AAAA.  American Association of Advertising Agencies.  National trade association representing advertising agencies.  Members produce about 80 percent of total US agency-placed advertising.  Most info on Web site is for members only.

AAF. American Advertising Federation.  The oldest trade association for advertisers.  Sponsors of Addy awards program. Web site is a rich source of information on the value of advertising and advertising best practices.  Issue briefs are an interesting resource.

AAP. Association of American Publishers.  Trade association for book publishers.  Some material on Web site is applicable to and useful for magazine publishers, and the organization’s annual report is a comprehensive guide to who’s who and what’s what in the world of book publishing.

ABC.  Audit Bureau of Circulations.  The oldest and best-recognized circulation auditing bureau.  Web site is a good source of practical information on the value of auditing and how to use reports..

ABM.  American Business Media.  Trade association for business-to-business media, including agricultural and healthcare media.  High quality, specialized information on Web site.

AMA . American Marketing Assciation.  Professional association for marketers.  Web site provides an overwhelming volume of useful information on an incredibly broad range of topics related to marketing.

ARF.  Advertising Research Foundation.  Foundation for creating and sharing information about the advertising industry.  Outstanding source of  information on advertising.

ANA.  Association of National Advertisers.  Trade organization for “client-side” advertisers. Most info is members-only.

BISG.  The Book Industry Study Group, Inc.  Trade association representing publishers, booksellers, paper manufacturers, libraries, authors, printers, and wholesalers.  Focus is on research and supply-chain standards and policies.  Many of the issues at BISG are of concern to magazine publishers.

BMA.  Business Marketing Association.  Trade association for business-to-business marketers.  Web site offers a number of information sources that could be useful to B-to-B publishers.

BPA Worldwide .  The Avis of auditing.  Site features some interesting resources, including buyer’s guide to publishing suppliers. 

CMO Council.  Dedicated to sharing information among senior corporate marketing leaders in a wide-range of global industries and markets. Web site is an excellent source of research on brand management.

CRMA.  City and Regional Magazine Association.  Members share an enormous amount of useful information among themselves... but they don’t share much on the Web site, unfortunately.   

DMA.  Direct Marketing Assocation.  Global trade association of business and nonprofit direct marketers.  Site contains several unique resources including large database of suppliers and MPS (“do-not-mail”) program.

FIPP.  International Federation of the Periodical Press.  International organization for magazine publishers; consumer and business-to-business, both in print and online.  Awe-inspiring source of unique research.

GAIN.  Web site for PIA/GATF, the printing industry trade association.  Rich source of information on printing and related topics.