that triangle of brands, agencies and
industry members.
What first drew you to the Clios?
I’ve been a music fan since I was a kid,
but it was really in college that I start-
ed doing music as a radio DJ, concert
promoter and as a writer for differ-
ent fanzines. I ultimately ended up
working in the industry with various
record, tech and branding companies.
The Clios celebrate creativity and
originality and help artists connect to
audiences. That’s such a great mission.
I love seeing the entries that come in
and give you goose bumps. We all want
those moments in our jobs.
Why has music become such an
inextricable part of the ad and
branding space?
Artists used to have an aversion to
being aligned with brands or compa-
nies. That aversion has largely gone
away, which has opened up a lot of
opportunities for collaboration with
brands that share their philosophies.
It often affords artists flexibility to do
something different, and now they’re
more open to looking for partners
who align with their own passions
and values. It becomes natural for
them to consider ways to collaborate
with [brands] they already love.
Creative flexibility isn’t some-
thing I think any of us really thought
about 10 years ago. It was more that
a brand just wanted to do a commer-
cial and wanted to put music in the
commercial. Now artists are creating
things that connect to their music
visually, and brand partnerships al-
low them to do something that takes
more research on the revenue side
and can be a little more in-depth.
It was once known as “selling out.”
Is that notion largely gone today?
Artists will always have a desire to
communicate with and grow their
audience, but the increased focus on
video content has allowed more ways
to communicate directly to their fans.
Today’s consumption of music has
changed to be much more visual, and
artists have an opportunity to better
communicate their mission and make
an impact that engages deeply with
their audience.
With the Clios’ 60th anniversary,
has the team been in nostalgia
mode?
We have these fantastic old issues
“Artists used
to have an aversion
to being aligned
with brands.
That aversion has
largely gone away.”
—KAUFFMAN
E
ACH YEAR, CLIO MUSIC’S
jury pool selects up to two of
its Gold winners for the
awards program’s highest
honor — the Grand Clio — revealed live
during the ceremony. (This year, the jury
selected 31 total Gold winners in music.)
Rapper Logic nabbed 2018’s top
music marketing honor for his “1-800-
273-8255” video, which benefited the
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and
was produced by the rapper’s creative
agency, Visionary, alongside label Def
Jam Recordings. The single, which also
featured Alessia Cara and Khalid, peaked
at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 on
Sept. 30, 2017. “It was so powerful,” says
Clio Music director Michael Kauffman.
“Here’s an artist who found a way to
really change how people understood
and thought about depression, and he
gave them the impetus to reach out
and talk to someone.” In addition to its
ability to affect “so many people,” says
Kauffman, the campaign thrived on its
built-in emotional connection. In the two
hours following Logic’s “1-800” perfor-
mance at the 2018 Grammy Awards, calls
reportedly tripled to the organization’s
crisis-counseling number.
The year’s second Grand Clio recip-
ient, in use of music, went to VML and
Interscope’s tongue-in-cheek We Beef-
in? mixtape for fast food chain Wendy’s.
The 10-minute rap collection, released in
March 2018, playfully stirred the chain’s
Twitter beefs with competitors McDon-
ald’s and Burger King with tracks “Twit-
ter Fingers” “Clownin” and “4 for $4.”
Archie Davis, CEO of Six Course Music
Group, oversaw the campaign and will
sit on this year’s jury. “Wendy’s became
part of the conversation culturally on so-
cial media,” says Kauffman. “It was truly
a defining moment in advertising.” —K.W.
American Express earned a silver prize for its
integrated campaign Hamilton Puerto Rico (music
marketing), which launched a special Hamilton run
in San Juan starring Lin-Manuel Miranda (pictured
during the show’s final night on Jan. 27).
The Grand Clio
CLIO MUSIC DIRECTOR MICHAEL
KAUFFMAN LOOKS BACK AT THE
MUSIC WINNERS OF THE CLIOS’
TOP PRIZE IN 2018
MIRANDA:^ GLADYS^VEGA/GETTYIMAGES.^ L
OGIC:^ COURTESYOF^DEF^JAM^RECORDINGS.of Clio Awards programs. I was
going through them recently taking
snapshots of ads and found a pro-
gram from 1964 with this great ad
highlighting two musicians: Nancy
Wilson, who’s fairly well known, and
Les Baxter. In both cases they were
promoting their work singing jingles,
and listed all of the different commer-
cial jingles they had sung on. Now
we’re seeing how artists want to build
something outside of just singing in
a commercial. There are experiential
ideas that artists and partners come
up with as a means to engage fans
more with what an artist is creating.
It’s such a big reason why the branded
content area has evolved.
A still from the
video to Logic’s
“1-800-273-8255.”
162 BILLBOARD • SEPTEMBER 21, 2019