3AF Summit Archive - 2023

It’s hard to believe that just outside the spot where we sit currently, thousands of persons of Japanese ancestry including American citizens were boarded on buses and trains in 1942 to travel to concentration camps in desolate parts of the country because of Executive Order 9066 signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 2/19/42.

Enacted because of the Japanese Imperial Navy’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on 12/7/42, the order required that all persons of Japanese ancestry including Americans citizens be incarcerated because of perceived threats of domestic espionage. Over 125,000 lost their homes, their businesses, personal property, and due process of law. The US Constitution failed this vulnerable community of color. This was a sad time in US history, which we should never forget.

In fact, the incarceration of Japanese Americans has been called one of the most atrocious violations of American civil rights in the 20th century. Despite the incarceration, and other issues such as gentrification, rising rents, homelessness, vandalism, and the pandemic, Little Tokyo has survived and thrived.

Mike Okamura, President of the Little Tokyo Historical Society, will share an insider’s look at the importance of this colorful community and how it has succeeded as one of four remaining Japantowns in the country.

Speaker: Mike Okamura, President, Little Tokyo Historical Society

Really moving the needle on data equity requires systemic change. In this presentation, Angela Houghton (Senior Research Advisor, AARP) will discuss some of the reasons that data gaps for AANHPI communities still persist and how AARP and NORC at the University of Chicago are bringing together stakeholders to launch a new solution for conducting survey research, called “Amplify AAPI”. A first-of-its-kind, dedicated resource for surveying AANHPIs, Amplify AAPI will recruit research participants in 5 languages and allow researchers to disaggregate data for NHPIs and the largest six Asian American ethnicities (to start). Soft launching this summer, Amplify AAPI will make accurate, cost-efficient survey research accessible to all researchers and help advance the inclusion and representation of AANHPI communities in every space where data shapes our understanding, from the public sector to corporate America, in media and society.

Speaker: Angela Houghton, Senior Research Advisor, AARP

In this informative workshop that heavily relies on business data and data tools from the Census Bureau, Data Dissemination Specialist Andrew Soto will guide attendees through key Census surveys and programs that will be helpful to the business community. Hands-on training of data tools and best practices will be provided in this workshop that will leave attendees better prepared for understanding the importance and usefulness of Census demographic profiles and business data.

Speaker: Andrew Darrick Soto, Data Dissemination Specialist, U.S. Census Bureau

In May of last year, Meta launched Meta Prosper, its API community support program, and has proven that focusing on underrepresented audiences can drive real business impact. Come hear how Meta built a program designed to unlock economic impact, amplify and uplift the API community, and drove incremental revenue in the process. As the macroeconomic environment continues to drive austerity measures for brands, Meta Prosper provides a case study in how diversity remains a business imperative.

Speakers:

Shay Fan, Program Manager for Meta Prosper, Meta

Anish Patel, Founder & CEO at Tinto Amorio, Co-founder at Achha CPG, Tinto Amorio

This session will share key findings on Asian Americans from a multicultural study sponsored by the 3AF, Hispanic Market Council and a few media conglomerates. The study examines teens and adults’ views of core identity, views on diversity and inclusion, social issues they care about, state of mind, work and money, values, relationship with brands, and media consumption. With a total sample of 4600, 1000+ per segment for White, Hispanic, Black and Asian, and 1/3 of the sample being teens 13-17, the study will not only reveal key trends and differences of the country’s multicultural consumers but also the younger multicultural majority who grew up with social media, in a diverse environment.

 Speaker: Iris Yim, 3AF Chair of Research Committee, Principal, Sparkle Insights

Sports teams like the Dallas Stars, L.A. Kings, New Jersey Devils and Sacramento Kings have learned how important it is to reach out to Asian audiences. They understand the importance of this growing fan base. On the flip side, South Asians and Caribbeans have brought their passion sport – cricket – to America. Hear from our illustrious panel of speakers – Sreesha Vaman, Partner of Tulsea Sports and Bobby Sahni, Partner of Ethnicity Matters as they share key insights and learnings about the uniqueness of multicultural marketing and sports.

