Following COVID, our club, like many others, has faced unique challenges and changes in the way we operate. We recognized the pressing need to rebrand and revitalize our organization to bring more value to our members and connect the community of creatives in Polk County. This rebranding effort is our response to the changing landscape - and an opportunity to welcome a fresh wave of members into our fold, ensuring our club's continued growth in a post-pandemic world.
Rebrand Goals
When the board discussed the need for a rebrand, we discussed that it had to accomplish these three main goals:
- Clarify Our Club’s Unique Identity
Our club has evolved over the years, and this rebranding initiative allows us to clarify our identity and values. We want to ensure that anyone who interacts with us can easily understand what we stand for and what we aim to achieve. You’ll see we updated our club’s logo, mission, values, and branding to uniquely represent what AAF Polk County stands for: Passionate. Creative. Bold.
- Enhance Visibility in the Community
We aim to enhance our club's visibility both within our local community and on a broader scale. A fresh and distinct brand identity will help us stand out and make it easier for like-minded individuals, agencies, and students to find us and connect with our mission.
- Build Unity & Community of Creative Professionals
By undertaking this initiative, we seek to strengthen the sense of unity and pride among our members. A well-defined brand identity gives us a common rallying point and a shared vision to work towards. We want the club to support our members in helping find talent, enhance their skillsets, provide knowledge-sharing opportunities, and recognize the work they do in advertising, marketing, and branding.
Redesigned Website
With this in mind, we’ve designed a new website for the club with the help of Corbin Design and Tinsley Creative. This new website provides access to a members-only portal where you’ll find a member directory to easily connect with other professionals, a community forum, job board, and soon access to premium content and discounted workshops. This new website will allow us to provide efficient and effective communication on changes in advertising legislation, host virtual events to meet you where you are, and celebrate the creative work that gets done around the community.
The world is constantly changing, and we must adapt to remain relevant and impactful. Our rebranding initiative is a proactive step to ensure we continue to thrive in an ever-evolving landscape. Over time, we hope to grow in terms of membership, value-added events, and community-wide impact. We believe that BOLD ideas are a catalyst for shifting perspectives. But without BOLD ACTION, ideas are just that – ideas.
Unleashing Bold Creativity Through Action
During our rebrand launch event on November 16th, 2023, we hosted a panel of creative experts across different industries on the topic of what it means to take BOLD action. The panel discussion, Unleashing Bold Creativity through Action, moderated by current Expert in Residence at Catapult Lakeland and Former Director of Creative Services at Publix, Tim Cox, explored a dynamic concept that holds significance for creatives in the advertising industry. It's all about taking creative ideas and bringing them to life with purpose and impact. This approach not only sparks innovation but also propels creatives toward achieving their vision in meaningful and tangible ways.
To conclude the event, we discussed how everyone can showcase their BOLD creativity and work they've poured their hearts in by submitting them into the 2023-2024 American Advertising Competition. This competition, is our annual fundraising event of the year where the proceeds are used to keep our local chapter running – promoting networking events and programs, professional development,
and advertising education and advocacy - BUT to also submit local entries into the District phase of the competition.
More information about the competition including rules and creative categories can be found here. This is the time to recognize all the hard work you’ve done this year as a creative professional and as a team. The entry deadline is January 11th, 2024 - we encourage you all to submit your creative work and join us for our formal awards gala - Fancy AAF in February.
For more information about how you can join the club, be part of its leadership team, or how to submit your work for the competition reach out to us at info@aaf-polk.org.