American Academy of Advertising
2026 Annual Conference
March 26-29, 2026
The Westin Austin Downtown
Austin, TX
AAA members and colleagues are invited to gather Thursday, March 26 - Sunday, March 29th
at The Westin Austin Downtown, in Austin, TX for the 2026 AAA Annual Meeting.
2026 AAA | Call for Pre-Conference Session Proposals - Deadline August 31, 2025
2026 AAA | Call for Competitive Papers and Special Topics Proposals - Deadline October 1, 2025
Awards and Grants Calls
2026 AAA | Research Fellowship Call for Proposals - Deadline September 12, 2025
2026 AAA | Best Purpose Advertising Paper Call for Proposals - Deadline October 1, 2025
2026 AAA | Best Access and Opportunity Paper Call for Proposals - Deadline October 1, 2025
2026 AAA | Doctoral Dissertation Award Call for Proposals - Deadline November 1, 2025
2026 AAA | S. Watson Dunn Memorial Fund Grant Call for Proposals - Deadline November 1, 2025
2026 AAA | Non-dissertation Research Grant Call for Proposals - Deadline November 1, 2025
2026 AAA | AAA Research Fellowship Competition on Industry Self-Regulation & Socially Responsible Advertising Practices - Call for Proposals - Deadline November 1, 2025
Deadline for Submissions
Electronic submissions (https://aaa.confmaster.net) will be accepted beginning September 2, 2025, and must be received no later than 11:59 PM EDT, October 1, 2025.
Quick Links
Links will be updated as they become available
Learn about Visit Austin here.
Special Off-Site Event: Texas BBQ with a Live Band just for us - bring your dancing boots!
We are excited to announce that our Saturday off-site reception on March 28th will be held at the legendary Stubb’s Bar-B-Q restaurant just minutes from The Westin! Born in the 1970s, Stubb's restaurant holds a history for blues and folk music as "ground zero" for famous musicians Joe Ely and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Other famous musicians who would “play for their supper” included Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Robert Cray, George Thorogood, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Linda Ronstadt and the Fabulous Thunderbirds.
Christopher "Stubb" Stubblefield founded the restaurant after serving as a staff sergeant in the 96th Field Artillery, the last all-black army infantry. The first location grew in Lubbock in 1968, across from the county fairgrounds. He made his first barbecue in the hickory pit behind his place and filled the jukebox with vintage blues music. Fifty years later, we are excited to enjoy his culinary and musical legacy with colleagues of the American Academy of Advertising.
Texas BBQ with a Live Band just for us - bring your dancing boots!
Accommodations & Travel
Conference Hotel Information
Get swept up in the excitement of Austin at The Westin Austin Downtown! Lined with blues clubs, country bars and food trucks, the hotel makes its home on 6th Street - an icon of Austin's Live Music Capital identity. Nearby historic sites include the Brush Square Museums, the O. Henry Museum, and the Susanna Dickinson Museum among a number of culinary and nightlife options. At the hotel, conference attendees may enjoy visiting the signature open kitchen restaurant Stella San Jac , or the hotel rooftop lounge and bar, Azul, which boasts status as the highest rooftop bar in Austin!
More information about the hotel can be found here.
Sleeping Room Rates
Single $249.00 | Double $249.00
Hotel’s room rates are subject to applicable state and local taxes, fees, and assessments (currently 17.62%) in effect at the time of check-out.
The cut-off date to obtain the special conference room rate is Wednesday, March 4th, 2026. The link to reserve your hotel room will be published here once available.
Local Transportation
From the Airport:
- From Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS/KAUS): 10 miles
Other Transportation:
- Amtrak - Austin, TX Station: 1.5 miles (30 minute walk /5 minute drive)
- Greyhound - Greyhound: Bus Station: 3 miles (1 hr walk / 10 minute drive)
Don’t Miss Out: AAA 2026 Pre-Conference Sessions
Generative AI is rapidly reshaping advertising how we do, research, and teach advertising. As innovative booms, uncertainty follows. How do we leverage Gen AI for research? What do our students need to learn to be competitive? How do we employ AI ethically in research and the classroom?
At the 2026 annual conference, AAA presents two half-day pre-conferences designed to answer these questions and more! In the morning pre-conference, learn about integrating AI into the advertising classroom. In the afternoon, add AI-powered tools to your research toolbox.
INTEGRATING AI IN ADVERTISING EDUCATION
AI is reshaping how ads are created, placed, and measured—and how we must teach. Join this half‑day pre‑conference to turn rapid industry change into practical classroom strategy.
Across two 90‑minute sessions, you’ll hear from academic experts and industry leaders on AI’s impact on strategy, analytics, and media management—what’s changing now and which skills graduates must bring to the job. Then, a seasoned advertising creative, an AI‑forward advertising professor, a department chair, and a journal editor will unpack creative workflows (think Midjourney, DALL·E, ChatGPT, Gemini), course design, curriculum integration, and emerging scholarship.
What you’ll take away
- Clear approaches for teaching AI in creative, media, and analytics courses
- Assignment ideas that build student skill without sacrificing critical thinking
- Guidance for responsible use—transparency, bias, and data privacy—without stifling innovation
- Program‑level perspectives and research directions to move your department forward
If you’re an advertising educator, program leader, or researcher ready to prepare students to use AI critically and ethically, this is your moment. Be part of AAA’s pre‑conference dedicated to AI in advertising education—and leave with actionable ideas you can implement immediately.
EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL OF GENERATIVE AI IN ACADEMIC RESEARCH – DEMONSTRATIONS, REFLECTIONS, AND DEBATE
From idea spark to publication, this half‑day workshop shows what’s possible—responsibly. Featuring 18 presenters and discussants spanning early‑career innovators to senior scholars, we’ll run fast “show & tell” demos of generative AI at every stage of research (ideation, literature review, design, data collection, analysis, writing, and navigating review). Each demo is paired with reflections from senior panelists who surface methodological, ethical, and editorial considerations, keeping rigor front and center while broadening what we imagine AI can do. We’ll close with an open dialogue and Q&A to map future directions for scholarship and practice. Whether you’re curious, cautious, or already experimenting, you’ll leave with practical tools, critical perspectives, and greater confidence to integrate AI thoughtfully into your work.
Why attend?
- See it in action: Concrete, hands‑on workflows you can adapt tomorrow.
- Get critical guidance: Senior scholars frame benefits, limits, and standards.
- Leave with a plan: Ideas, resources, and next steps for responsible adoption.
Registration opens in Fall 2025.
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