Speakers:

Bobby Sahni, MBA, Partner & Co-founder, Ethnicity Matters

Sreesha Vaman, Partner, Tulsea Sports Marketing

Effective campaigns start with accurate market research insight. Unfortunately, despite the fact that two thirds of Asians in the US are foreign born, marketers often rely on syndicated research reports on Asian Americans which are often conducted solely in English and skew US born Asians who account for one third of the Asian American population, therefore leading to inaccurate assumptions for messaging and media planning. This session will address how to conduct in-language and in-culture research among Asians and key considerations in research design and execution so that marketers can have accurate insights to base on for their campaigns.

Speakers:

Roy Eduardo Kokoyachuk, Co-Founder and Principal, ThinkNow

Iris Yim, 3AF Chair of Research Committee, Principal, Sparkle Insights

Genny Hom-Franzen, Executive Director, 3AF

iTalkBB Media is a leading source for marketers to penetrate the Chinese American market effectively. It has a vast collection of licensed Chinese in-language content of trendy dramas, popular movies, TV variety shows, original content of influencers, and 30+ live channels serving the needs of 2.6 million Chinese audiences. In particular, nearly 50% of viewers have considered or purchased after seeing the ads. By breaking down the Chinese in-language viewer, market, and opportunity, the attendees will access the first-hand survey report and exquisite research while getting to know the culturally relevant tentpole events to plan ahead with diversified and advanced ad formats.

Speakers:

Weiqi (Momo) Huang, Senior Manager, Business Development & Partnership

Tracy Zhang, Global Brand Director, iTalkBB

While Asian Americans account for 7% of the U.S. population, they represent 10% of its affluent population. With the growing affluence and influence of the AAPI population in the U.S., how can luxury brands better market and sell to this growing and diverse segment of consumers? Panelists will discuss the current luxury landscape, how luxury brands can target and invest in this connected community, and what companies can do to avoid missteps along the way.

Speakers: 

Angie Byun, CEO and Founder, AB WORLD

Edwin H Wong, SVP Insights, Innovation & Research, Vox Media

Michelle Lee, Founder and Principal, Michelle Lee Brand Advisory

Especially amplified by critical events over the past five years, ethnic media have been lauded for the position of trust they hold within their respective communities and utilized by organizations with critical messaging from COVID-19, to Anti-Asian American violence, to Census and a host of other advocacy issues. At the same time, these media resources are becoming fewer as publishers close business as advertising investments diminish. In this discussion, we invite industry leaders to discuss the value and effectiveness of ethnic media outlets; the economic opportunities for all parties; how technology can close barriers to the utilization of ethnic media; and how a continuation of ethnic media services is vital.

Speakers: 

Susan delos Santos, Marketing Director, The Filipino Press

Jay Kim, President, AAAZA

Speakers:

Maria Zavala, Manager, Media Marketing Strategy, McDonald’s

Suvi Liu, Media Supervisor, Admerasia

Speakers: 

Ram Raja, VP – Marketing 

Mayank Khirwadkar, Head and Advertiser Solutions, Datawrkz

Join us for an inspiring fireside chat with Bernice Chao, author of the award-winning bestselling book, “The Visibility Mindset: How Asian American Leaders Create Opportunities and Push Past Barriers.” This session is a must-attend for those seeking to unlock their full potential, as Bernice shares her insights on overcoming challenges faced by Asian American professionals. During this session, Bernice will delve into the book’s creation and discuss some of her most effective tips for finding your voice, owning your story, and elevating your professional life. As a bonus, attendees can purchase signed copies of the book, with some of the proceeds graciously donated to JANM.

