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The Breakpoint runs Thursday, October 8 through Saturday, October 10, 2026 at Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas, about an hour from Houston.

Registration opens Thursday at 3:00 PM and the welcome reception follows that evening. Full programming runs Friday and Saturday, closing with the AAF District 10 meeting and a celebration happy hour. See the full agenda, or plan your trip on the venue and travel page.

Agencies, brands, media, creatives, and partners from across AAF District 10, which covers Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Anyone who wants to set advertising standards, not just surf the changes.

You do not need to be an AAF member to attend. Members simply pay a lower rate. See who is taking the stage on the speakers page.

Head to the registration page and complete checkout right there, without leaving the site. Every Register button on this site goes to the same place.

Checkout is handled by Eventbrite and takes card payment. A service fee may be added on top of the ticket price, so your total can be a little higher than the price listed here. Your ticket and receipt arrive by email as soon as you check out, which is the document most finance teams want for reimbursement.

Six passes are published. AAF members save $50 on the full conference pass. The one-day and guest passes are a flat rate for everyone.

Full conference, Thursday through Saturday

• Early Bird, AAF member: $349
• Early Bird, non-member: $399
• Regular, AAF member: $400
• Regular, non-member: $450

One day, Friday or Saturday

• $250, member or non-member

Guest ticket

• $349, covers all programs, meals and activities

Early-bird pricing ends August 31. From September 1 the full conference pass goes to the regular rate, so booking before then saves you $51. Ticket sales close October 2.

Eventbrite adds a service fee at checkout, so your total will be a little higher than the price listed here. Lock in the early-bird rate while it lasts.

Registration covers all three days of programming and every meal on the agenda. That is every keynote, workshop and breakout session, breakfast at 8:30 AM on Friday and Saturday, the keynote luncheons at 12:00 PM on both days, the Friday 7:00 PM dinner, and every reception, from the Thursday 6:00 PM welcome reception through to the Saturday celebration happy hour.

Travel and lodging are booked separately, with details on the venue and travel page. See the full agenda for times.

We wrote the request for you. Download the version that fits your workplace, fill in your details, and forward it to your manager.

• Executive business case, built around ROI (download .docx)
• Professional development request (download .docx)
• The value proposition (download .docx)

Each is an editable Word document. Send it alongside the agenda so your manager can see exactly which sessions you plan to attend.

Registration and payment run through Eventbrite checkout, embedded on our registration page, so a refund is requested from your Eventbrite order and reviewed by our team. The current refund policy is shown at checkout, so read it before you buy.

We are also confirming the policy on name changes and substitutions. Either way, email adclub@aaf-houston.org with your order number as early as you can and someone on the team will tell you what is possible. Badges are prepared ahead of the summit, so earlier is easier.

Yes. A one-day pass covers either Friday or Saturday, your choice, at a flat $250. There is no member discount on this one.

It is one day only, not a two-day option. If you want more than a single day, the full conference pass is the better deal every time: it covers all three days, Thursday through Saturday, and is $349 for members at the early-bird rate, which is less than two single days would cost. That rate ends August 31. Both are on the registration page, and you can see what each day holds on the agenda.

No. AAF membership is the only discount, and it saves you $50 on the full conference pass. The one-day pass is a flat $250 for everyone.

If you are bringing a team, email adclub@aaf-houston.org before you book so we can help you plan it, and take a look at sponsorship while you are at it. Several levels include conference registrations.

Yes. There is a guest ticket at $349, and it covers all programs, meals and activities, so the person you bring is not left waiting in the lobby.

Book it on the registration page alongside your own pass. If they would rather explore Galveston for the day, the Moody Gardens pyramids are on the property, and Seawall Boulevard and the Strand are a short drive. See venue and travel for what is nearby.

William P. Hobby (HOU) is the closer option, about 40 to 45 miles from Moody Gardens and roughly a 45 to 50 minute drive. George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) has more international and long-haul service but sits 65 to 70 miles out, usually 75 to 90 minutes by car.

You do not need a rental car. Galveston Limousine runs a Summit Shuttle from both airports directly to Moody Gardens, $50 per person one way or $100 round trip. If you are driving, it is Interstate 45 South the whole way and turn-by-turn directions are on the venue page. Give yourself extra time if you are arriving for the 3:00 PM Thursday registration, because I-45 South slows down at rush hour.

