Editorial Guidelines for the 4As Blog: Guest Post

A hub for knowledge sharing within the 4As member community, the 4As blog features agency thought-leadership, actionable content and inspiration. We welcome submissions from member agencies. Our goal is to promote high-quality, unique content that empowers members’ success and moves the industry forward. 

Target Audience: Advertising and marketing professionals committed to staying informed about the latest developments, trends and best practices. Our audience includes agency professionals and marketers from all sized agencies across all disciplines and levels of experience, technologists, students, industry leaders and media professionals. 

Voice and Tone

  • Use an approachable, informative tone that encourages learning. 
  • Deliver action-oriented content that inspires further exploration or application. 
  • Include practical tips or clear next steps.
  • Provide clear, concise, evidence-backed content and insights. 

SUBMIT CONTENT UNDER ONE OF THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES

1. Want to Share Agency Thought Leadership, Recognition or Other Published Work?

For thought leadership and other previously published content, each such submission must be accompanied by an original overview, opening statement or a summary of the content in the form of a blog post. This summary must illustrate the relevance of the content piece to the 4As audience or specific segment of the audience. These submissions will be attributed to a member agency. The blog post may link out to member agency website or other resources as a call to action. We can also include a downloadable PDF or visuals.

Word Count:  250-750 words [A brief writeup about the paper or work you are sharing] 

  1. Want to Share a POV? [Individual contributor from a member agency]
    We accept original opinion pieces that are informative and educational and present an interesting, evidence-based point of view on topics our members care about. These submissions will be attributed to the author and can include social media links or other resources. We recommend including at least one relevant visual or photo with your submission. 

Word Count: 800-1,200 words

Formatting: 

  • Headlines and Subheadings: Provide clear, descriptive titles and subheadings.
  • Sources and References:
    • Cite all sources 
    • Provide a full list of references and include URLs for online sources when applicable.
    • All claims, especially statistics and research, must be supported by credible sources.

Author Bio, Headshot, Featured Image:

  • Include a brief bio (approximately 50 words) with your credentials and professional background.
  • Provide a high-resolution headshot in full color, in jpeg or png format.
  • Provide at least one featured image to go with your blog post.

Copyright and Publishing Rights:

  • Copyright: Authors retain copyright but grant 4As a nonexclusive, worldwide, fully paid-up, irrevocable, sublicensable license to reproduce, distribute, and publicly display the content.  In addition, authors grant 4As the exclusive right of first publication of the content. Authors may share the 4As-published version on personal websites or institutional repositories after 2 months, with proper attribution to the 4As blog. You represent that the content is original to you and has not been copied from any other source.

Editorial Review Process

  • Review and Revisions: All submissions will undergo an editorial review for quality, clarity and alignment with content standards. Editors may suggest revisions for consistency or clarity.  Editors do not factcheck, and you bear full responsibility for the accuracy of the content.
  • Approval: Content must be approved by the editorial team before publication. The 4As editorial team does not guarantee publication of every submission. Publication is subject to timeliness, relevance, content quality and other factors. 
  • Distribution: Select articles and blog posts may be included in our email distribution to an industrywide audience.
  • Legal:  4As acceptance and/or publication of any content does not constitute an endorsement of it.  All opinions are those of the content authors. This platform is meant to inspire and educate, and is an opportunity for the community to learn, share views and get exposed to different perspectives and thought leadership. 

4As reserves the right to accept or decline submissions and make minor edits pertaining to grammar and style. For more substantial editorial edits, our team will contact the contributor. 4As reserves the right to take down any published content at any time for any reason or no reason.

Topics of Interest / Blog Categories

  • AI, GEN AI
  • Branding, Creative, Customer Experience
  • Culture and Human Interest
  • Data Tools and Tech
  • Media
  • Privacy
  • Sustainability
  • Talent
  • Offbeat/Outlier 

If you have other thoughts on topics or any questions, reach out to Rupa Raman, VP of Marketing & Communications at the 4As: [email protected].