Speakers:

Bernice Chao, Co-founder of Asians in Advertising, Asians in Advertising

Dan Matthews, Managing Partner | Creative Producer, International Secret Agents (ISA)

Toyota has long been the go-to brand for Asian Americans in search of reliability, durability, and quality to take them through their life journey. But Toyota is far more. Toyota has always been a supporter of Asian Americans pursuing our diverse dreams — an angle that Toyota and Intertrend worked to surface. This session showcases exactly how Toyota partnered with Intertrend for an exciting brand campaign celebrating those who never settle in the pursuit of their version of the Asian American dream — from Day One and beyond.

Speakers:

Scott Bennett, Brand Media Senior Analyst, Integrated Marketing Operations, Toyota Motor North America

Gianni Sun, Associate Media Director, Intertrend Communications, Inc.

In this session, Lydia Querian, Creative Director of Divine Creative Studios along with collaborators, Anthony Francisco and Shannon Cabral, will discuss how Filipino identity has become more visible in mainstream media in the arts, entertainment and food categories. She will also speak a little bit about Fil-Am history and how the different generations of migration have segmented the community into different categories in values.

Speakers:  

Anthony Francisco, Creative Director, Dolphin Entertainment

Shannon Cabral, Director, Ramar Foods

Lydia Querian, Founder, Divine Creative Studios

The mission of the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) is to serve as a growth engine for certified minority owned businesses (Asian, Black, Hispanic, and Native American) and enable its corporate members to advance economic equity. NMSDC creates connections between minority business enterprises and corporations to help them benefit from each other, stoking entrepreneurship, and growing wealth for these systemically excluded communities. NMSDC is the nation’s largest, most effective, and successful nonprofit advocacy organization for MBEs, proving growth for MBEs is growth for all. For the U.S. economy to continue to thrive it is vital that the Asian American marketing and advertising community understands the value of certification and why MBEs are an important part of the larger marketing and advertising value chain.

Speaker: Ying McGuire, CEO & President, National Minority Supplier Development Council

Collaborating with creators has quickly moved from unchartered territory to a must-have for all brands and agencies. Winning within the ever changing landscape requires a deep understanding of how deals are structured and how decisions are made along with keeping an eye on trends. Learn from top creator Philip Wang, Angela Kim, creator manager Dalton Laluces, and creator community founder Justin Nguyen as they share their lessons, insights, and predictions about the creator economy.

Speakers:

Philip Wang, Co-founder, Wong Fu Productions

Dalton Laluces, Strategic Advisor

Angela Kim, Digital Creator, mommy-diary.com

Justin Nguyen, Founder, Declassified Media

Nielsen and the Asian American Advertising Federation (3AF) collaborate to release the results of their first-ever Asian Language Media Consumption study. The study focused on media perceptions and content affinity for the top three Asian languages in the United States: Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean.
This panel dives into the insights of this research and offers perspectives from the media, the agency, and the advertiser.

Speakers:

Pat Ratulangi, VP, Global Communications – Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Nielsen

Theresa Mai Wright, VP Media Sales & Marketing, LITTLE SAIGON TV

Join us for an AIMM’s panel discussion on the challenges facing the AAPNHI community across the marketing industry. Despite the valuable insights and connections delivered by AAPNHI agencies, this segment continues to face limited access to opportunities, underrepresentation in ads, and the threat of hate crimes. As creators, marketers, brands, and industry leaders, we must work together to drive equity and better connect authentically with this diverse, multilingual, and multi-generational community. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn about this $1.3 trillion spending power consumer segment from industry leaders!

Speakers:

Tony Gonzalez, CEO & Co-Founder, Mundial Media

Day Nahm, Senior Account Executive, Asian Media Group

Nancy Diaz, Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing (AIMM)

Theresa Mai Wright, VP Media Sales & Marketing, LITTLE SAIGON TV

Jay Kim, President, AAAZA

In this session, Howard Lichtman, 3AF Vice President and co-founder of Ethnicity Matters, will discuss how to be best in class in both in language and in culture in Asian marketing.

Speaker: Howard Lichtman, 3AF Vice President, Co-Founder, Ethnicity Matters