LOS ANGELES, CA – November 30, 2020 – The Asian American Advertising Federation (3AF) announced today the winners of the 3AF 2020 Excellence Awards competition. The awards are bestowed annually to recognize excellence and commitment by corporate marketers and Asian American media and the best and brightest creative, public relations and digital work by agencies in the Asian American advertising and marketing industry.
In the 3AF Creative Campaign of the Year category, the Gold award for first place went to AAAZA for their campaign entitled, “Home,” for client AT&T DirecTV. The campaign creatively used the backdrop of a Saturday Asian language school to promote the value of the client’s international entertainment offerings for the Korean, Japanese and Filipino communities.
In the 3AF Digital Campaign of the Year category, IW Group, Inc. took home the top prize for their work on “Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Fire Drag Queen Mukbang.“ The judges appreciated IW Group’s boldness in partnering with Patrick Starr, the Filipino-American YouTuber and makeup artist who seeks to challenge certain stigmas surrounding men wearing makeup.
IW Group, Inc. was also recognized with the 3AF 2020 PR Campaign of the Year award for their efforts on “Wash The Hate.” This critical campaign was created by IW Group and funded solely by the agency and not on behalf of a client. The judges liked how IW Group took the initiative soon after the pandemic first started to raise awareness of the startling rise of hate crimes against Asian Americans and promote solidarity across all communities as the country battled a common enemy, COVID-19. With a limited budget, Wash The Hate has garnered significant and impressive PR coverage in both mainstream and Asian media alike.
Sky Link TV USA received the 3AF media partner of the year award for their creative and collaborative efforts and for going above and beyond in developing two original programs designed to help spread the word among their viewers about the importance of being counted in this year’s 2020 U.S. Census.
The U.S. Census Bureau client was awarded the 3AF 2020 Marketer of the Year award. The goal of “counting everyone once, only once and in the right place” in this year’s Census was especially challenging given the pandemic, social unrest, misinformation, and other issues which impacted the program’s operational activities. However, the U.S. Census Bureau client along with their collective agency partners, including 3AF member TDW+Co, were able to achieve a 99.98 percent total response rate for the entire country.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was named 3AF 2020 New Marketer of the Year. Their market entry strategy utilized Asian American community insights and research to create a culturally and relevant approach to develop familiarity and trust. When COVID-19 hit, St. Jude pivoted from in-person events to virtual experiences while adopting an Asian American influencer and social media strategy with a long-term goal to keep the community engaged.
Genny Hom-Franzen, Executive Director of the 3AF said, “Sadly, given the pandemic, we were not able to hold our awards event dinner in person during our annual Asian marketing summit which was held virtually. Yet, we felt it was critical to still recognize and applaud the wonderful work in our industry by marketers, media, agencies and other partners. At 3AF, despite the setbacks of the pandemic, we are forging ahead and doing whatever we can to keep Asian consumers and the Asian American community top of mind. Congratulations to this year’s winners for helping the 3AF spotlight the power and influence of the Asian American consumer segment.”
The Asian American Advertising Federation (3AF) is a national trade organization comprised of Asian American advertising agencies, Asian market advertisers, Asian media companies and other industry specialists. Its 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.
The 3AF Asian Marketing Summit is held annually. More information about the 3AF is available at www.www.3af.org.