Bill Imada is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the IW Group (formerly Imada Wong Communications Group), a full-service communications firm that specializes in the growing multicultural markets here in the U.S. The IW Group was ranked the seventh fastest growing public relations agency in the U.S. by PR Week (2002) and is among the top Asian American advertising firms in this country according to Advertising Age (2005).
With more than a decade of experience in marketing, public relations, advertising and training, Mr. Imada and his company have and continue to represent some of the top global brands, including Farmers Group, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Nike, McDonald’s Corporation, Merrill Lynch, Washington Mutual, GlaxoSmithKline, Blue Cross, Wal-Mart Stores and UPS. The IW Group also represents a number of prominent government agencies, including the California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section and the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Both Mr. Imada and the IW Group are active in the communities they serve, building bridges between corporations and community based organizations. They have given countless hours to help build the capacity of Asian Pacific American organizations, and have provided invaluable media and communications training for community leaders across the country. IW Group staff at every level lends their expertise to the boards of several community-based and national Asian American organizations. In addition, Mr. Imada and his company have been strong advocates for fairness in the media, speaking out against defamatory depictions in advertising. IW Group funded AAJC’s groundbreaking 2005 report, “Lights, Camera and Little Action,” which analyzed the limited roles for Asian Americans in prime time television programming. Recently, IW Group spearheaded the development of the first Asian Pacific Islander American national college scholarship fund.
Mr. Imada was elected president of the Asian American Advertising Federation (3AF) in 2004, and served on the board of directors for PRSA/Los Angeles. He also serves as a national speaker on multicultural issues and has served as a speaker for trade associations, universities and companies. They include the American Cancer Society, UC Berkeley, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Association of National Advertisers, Public Relations Society of America, Strategic Research Institute, American Marketing Association, and others.
