ADWEEK will stage media and events at Texas A&M year-round through 2027 under a partnership called ADWEEK at Texas A&M, with the first major event set for March 4-5 in College Station.

The ADWEEK University Spotlight: A Marketing Leadership Summit, run with Texas A&M's Mays Business School and the newly named Arch H. Aplin III '80 Department of Marketing, will gather about 250 students, faculty, staff, alumni, and local business leaders alongside a select group of CMOs and senior marketing executives. Agenda topics include brand, trust, AI, and customer experience. The summit falls within Texas A&M's 150th anniversary.

R. Ethan Braden, Texas A&M's vice president and chief marketing and communications officer, framed the deal as a rare arrangement for a university.

"What ADWEEK is building with us is unusual in higher education, and we are fortunate to have this opportunity," Braden said. "It gives people a chance to experience the breadth of Texas A&M firsthand, see the impact of our work, and better understand where we can be useful to them."

What does the partnership cover beyond campus?

The agreement extends to several off-campus stages:

• SXSW in Austin
• The PGA Championship in Frisco
• Brandweek, ADWEEK's flagship marketing conference, which moves to Dallas in 2027 after two years in Atlanta

ADWEEK's creative and strategic studio, ctrl+A, will support the partnership with original content and storytelling that carries Texas A&M's people, perspectives, and innovations to audiences beyond College Station.

Why Texas A&M?

Texas A&M's visibility has climbed sharply. Higher education research firm American Caldwell ranked it sixth globally for university visibility in its July ranking, up from 21st in 2024, and second among U.S. public universities.

ADWEEK CEO Will Lee said the partnership addresses a gap between recognition and understanding of large universities.

"Major universities are widely recognized but often narrowly understood," Lee said. "People may know the football team, a ranking, or a few academic strengths without seeing the larger enterprise behind them."

For marketers, the arrangement opens a new channel: a trade publisher embedding itself on a university campus at scale, pairing CMO access with student and alumni audiences through 2027.