February 2024

Insights from Steve Pacheco

President & CEO, American Advertising Federation

The AAF Has Always Been About Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Since Day One of our charter—1905 —the American Advertising Federation has been built on the deep understanding that it takes all types of People from all types of backgrounds and ethnicities to come together to make the best Advertising.  And to represent and advocate effectively for the industry—as we strive to be “The Unifying Voice for Advertising.”

 This still holds true, and we feel that it matters now more than ever.

Against the current backdrop of Black History Month, it’s a really good time to stop and take account of how we as an organization (as well as the entire Advertising industry) are doing on Diversity measures and improvements on Inclusion metrics.

We typically start with the AAF's Mosaic Center—the longest standing Advertising Trade Organization’s Diversity practice. The AAF's Mosaic Center for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in Advertising implements all the AAF's multicultural and diversity initiatives. The Center's mission includes the development of new programs and services to recognize and develop diverse talent and promote broad and realistic portrayals of multicultural communities.

The American Advertising Federation’s (AAF) Mosaic Council is the advertising industry’s preeminent think tank on diversity and inclusion. To create a foundation for the Mosaic Council’s work, the members have created the AAF's Mosaic Principles

 These Principles offer agencies and companies at-large the recommendations needed to institute common diversity practices that are essential to addressing the demands of our consumers.

Additionally, the AAF produces several annual recognition programs and events to honor and celebrate the best practices in the Advertising, Media, and Marketing industries.  A partial list is here:

• Mosaic Awards
• The Mosaic 10
• Mosaic Council
• HBCUs for Advertising
• Most Promising Multicultural Students

It’s work like this that sets the AAF apart and helps diversify our industry at all levels.  We want to find the right way to get YOU involved and engaged with this important work that changes lives and sets the future leaders of our industry up for success.

Let me or Candace Queen, SVP of the Mosaic Center know if you have questions or want more info.

As always, thanks for your support of the AAF and our Diversity & Inclusion efforts.

—Steve