CLIO President Nicole Purcell chats to us about the significance of CLIO Music, added to the annual CLIO awards in 2014 to recognize and celebrate music in advertising.
Hi Nicole, Can you tell us about your work as president of CLIO?
Since taking over the CLIO Awards five years ago, and becoming president in 2015, it has been a whirlwind. Our team has launched an additional three programs across fashion, sports and music. We’ve continued to make changes to categories that reflect the state of the industry, and we have welcomed an incredible amount of talent to our stages for the major events we host throughout the year.
On a day-to-day basis, my team is meeting with creatives, agency heads and brand reps to promote the international awards, developing innovative partnerships, and supporting the imaginative work being created at agencies large and small. Although we are underway in our 2016 season, planning has already begun for 2017.
We launched our content hub clios.com in 2014, so another daily aspect is working with our teams and contributors to build out a destination for the creative community. In September 2016, we will be re-launching the site to include all of our properties, including the global creative database Ads of the World that is now part of CLIO.
CLIO Music Awards is now in its third year. Why was this section of the awards launched?
There was a clear need to celebrate the work happening in the music marketing and advertising space. Musicians’ careers were being launched by ads, and brands were also seeing amazing lift by featuring the hottest new song or performer of the moment. Music and advertising have such powerful synergy, and we wanted to do what we could to elevate this aspect of the business. CLIO Music has grown so quickly in three years. We’ve worked with amazing partners in Shazam and Billboard Magazine, and artists like X Ambassadors and Janelle Monae. I’m excited for what the 2016 show will bring.
Can you talk us through the different award categories?
Yes, this year our categories include Design, Digital/Mobile, Events/Experiential, Film, Innovation, Integrated Campaign, Partnerships, Use of Music, and we’re welcoming Social Good and Social Media into the fold for 2016.
How do you go about selecting the jury and who is on it this year?
Each year, we seek out experts at the top of their field to represent our jury. We are looking for creatives and marketers worldwide whose own work epitomizes the best of their respective fields. We need jurors that are subject experts, but also understand the intricacies of the industry as a whole. This year we’re welcoming Melissa Etheridge, Seth Farbman, the Chief Marketing Officer for Spotify, and Lori Feldman, EVP of Brand Partnerships and Creative Synch Licensing for Warner Bros. Records, among many others.
A small snapshot of the jurors for 2016 – see the full list here.
When will the nominees for 2016 be announced?
We announce our shortlist in August, followed by bronze, silver and gold winners in September. Any potential CLIO Music Grand winners will take the stage during the 2016 CLIO Awards on September 28 in New York City.
What’s new for the awards in 2016?
Lots! We’re featuring two juries in 2016, one for Music Marketing and one for Use of Music. We’ll also have two new mediums: Social Good, focusing on creating awareness for a cause; and Social Media. And finally, the Use of Music medium has been expanded to include Audio, Commercials, Promos, Short Form Film, Long Form Film, Trailers, Main Title and Social Media Film.
Can you tell us about some of the highlights of the last two CLIO Music Awards?
The CLIO Awards stage has been home to some amazing CLIO Music performances the last two years, from an impromptu song from Melissa Etheridge, to Salt-n-Pepa’s energetic “Push It” to our inaugural performance featuring Aloe Blacc in 2014. Of course, in that time we were also fortunate enough to toast boundary-pushing work from all over the world.
Do you think that music’s role in advertising is becoming more widely recognized?
I do. I think there were a lot of conversations happening in creative circles about this aspect of the business. Social media has obviously played a huge part in the growth, aside from changing the whole advertising industry. Music in advertising is now a critical component, at times making or breaking campaigns. When the stakes are that high, and the work being produced that effective, the industry needs to respond. I’m glad more festivals and award competitions are bringing in new categories to highlight all parties involved.
How do you see the CLIO Awards evolving in the future?
We will continue to listen to the creative community, and work closely with our partners around the globe. We have the distinction of being 57 years old, and in many ways are just getting started. The growth in the last five years is a great example of where we will be going next – more programming, tweaks to categories, etc. I think we’ll see more localized programming and market growth in the next few years as we continue to expand and work with agencies of varying size.
Content will be a priority for us in the next year, and a place of continued growth for the organization. We’re welcoming more voices to our platform, which allows us to recognize exceptional work and talent every day, not only around our award shows. We’ll be debuting our new site with all properties in one location this fall at clios.com.
Ultimately, our team is working to build a pop culture brand. The CLIO Awards has a long history of celebrating the leading creative voices and groundbreaking work, and we want to make sure that everyone knows what it is to be a creative and win a CLIO, just like you know what it is to take home an Oscar.
