The American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's) is a U.S.

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partic ...

for advertising agencies. founded in 1917. It serves over 700+ member agencies across 1,300 offices, which control more than 85% of total U.S. advertising spend. Its goal is to "foster, strengthen and improve the advertising agency business; to advance the cause of advertising as a whole; and to aid member agencies in operating more efficiently and profitably" by aiding member agencies with ad industry expertise, marketing research, training and professional development, lobbying, and even insurance benefits for employees.

History

The American Association of Advertising Agencies was founded on June 4, 1917, in St. Louis by five regional advertising industry groups and 111 charter members. As its founding came right after the U.S. entry into

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, one of the association's earliest actions was to urge its members to "sound a patriotic note in ads in support of the war effort". In December 1917, the Division of Advertising of the Committee of Public Information office opened under the organization's auspices, with a government charter to coordinate all wartime campaigns, including advertising for the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy,

liberty bonds A liberty bond (or liberty loan) was a war bond that was sold in the United States to support the Allied cause in World War I. Subscribing to the bonds became a symbol of patriotic duty in the United States and introduced the idea of finan ...

, victory loans, and the

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. In 1967, the AAAA sought to connect with university researchers, so it founded the Educational Foundation, which merged with the Educational Foundation of the American Advertising Foundation to form the Advertising Educational Foundation in 1983. It funded academic research on marketing and advertising and jointly sponsored projects with the Marketing Science Institute and the

National Bureau of Economic Research The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is an American private nonprofit research organization "committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic c ...

. In 1998, it opened up its membership to marketing communications companies in addition to advertising agencies. Ad industry changes meant that agencies were no longer just creating ads but also engaging in public relations,

direct marketing Direct marketing is a form of communicating an offer, where organizations communicate directly to a pre-selected customer and supply a method for a direct response. Among practitioners, it is also known as ''direct response marketing''. By ...

, sales promotion, and corporate branding. Furthermore, in 2009, it rebranded as the 4A’s, to retire the words "American" (advertising is an international affair) and "Advertising Agencies" (as member firms offer a wide array of services).

Operations

It has a Benefits division that provides insurance for more than 160,000 of its member agencies' employees. Its DC office, which opened in 1969, "monitors federal and state government activity and works to protect agencies and the advertising industry against burdensome legislation and taxation". It also organizes a number of conferences and events, including the Transformation Conference and issues annual awards for the best agencies in different categories. Marla Kaplowitz has served as AAAA's President and CEO since May 2017.

In popular culture

In ''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its f ...

'' S5.e12, "

Commissions and Fees "Commissions and Fees" is the twelfth and penultimate episode of the fifth season of the American television drama series ''Mad Men'' and the 64th episode of the series overall. It is co-written by Andre Jacquemetton and Maria Jacquemetton, and d ...

Lane Pryce Lane Pryce is a fictional character in the television series ''Mad Men'', portrayed by Jared Harris. An English newcomer to the United States as of 1963, he initially acts as financial officer at Sterling Cooper, but eventually leaves, along with ...

is offered an unelected chairmanship of the organization's fiscal control committee after SCDP wins the

Jaguar Cars Jaguar (, ) is the luxury vehicle brand of Jaguar Land Rover, a British multinational car manufacturer with its headquarters in Whitley, Coventry, England. Jaguar Cars was the company that was responsible for the production of Jaguar car ...

account.

References

{{reflist

External links

4A's

@4A's Twitter
Trade associations based in the United States Organizations established in 1917 Advertising trade associations Advertising in the United States 1917 establishments in Missouri