Stay right at the venue if you can. Moody Gardens Hotel is holding a discounted room block for The Breakpoint and it is open now, so you can book early and walk to every session. Use the Book a Room button on the venue page, which opens the hotel's reservation page for our group.

You are not required to stay in the block, and where you sleep is up to you. We are confirming the published nightly rate and the date the block closes. Blocks release unsold rooms well before the event, so it is worth reserving early either way.

Shuttle: yes. Galveston Limousine runs a Summit Shuttle between both Houston airports and Moody Gardens, so you do not need a rental car. It serves Hobby (HOU) and Bush Intercontinental (IAH), and fares are $50 per person one way or $100 round trip. Private car service is $210 one way from Hobby and $250 from Bush. Book the Summit Shuttle in advance with your flight details, and arrive at the pickup point 10 minutes before departure.

Parking: the summit takes place inside the Moody Gardens complex, so once you arrive you should not need to move the car between sessions. We are confirming where to park and whether there is a charge, and will post it on the venue page. If you need it sooner for a travel budget, email adclub@aaf-houston.org.

Plenty, and most of it is close.

• On the property: the Moody Gardens glass pyramids hold an aquarium, a rainforest and a discovery museum.
• A few minutes away: Seawall Boulevard and the beach.
• About fifteen minutes: the Strand historic district downtown, with 19th century architecture, galleries, shops and seafood, plus the Pleasure Pier on Seawall.

October on the island is warm, so pack for the beach if you are staying the weekend.

Business casual for sessions, resort casual for the evening events.

This is a room of agency, brand and media people, so what you would wear to meet a client works well, and comfortable shoes help across three days at Moody Gardens. Galveston in October is warm and humid outside and well air conditioned inside, so bring a light layer for the session rooms.

Yes, just tell us in advance. Email adclub@aaf-houston.org with your name and what you need, and we will pass it to the team working with catering at Moody Gardens.

Earlier is much better. Catering numbers are set ahead of the summit, so a note a few weeks out is far easier to handle than one at the door.

Email adclub@aaf-houston.org and tell us what you need, whether that is mobility access, reserved seating, captioning, a quiet space, or something else. Someone from the team will follow up and work it out with you.

All summit sessions take place at Moody Gardens, and the discounted room block is on the same property, so you can stay steps from every session. See venue and travel for booking and directions, and reach out early so we have time to arrange the details.

No. Sessions are first come, first served, and there is nothing to pre-book.

In some slots you will have to choose. Friday runs two sessions at the same time at 10:30 AM, 1:15 PM and 2:30 PM, and Saturday does the same at 1:15 PM, with more sessions still being announced. Look at the agenda the night before and mark your picks. Traveling with a colleague? Split up across the concurrent sessions and compare notes at the keynote luncheon.

Sessions are not being recorded, so the room is the place to be.

Whether slides are shared afterward is up to each speaker, so ask them directly if there is a deck you want. Several slots run two sessions at the same time, so pick the ones you most want to see live and use the agenda to map your day.

Start on the sponsorship page, where every level is listed with its price, from $100 to $10,000, and the sponsorship packet spells out what each level includes. Sponsorship starts small: the $100 Foam level puts your brand in the summit's Wave Wall display, and the $250, $500 and $750 levels add grouped recognition, a welcome bag insert or program recognition, and a dedicated email and social push to the AAF Houston audience.

The top levels are strictly limited. The Breakpoint Partner is exclusive to one company, and Crest, Keynote and Surge have seven slots between them, so earlier is better. Email adclub@aaf-houston.org or use the form on our contact page and we will tell you what is still open.

It depends on the level. The $10,000 Breakpoint Partner includes four full conference registrations, Crest includes three, and the Keynote, Surge and First Wave levels each include two. Several tiers also include on-site activation space.

The sponsorship page lists every level side by side, and the sponsorship packet has the exact benefits for each one. If you have a specific activation in mind, email adclub@aaf-houston.org and we can talk it through.

Yes. The call for sessions is still open, and we will close it once the program is full, so there is no published deadline yet.

Email adclub@aaf-houston.org with your topic, your format, and a link to your work, and the team will point you to the right person. Several slots on the agenda are still marked as announcing soon, and the lineup on the speakers page is announced on a rolling basis.