About the ARF

Lead with Science.

Advances in technology have been both a benefit and a hindrance to marketers—more ways to connect with customers but far more complexity. 2020 added a new degree of difficulty for our industry. There has never been a more critical need for solid information, standards and transparency.

Businesses can grow only when their actions are led by trusted information and insights—drawn from empirical research, objective experiments and valid market tests.

Since 1936, the Advertising Research Foundation has been the standard-bearer for unbiased quality in research on advertising, media and marketing. Its powerful knowledge, unifying standards and best practices have benefited its legion of member companies many times over.

Only the ARF brings together advertisers, agencies, media companies, research companies and ad tech into one conversation about how to be better at what we do.

We set the standards for the international advertising industry’s best practices.

We consider it our responsibility to lead by example and provide guidance so that our industry can better diversify its workforce and create opportunities for growth. That is why we created ARF WIDE—the Workplace Initiative for Diversity and Excellence.

The ARF provides peer-to-peer networking, mentorship opportunities and industry-pioneering communities to ensure the continuous evolution and improvement of the advertising, marketing and research industries.

Our goal is to provide you with the unbiased, vetted and trusted information you need to make confident business decisions, even in the most turbulent of times. Through the ARF Knowledge Center, our Research Experts provide individualized research assistance for any inquiry you might have.

Our comprehensive events program, which moved entirely virtual in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, includes annual conferences with the boldest and brightest thought-leaders, timely and focused Town Halls on the biggest issues impacting our industry, community-driven initiatives and the industry’s foremost award ceremonies.