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

  • Indrajit Majumdar

    3AF President
    Head - Content , Marketing , Brand Partnerships
    Zee TV/Essel Group
    New York, NY
    E-mail Indrajit

  • Jay Kim

    3AF Past President
    President
    AAAZA, Inc
    Los Angeles, CA
    E-mail Jay

  • Howard Lichtman

    3AF Vice President
    Co-Founder and Partner
    Ethnicity Matters
    Toronto, ON
    E-mail Howard

  • Sandra Lee

    3AF Treasurer
    CEO
    ES Advertising, Inc.
    Los Angeles, CA
    E-mail Sandra

  • Genny Hom-Franzen

    Executive Director
    E-mail Genny

  • Bonnie Curtis

    Administrative Consultant
    E-mail Bonnie

3AF Board of Directors

  • Doris Huang

    Media Director
    Admerasia, Inc.
    New York, NY
    E-mail Doris

  • Cheryl Lee

    Executive Director
    InterTREND Communications
    Long Beach, CA
    E-mail Cheryl

  • Arne Lucas

    Senior Director of Strategy and Business Operations
    Prime Image Media Group
    Alameda, CA
    E-mail Arne

  • Dan Matthews

    Director of Partnerships
    Transparent Arts Corp
    Los Angeles, CA
    E-mail Dan

  • Raymond Olano

    Regional Head, Advertising Sales and Partner Marketing, North and Latin America
    The Filipino Channel (TFC)
    South San Francisco, CA
    E-mail Raymond

  • Daniel Sakaya

    President
    Crossings TV
    Sacramento, CA
    E-mail Daniel

  • Jack Schwartz

    General Manager
    KTSF
    Brisbane, CA
    E-mail Jack

  • Darren Wong

    President, Account Services
    PLAN C Agency
    Los Angeles, CA
    E-mail Darren

  • Iris Yim

    3AF Chair of Research Committee, Principal
    Sparkle Insights
    Chapel Hill, NC
    E-mail Iris

  • Sam Yoon

    Senior Account Director, Client Partner
    IW Group, Inc.
    Los Angeles, CA
    E-mail Sam

  • Sylvia Zhou

    Global Industry Relations and Intelligence Lead
    Meta
    New York, NY
    E-mail Sylvia

  • Jess Park Persson

    SVP, Managing Director
    TDW+Co
    Los Angeles, CA
    E-mail Jess

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.

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.

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.

There are several exciting ways to get involved with 3AF:

  • Attend our annual Asian Marketing summit, webinars, and programs.
  • Join the vibrant 3AF community as a member.
  • Stay in the loop by signing up for our newsletter, ensuring you’re always connected to upcoming events, programs, and initiatives!

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