Aaron Henry is the Founder and President of Foundry512, a full-service advertising agency that builds deep, lasting relationships between brands and people. With over two decades of experience, Aaron has established himself as a strategic thinker within tech. His philosophy is that technology should enhance storytelling and drive results; each brand requires a customized approach that never loses sight of the human connection behind every campaign.
How many years have you been a judge?
This is my first year!
What excited you about judging for the Telly Awards?
The Telly’s have a long history of honoring quality work, work that shifts culture and points of view. It’s just a real pleasure to be in the front row of the best work on screen.
What project are you most proud to have worked on?
The “Release Your Darke Spirit” campaign for Jägermeister. It was awesome coming together with such a large team and the network of global agencies to build an interactive experience that engaged their community on that level. That work earned us a Silver ADDY.
What’s the most challenging part about your job and/or the industry?
Keeping perspective, I would say. We’re all excited about the newest technology in AI, AR, and whatever’s next. For me, the exciting challenge is figuring out which innovations actually serve our work and which are just noise. We’re always asking, “How do we use this tech in a way that matters? Or how can we shift culture?” Once that clarity is established, then we go all in.
What do you look for to determine excellence in video?
Again, clarity is first and foremost. Does the work have a real point of view? Does it use its medium to its fullest potential? These are loaded questions for sure, but at the same time, incredibly important when creating something that you want people to genuinely engage with.
What are your current roles and responsibilities and what do you love most about your job?
I oversee the technology and media teams, pragmatically integrating AI, AR, VR, and frontier applications into campaign strategy and execution.
Do you have any specific practices you lean on to spark creativity?
Staying forever curious. I’m a strong advocate of open exploration to see what lessons can be learned. I rely on industry standards and best practices to govern consistent, quality work output. I also remain steadfast as a habitual line stepper and rule breaker, seeking to push those fundamentals beyond their limits and into new territories.
What inspired you to pursue your career path?
My moment was measuring the impact I had on a struggling mom-and-pop business early in my career. I was able to not only keep doors from shutting but also to watch that client thrive. Seeing their family grow and thrive as a result showed that we can impact our clients’ lives just as deeply as we help our clients impact their audiences’ lives.
In your experience, what is a significant change you are seeing happen in the video, television, and/or film industry, and what insight can you share about how to navigate it?
Honestly, AI and personalization are reshaping everything. But the key to being a leader in that world is to balance automation with authenticity. Authenticity is driven by a central source of truth in which bias has no room. Human guidance without bias, even at the code level, will be paramount to making AI scale effectively in advertising.
