spectacle | Iron Street Distillery | 5 – 7 pm 
• 25 Coffee with Creatives | B-Side Music Café | 7:30 – 8:30 am  

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January

• 22 Hands-on Workshop: Screen Printing with Sean Lim | TBD  
• 27 Coffee with Creatives | B-Side Music Café | 7:30 – 8:30 am 

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February

• 13 12-Hour Student Design Challenge | 8:30 am – 8:30 pm | Alexandria Technical & Community College
• 24 Coffee with Creatives | B-Side Music Café | 7:30 – 8:30 am 
• 28 American Advertising Awards | Gorecki Center, College of St. Benedict

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March

• 24 Coffee with Creatives | B-Side Music Café | 7:30 – 8:30 am 
• 24 Member Mixer | Advertising Trivia | Pantown Brewing | 5 – 7pm  

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April

• 9 Agency Crawl | 3-5pm 
• 28 Coffee with Creatives | B-Side Music Café | 7:30 – 8:30 am  

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May

• 7 Beauty & the Bias | Iron Street Distillery | 5:30 – 7pm 
• 26 Coffee with Creatives | B-Side Music Café | 7:30 – 8:30 am 

Central Minnesota is home to a cast of amazingly talented marketers. And you don’t just have to take our word for it. I’m sure you can think of those people in your professional life who radiate excellence in our industry. Submissions are due Friday, January 31^st, 2025.

Silver Medal Award

This is precisely why the American Advertising Federation presents the Silver Medal Award and Emerging Leader Award each year. Those who have gone above and beyond deserve to be recognized by their industry peers.

The AAF Silver Medal Award Program was established in 1959 to recognize men and women who have made outstanding contributions to advertising and who have been active in furthering the industry’s standards, creative excellence, and responsibility in areas of social concern. Each year, AAFCM bestows this honor upon an outstanding central Minnesota advertising community member.

Our panel of judges comprises past club presidents and Silver Medal Award winners. The award recipient will be announced at the 2025 American Advertising Awards.

Emerging Leader Award

The AAFCM Emerging Leader Award was established in 2017. This award was created to recognize young professionals who are making outstanding contributions to marketing, advertising, design, and/or communications.

Emerging Leaders, while young in their careers, have already shown themselves to make an impact. They are individuals who have begun to further industry standards, creative excellence, and responsibility in areas of social concern.

Emerging Leader nominees must be under age 35 (as of the end of this year) and contribute to the industry in the Central MN community. Sound like someone you know? You can submit your Emerging Leader application here. One will be announced at the 2025 American Advertising Awards.

It’s that time of e of year again…AAA Season! The American Advertising Awards (AAA) is one of our staple events – a national competition available to all creatives locally.

A few steps are involved in submitting your work, and we’re here to help you navigate the process seamlessly. Whether you’re new to the AAA submission process or just need a refresher, we want to help answer any questions you might have.

If you have any additional questions that we don’t address below, please check our social channels for more information or reach out to us! We’re happy to help and want to make this a successful and fun event for everyone.

Q: How are virtual submissions different?

A: The submission process will be the same as previous years, with the only difference being that all of your work will be submitted digitally. There will be no physical files given to us. Details on submitting your work can be found at the 2024 American Advertising Awards website.

Q: Do I still need to print and mount my work?

A: Yes and no! Printing your work for judging is not needed as our judges will not be coming in-person. When you submit your work, you will have the opportunity to attach up to 5 files and an optional video upload.

Mounting for display at our in-person event in February is required. Please mount your work to a 16″ x 16″ black mounting board and glue/tape one of the manifest numbers to the back. If you don’t have your own boards they can be purchased for $5/piece and picked up at WhiteBox Marketing.

Q: Who can I reach out to if I need help with the submission process?

A: Please reach out to Amanda Hackett at ahackett001@csbsju.edu for any questions. She will be happy to help!

Q: Do I have to be a marketing agency to submit?

A: Absolutely not! The American Advertising Awards highlights the work of all creatives, no matter how big or small. Whether you’re a student, freelancer, or work in-house or at an agency, your work is welcome! We are so lucky to live in a community with strong talent and we want to see it all.

Q: Where do I find a list of categories to submit?

A: You can find Professional categories here and Student categories here.

Q: What if I feel like my work is best seen tangibly/in-person?

A: We get it! Often, the best part of a project is seeing it all come together off-screen. Being able to touch it, feel it, and show it off to all your friends. Our recommendation is to take the time to get quality proofs of your work and present it as best you can on-screen. This might mean mocking up a scene in which your work might appear. Think about how you might present a concept to your clients/boss before it’s actually been created. Anything you can do to help someone visualize the work will help.

Q: How do I buy a ticket for the show?

A: You can buy tickets for The Show on our event page. Early bird tickets are available to purchase until January 26th, 2024.

