Esteemed American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's) Announces the Partner Awards to Honor Creative Collaboration

NEW YORK, Sept. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The 4A's, the premiere association representing the advertising agency business in the U.S., is pleased to announce the launch of the Partner Awards, a program that speaks to the value and importance of creative collaborations in the marketing and communications industry. The 4A's Partner Awards, which will replace the O'Toole Awards, will recognize and honor great partnerships that elevate creativity to new levels. MediaLink will serve as the exclusive inaugural sponsor of the Partner Awards.

The 4A's leaders realize there are unique challenges that occur when individuals and companies with different personalities and cultures collaborate to achieve a common goal on behalf of a client. With the 4A's Partner Awards, the organization aims to salute those who put their egos aside for the greater good of properly servicing the client and creating meaningful work. The newly developed program is ideally aligned with the 4A's positioning ("We're your partner for business") and represents the business as it stands today, with all its opportunities and challenges.   

The Partner Awards will be given in the following categories:

• Brand partnership
• Creative partnership
• Media partnership
• Technology partnership
• Diversity partnership
• Cause partnership

Each partnership could involve multiple brands, agencies and companies. More details on entry submissions and categories can be found at partnerawards.aaaa.org. Additionally, there will be two jury-nominated awards, Partnership of the Year and Most Innovative Partnership; the jury will also have the option to select a Most Innovative Partnership winner from all entries. The jury is unique in that it features media, creative, digital, branded content and PR agency executives as well as technology/media companies as well as marketers.  The jury members are as follows:

Creative

• Chuck Porter (Jury Chair), Chairman, CP+B
• Susan Credle, Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett
• Sarah Hofstetter, CEO, 360i
• Matt Jarvis, Chief Strategy Officer, 72andSunny
• David Murphy, President – U.S., Team Detroit
• Rob Schwartz, Global Creative President, TBWA

Media

• Scott Donaton, Global Chief Content Officer, UM
• Lisa Donohue, CEO, Starcom USA
• Bill Koenigsberg, President, CEO and Founder, Horizon
• John Montgomery, COO, Interaction, GroupM

PR

• Marian Salzman, CEO, Havas PR North America

Brand

• Dana Anderson, Chief Marketing Officer, Mondelez International
• Icema Gibbs, Director, Corporate Social Responsibility, JetBlue
• Liza Landsman, Chief Marketing Officer, Executive Vice President, E*Trade
• Esther Lee, SVP, Brand Marketing, Advertising and Sponsorship, AT&T

Technology

• Torrence Boone, Managing Director, Agency Relations, Google
• David Roter, Director, Global Agency Development, Twitter
• Jon Williams, Senior Director, Global Agency and Partner Development, LinkedIn

Winners will be revealed at the 4A's Transformation conference in March of 2015 in Austin, Tx.

Alison Fahey, Chief Marketing Officer, 4A's, noted: "When I joined the organization, I looked at our industry awards; it was clear the O'Toole Awards needed to be revisited and revamped. After months of industry research, interviews of past winners, creative and many industry leaders, it was determined we could change more than the name and how the award is presented. Everyone we spoke with, talked about partnership and collaboration as the future of the ad business, and the 4A's wants to celebrate how collaboration creates the most meaningful work when it's done right." 

Nancy Hill, President and Chief Executive Officer, 4A's, said: "As the industry has moved from turfs and silos to embracing our interdependence, we felt the need to acknowledge the ecosystem partnerships that have been creating great results for our agencies' clients. Alison and her team have developed something truly unique to celebrate those fantastic partnerships."

About the 4A's

The 4A's is the catalyst for bringing together the right people in the right place at the right time to address the advertising industry's most critical business issues. We provide leadership, advocacy, guidance and community to our members and the industry at large, with proprietary access to the people, information and tools needed to make smarter management decisions. Our mission is the help agencies become more successful.

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