African American Marketing Association Launches the Pulse Awards to Honor Black Marketing Excellence Nationwide

The African American Marketing Association (AAMA) has officially announced the launch of the Pulse Awards, a national recognition program created to celebrate the strategy, creativity, and cultural impact of Black marketers, brands, and agencies across the country. The program marks a significant milestone for an organization that has spent more than five years building one of the most prominent communities for Black marketing professionals in the United States.

What Are the Pulse Awards?

The Pulse Awards are designed to give marketers, brands, agencies, and creative professionals a formal national platform for recognition. According to the AAMA, the program is a celebration of the strategy, storytelling, and execution that drives meaningful results in Black marketing today.

The awards span 15 categories, covering the full range of marketing disciplines and business scales. Categories include Best B2C Campaign, Best B2B Campaign, Best Financial Services Campaign, Best Non-Profit/Cause Campaign, Best Campaign for Small Business, Best Campaign for Enterprise, Creative Excellence in Branding, Creative Excellence in Content, Digital Experience Award, Brand Experience and Strategy Award, Strategic Excellence Award, Agency of the Year, Brand of the Year, HBCU of the Year, and People’s Choice: Creator of the Year.

The program is open to brands and in-house teams, agencies and creative firms, content creators, entrepreneurs and small businesses, event curators, independent consultants, publicists, and integrated marketing teams.

Submission Deadlines and How to Enter

Submissions for the Pulse Awards are now open at thepulseawards.org. The AAMA has structured a tiered deadline schedule to allow for early planning. The Early Bird window runs through May 17, 2026. The Regular submission period runs from May 18 through June 14. The Late submission window opens June 15 and closes June 28. The final deadline is Sunday, June 28, 2026. The AAMA encourages applicants to submit early for the best consideration.

About the African American Marketing Association

Founded in February 2019, the AAMA was inspired by years of poor representation in advertising and marketing spaces and was created to close the gap between Black marketing experts and the organizations that need a diverse mindset the most. Aa-ma

Since its launch, the organization has built what it describes as the premier community for Black marketing professionals, providing tools, connections, and opportunities needed to thrive in an evolving industry. AAMA Today, the AAMA boasts more than 1,500 members nationwide and has produced over 50 episodes of the Marketing For the Culture podcast, hosted two Marketing For the Culture Summits, curated the 50 Black Marketers to Watch list three times, and distributed Grow With Google Scholarships to members.

The organization operates as a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit and offers free membership to Black marketers, creatives, and entrepreneurs at every level of their career. Beyond individual membership, the AAMA also connects companies and brands with Black marketing talent through a nationwide career board and hosts a calendar of in-person events and virtual programming throughout the year. Learn more at aa-ma.org.

The Visionary Behind the Organization

The AAMA was founded by Michelle Ngome, an award-winning inclusive marketing consultant and founder of Line 25 Consulting, where she trains and advises organizations on how to develop inclusive marketing strategies.

The idea for the organization dates back to the winter of 2013, when Ngome recognized that no Black marketing association existed online. Already known as a strong networker who had served in various leadership roles, she understood the undertaking would be significant. Aa-ma, the urgency became undeniable by 2017 and 2018, when a series of high-profile advertising failures involving the misrepresentation of Black consumers drew national attention and public outcry. Ngome moved forward with the AAMA, officially launching the organization in February 2019 during Black History Month.

Ngome is also the creator of Be Inclusive, a DEI card game designed to facilitate conversation around diversity and company culture. AAMA She is the recipient of the Courageous Marketing Leader award and the Houston Business Journal’s Diversity in Business award. She has been recognized by LinkedIn as one of 25 Inspirational Black Women in Marketing, a Rising Star in the Marketing World, and named to SIA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Influencer List and Semrush’s Top 100 Influencers in Content Marketing. Michelle Ngome’s work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Entrepreneur, eMarketer, and Bacon Magazine.

She also hosts the Marketing For the Culture podcast, the official podcast of the AAMA, which spotlights conversations on inclusive marketing, Black business, and the careers of marketing professionals across industries.

The launch of the Pulse Awards arrives at a time when the conversation around representation in marketing has grown louder and more urgent. For years, Black marketers have produced campaigns that moved culture, shaped consumer behavior, and delivered measurable results, often without the industry-wide recognition that their counterparts in more traditionally spotlighted spaces receive.

The Pulse Awards are positioned to change that. By creating a dedicated national stage for Black marketing excellence, the AAMA is not only celebrating achievement but also establishing a benchmark for what culturally informed, strategically executed marketing looks like at its best.

For media inquiries, contact Isaish McSwain, Director of Programs, at programs@aa-ma.org.

Submissions and full award details are available at thepulseawards.org.

Follow the AAMA on LinkedIn.