A Recap of AAF-ND’s Season

Written by: Jenny Johnson

AAF-ND Board of Directors

I was honored to serve as this year’s first Vice President, which yielded the opportunity to serve alongside our volunteer-led board of directors in executing a number of events including opportunities for education, volunteerism, and a celebration of the year’s best advertising contributions. I would also like to give a big thank you to this year’s sponsors—we couldn’t have done any of this without you.


About AAF-ND

The American Advertising Federation of North Dakota is one of 210 local affiliates of the American Advertising Federation and part of AAF’s 8th District. The district includes clubs from Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. AAF-ND is open to anyone in a communication-related field. AAF-ND consists of corporate communicators, public relations practitioners, journalists, freelance writers, designers and multimedia specialists, advertising sales representatives, musicians, and printers.


Check Out This Season’s Events!

Speaker Events

One big benefit of our club is we bring national speakers to Fargo to educate our members on topics relevant to their day-to-day work life. We host a lunch for attendees and provide an opportunity for networking before each event. I have heard so many brilliant marketing professionals speak over the years. This year’s speakers have included:

  • Michah Smith – Quality Control
  • Vin Matano – Account Based Marketing
  • Heather Novak-Peterson – Bringing the Outside In
  • Greta Brooks – Why Video Marketing Works & How to Pull It Off
  • Melissa Harrison – The Post-Covid Marketing Industry
  • Nelson Eddy – More than Whiskey, the Untold Story about Jack Daniels
  • Upcoming, May 16: Dr. Marcus Collins – The Future Brand

4:01 Socials

Photo provided by Office Sign Comapny

These events give sponsors an opportunity to host our members (or those interested in becoming a member) to visit their locations and network with fellow members in the advertising and communication fields. Here is a look at some of the networking events AAF-ND held this year:

  • September – Season Kick-Off at Fargo Brewing
  • October – Halloween Party at Absolute Marketing
  • December – Holiday Party at Drekker Brewing
  • January – Party at Harold’s
  • March – Office Sign Company
  • April – Thune Studios
  • Coming up in May: End of Season Party – Brewhalla

Amerian Advertising Awards

Patrick Kirby, Award emcee 2023

As Vice President of AAF-ND, I had the distinct honor of leading our annual American Advertising Awards alongside co-chair Lexi Hovland. We celebrated achievements in design, videography, digital marketing, and print. This event was made possible by partnerships with The Avalon, Office Sign Company, Livewire, and our awesome emcee Patrick Kirby. We are excited to report that a number of winners from our local event advanced to the district competition and yielded three Gold winners that will advance to the national American Advertising Award competition along with 14 Silver award winners. The national competition will take place June 2 in St. Louis, MO.

Good For Nothing

Good For Nothing has a special place in my heart. It was one of the first real AAF-ND events I took part in back in 2016. In my former life, I worked in the nonprofit industry, so it was wonderful to use my expertise in both that and marketing to help local nonprofits brand and market themselves in meaningful ways. This year we held the event at the Prairie Den’s new location in The Black Building. Thank you to all of the volunteers who gave their time and to the nonprofit organizations who participated.

TV Timeout

TV Timeout is one of my favorite events of the year. It takes place right after the Super Bowl and we get a bunch of creatives in a room and critique which ads were a touchdown and which were a big old fumble. Thank you to Cellar 624 for hosting us this year.

Members Also Enjoy Many Benefits Such As:

  • Monthly professional speaker events featuring regional and national experts
  • Fun, social activities and studio tours throughout the year
  • Many opportunities for students to network within the industry and learn from professionals
  • A ticket to the annual American Advertising Award Show and a discounted rate for entries

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Linkedin: /company/aaf-nd

Twitter: @aafnd

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