About 3AF
What inspires us daily to do the work we do, and the people who make 3AF possible

Our Story
Our history began in February 1999, when executives from 15 advertising agencies, including L3, Kang & Lee, DAE, Imada Wong, Muse Cordero Chen, Admerasia, interTrend Communications and Minority Media Services held the first gathering of the Association of Asian American Advertising Agencies or 5As. At that time, corporations were realizing the importance of diversity, but there was resistance to target Asian Americans compared to other segments. One of the primary goals of the 5As was to organize an association who could not only promote the Asian American advertising industry as a whole but, more importantly, help validate the market. The organization’s name was later changed to 3AF, but many of the organization’s founding principles, to broaden members’ knowledge, share expertise, provide networking opportunities, and to showcase the power, impact, and influence of the Asian American consumer still holds true today.
Our Vision
The Asian American Advertising Federation unites industry and community stakeholders in the advancement of the Asian American marketing industry. We seek to elevate the inclusivity of Asian American consumers in marketing efforts by providing education, advocacy, community engagement, and highlighting the work of our members.
Our Mission
The 3AF’s mission is to advance the Asian American marketing and advertising industry for Asian American consumers through education, advocacy, promotion, and increased collaboration of all industry stakeholders including but not limited to marketers, agencies, research partners and media. Additionally, 3AF seeks to promote and encourage high standards of conduct and ethics among our members and our industry.
3AF Officers
- 3AF President
Howard Lichtman
3AF Vice President
3AF Board of Directors
Doris Huang
Cheryl Lee
Arne Lucas
Dan Matthews
Raymond Olano
Regional Head, Advertising Sales and Partner Marketing, North and Latin AmericaThe Filipino Channel (TFC)South San Francisco, CAE-mail Raymond
Daniel Sakaya
Jack Schwartz
Darren Wong
Iris Yim
Sam Yoon
Sylvia Zhou
Jess Park Persson
Latest 3AF News
FAQ
The Asian American Advertising Federation (3AF) is the leading resource when it comes to Asian advertising, Asian marketing, and the power of the Asian American consumer. We are a national trade organization comprised of Asian American advertising agencies, corporate marketers/advertisers, Asian media, marketing research firms and other industry vendors and partners. We have helped numerous brand marketers connect with marketing resources (creative agencies, media, research, etc.) to activate their Asian marketing programs.
The 3AF has been helping marketers in their brand journey with the Asian American segment for more than 24 years. Whether you’re tapping this affluent segment for growth, trying to obtain insights for accurate portrayal of the Asian consumer in your inclusive advertising campaign, understanding the Asian media landscape to optimize your media buy, or trying to engage Asian employees within your company, the 3AF is your best resource. As we bring together the key players/partners in the Asian American marketing ecosystem, we can facilitate relationships and collaborations in the industry.
- Broaden knowledge and share expertise on the Asian American market through conferences, seminars, events, and programs sponsored by 3AF.
- Receive advance notice, early reservation service, and discounted registration fees on industry events and programs.
- Meet and network with Asian American marketing, agency, media and research professionals, and potential clients.
- Participate in 3AF committees that relate to your business area.
- Access to research studies and market information related to the Asian American market.
- Access to verifiable and updated information on Asian American media.
- Discount for registration for the 3AF’s annual conference.
- Discount for 3AF proprietary research studies.
- Opportunity to be featured in 3AF’s quarterly newsletter and social media posts.
- Complimentary access to the conference video library for internal training and client education https://insights.3af.org/
- Eligibility to run for 3AF’s Board of Directors
- Opportunity to enter member only award categories in the 3AF’s Excellence Awards competition
Through our national summit, webinars, marketing research studies, online resources, video library, mentorship program, and our vast network of Asian marketing experts, we are dedicated to helping marketers understand the business case for and how best to reach the critical Asian American consumer segment. Our 3AF Asian Marketing Summit, the largest national conference focusing solely on the Asian American consumer, is held annually in May during Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Month.
We have made significant impact in educating key partners about the influence and importance of the Asian American consumer via our summits, webinars, and events.
As champions for the Asian segment, we work hard to ensure advertising and multicultural industry groups and associations include our segment in their events and activities. During COVID, we curated several informational webinars to help Asian small businesses who were negatively impacted by the pandemic. We have provided our expertise as judges in many prestigious national advertising and community competitions. We have conducted our own Asian marketing research studies on Asian media consumption. At the height of anti-Asian hate, we collaborated with corporations and key industry partners to organize free informational webinars to build allyships and highlight the importance of intersectionality. Lastly, over the years we have taken a stand and released public statements on many issues that impacted the Asian American advertising and marketing community.
Our 3AF membership roster is a valuable online resource of experts in our industry. Visit: https://www.3af.org/member-directory/
Members include corporations, media, marketing research firms, agencies, and other industry vendors and partners.
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Please reach out to membership@3af.org, and let us know what category (media, agency, corporation, other industry vendor/partner), and we’ll take care of the rest!