Q: Are there any AAA entry/show ticket discounts?

A: Yes! If you are an AdFed member, either student or professional, you will receive a discount on your submissions and ticket prices for the show. Discounts are as follows:

Single Entry: Professionals $60 (Non-Member $100) – Students $40 (Non-Member $55)

Campaign Entry: Professionals $100 (Non-Member $160) – Students $50 (Non- Member $70)

Ticket Pricing: A Discount on your show ticket.

If these price breaks aren’t enough to convince you to become a member, check out all of our member benefits.

The time is near for our favorite event of the year – the American Advertising Awards! We are ecstatic for this year’s live show in February. 

The American Advertising Awards, or the AAAs, as we like to call them, are the pinnacle event of the year to celebrate creatives in every capacity on both a local and national level. We have so much amazing talent in our own community of Central Minnesota, and now is the time to show it off.

Conducted annually by the American Advertising Federation (AAF), our local competition is the first of a three-tier, national competition. Entering the competition supports our entire industry, because the AAF and its local and district affiliates use the proceeds to enhance advertising through programs such as public service, internships, advocacy groups, advertising education, and consumer awareness.

Whether you are a student, freelancer or a creative working in-house or in an agency, we want to see your work! Submissions can be entered into Student or Professional categories to be judged.

A few important dates to know:

• Entries are due Tuesday, January 16, 2024.
• Early bird tickets are available until January 26, 2024.
• $25 Pro Member / $45 Pro / $16 Student Member / $30 Student (Parent/Sibling of Student)
• Regular Ticket Price: (January 27, 2023 – Day of the Show):
• $35 Pro Member / $55 Pro / $21 Student Member / $35 Student (Parent/Sibling of Student)
• Join us for the show on February 24, 2023!

All of the details for submitting your work, FAQ’s and more can be found here.

We’re still reeling from such a wonderful 2023 CMYK Poster Show! We want to give a huge thank you to everyone who made this a smashing event – all of our design professionals, students, and freelancers who submitted posters, the Iron Street Distillery staff, and those of you who came out to support the show. 

We hope this year’s theme of music inspired you. One of our favorite aspects of the show each year is to see how people interpret the theme and make it come to life in their own unique way. 

We had a total of 30 entries this year. A warm congratulations to Jeramee Hoberg for winning the Judge’s Choice Award and to Samantha Bragg for winning the People’s Choice Award. These two remarkable students from Alexandria Technical & Community College truly wowed us with their creative brilliance. Your dedication and hard work have paid off, and we couldn’t be prouder.

Want more information on cool events like this in Central Minnesota? Sign up for our eNewsletter to stay in the loop at www.adfedcentral.com.

Hello Central Minnesota creatives and friends! 

As this year’s president of the American Advertising Federation of Central Minnesota (AAFCM), I’m excited to welcome you to the 2023–24 season! We have some great events in store and invite you to join in on the fun.

We’re kicking off the year by bringing back a fan favorite: the CMYK Poster Show! Save some space on your calendar for the end of October – we’ll share more details very soon as we get them lined up. We can’t wait to see what you’ve got! We’ve also got a couple of our other fan favorites on the programming lineup: The American Advertising Awards (AAAs) and Beauty + the Bias.

Our goals for this season include running some killer events (both old + new), encouraging more student engagement, and reviving local interest in this organization. Speaking of engagement – we always welcome interested creatives to serve on our board or committees. You don’t have to be an advertiser – you just need to love creativity and have a heart to serve! 

Currently, we are looking to fill a few vital positions on our board:

• AAA Chair: If you’re interested in helping run the biggest advertising awards show in Central Minnesota and celebrating the INCREDIBLE work that happens in our own community, join our board as the AAA Chair.

• Campus Relations Chair: Students are a vital part of our organization, and we want to provide events, resources, and opportunities for the next generation of advertisers, marketers, and creatives. Help us connect with local colleges and universities to provide these opportunities.

If neither of these roles speak to you, we also welcome your involvement in whatever way interests you. If you want to help map out a marketing plan, execute some amazing events, or connect our club with the greater community, we want you! If you have any questions about getting involved with AAFCM, reach out to me at ahackett001@csbsju.edu or (651) 334-2279.

I’d like to finish out this letter by expressing my gratefulness to my fellow board members:

• Alison Fischer, Whitebox Marketing
• Bryce Jacobson, Whitebox Marketing
• Burke Tagney, Midwest Financial Partners, Inc.
• Camille Lehmann Rosa, A Breath of Hope Lung Foundation
• Rich Thul, DeZurik

Another special thank you is due to Bridget Deutz, founder of Greenline Marketing, for serving our board in an advisory role. Her historical knowledge, years of involvement, and commitment to AAFCM are incredibly beneficial to our board.

We look forward to staying connected with you. Stay creative!

Amanda Hackett

AAFCM President