Dear AAF Club Members:
This year, under the leadership of Stacy McCullough and the National ADDY Committee, we re-invented the national show from scratch, including a dynamic, People’s Choice Award chosen through live audience texting; “and the envelope please” moments; behind-the-scenes analysis of the ads; Red Carpet atmosphere; and state-of-the-art sound, video, and staging – none of which had been done before.
The new, 2010 ADDY Awards Show represented the first step in getting our ADDY Brand the national recognition it – and, most importantly, the incredible creative work – deserves. And it of course required a substantial increase in investment by AAF National to do so.
We made that investment because we wanted to demonstrate the untapped potential for the program – and because we know that for the clubs to grow, the ADDYS MUST grow in every way: stature, visibility, and number of entries. But it will only grow, as we have seen our other programs grow these past two years, if we create a revenue model that will allow for the kind of investment necessary to do so.
The current structure effectively keeps the program from reaching its full potential as a national brand – which is why, from a revenue and entry standpoint, it has been stagnant for years. This is due in large part because the financing side of the National ADDY Awards technology & software, administration, judging, advertising, branding, publicity, and national show, has, for a variety of reasons, remained largely untouched for the entire history of the program. And this is so even though the program has for many years consistently lost money at the national level. The reason for this lack of growth and revenue is obvious: while local AAF clubs charge between $25 and $175 per entry, AAF National charges only $2 for those same professional entries and $4 for student entries. This is an unsustainable situation, not only because it fails to cover our costs, but more importantly because it prevents us from making the investments in the ADDY program that would increase the stature and visibility of the show, that could in turn generate more local entries.
Keep in mind, AAF National’s goal is not to fund a branding and publicity campaign centered only on the national show; our goal is to fund a branding and publicity campaign commensurate with the national scope of ALL our local entries. Indeed it is only through such a national branding effort that the ADDYS will ever develop the standing in our industry to draw in more entries, and end the years of flat growth for our local shows. We all know the ADDY Competition is the toughest advertising competition in the world: because the pool of talent our entrants are competing against is so large and diverse, and because of the multiple layers of competition. But we need to tell that story to the industry and the public.
In this context, a new ADDY fee structure is necessary to allow us not only to finally have the program cover its own costs at the national level, but more importantly to allow us to invest in the ADDY brand like never before. By increasing the stature and visibility of the national brand – perhaps even getting a television contract for the show in the years to come – we can significantly increase entries at the local level.
Therefore, in the 2010-2011 ADDY cycle, we will triple our investment in publicity for the ADDYS, putting the ADDY brand before the eyes of the industry, across the nation, like never before. We will triple our ADDY-fee-related contribution to Ad2 National, which administers the Student ADDYS, allowing them to further invest in that part of the ADDY Program at all levels. We will give every District that runs an ADDY Competition an additional $1,000 for use to enhance their District ADDY program however they see fit. And we will further and dramatically increase investment in our national ADDY show, building on the successful work we did to improve the show in Orlando. Remember: If agencies perceive the national ADDY brand to be a prestigious one, the only way to enter the program is through our local AAF clubs.
Also effective for the 2010-2011 ADDY cycle:
1) Every club that runs an ADDY show will receive an automatic 10% reduction in its annual AAF dues. This will also have the effect of encouraging more clubs to run a show.
2) The club in each AAF division with the greatest percentage increase year-over-year in total number of professional ADDY entries will have its AAF annual dues 100% WAIVED the following year, and special recognition at the Annual Conference.
and
3) The ten clubs, regardless of AAF division, with the greatest percentage increases year-over-year in total number of professional ADDY entries will each receive TWO complimentary AAF Conference Registrations, and with each registration 4 FREE nights at the Conference Hotel & a $400 air travel voucher (for a total of 8 free hotel nights and $800 in travel vouchers), and special recognition at the Annual Conference.
To accomplish these goals: dramatically increasing investment in the ADDY brand in all those specific ways, the Executive Committee of the AAF Board of Directors – with the support of the Officers of the Council of Governors, and the ADDY Committee Chair and Vice Chairs – has voted that for the 2010-2011 ADDY Cycle, AAF National will charge an ADDY entry fee of $15 per local entry. This translates into a modest $13 increase for professional entries, and an $11 increase for student entries (still well below what even the smallest clubs charge).
Please keep in mind that it is intended that clubs will pass along the modest fee increase to the entrants, by raising the price for each entry, as opposed to keeping their prices the same and thus bearing the costs themselves.
Indeed, as this program of investment in the ADDY brand kicks in, it will both significantly increase entries, AND allow our local clubs to charge significantly more for each entry – because the industry will come to place greatly increased value on the ADDY.
In the last two years, we have innovated other AAF signature brands, with very successful results. We need to have similarly big plans for the ADDYS. While we are proud of our program as it stands, we all know it can be so much more, so much more prominent in our industry and in the public eye, and thus so much more of a successful revenue raiser for our local AAF clubs. This is the plan to get us there. We look forward to working with you as we build our ADDY brand into the most prestigious in the industry.
Sincerely,
