Who we’re looking for.

Talented creative women who are stepping into leadership roles: Copywriters, Art Directors, ACDs and newly-minted CDs who are doing game-changing work and helping change our industry for the better.

A few rules


No boys allowed. Our industry has plenty of talented male leaders. But this award is for the women actively pushing their 11% representation higher.
No executives. Women creatives with the “Big E” before their CD titles have already proven themselves as leaders. They probably have shining reports to send us, though!
No double dipping. Previous winners are asked to leave this round - and the glory - to a new generation of kick ass women.
No school work.Next Creative Leaders are on the seasoned side. Know a talented woman who still has spec work in her book? We welcome her application… in a few years.

What we want to see. Creativity - 4-6 pieces of bad ass creative work that the nominee helped shape or lead. Work they’re proud of. Work that’s changing the game and maybe the world. Leadership - From mentoring and advocacy to pro-bono or diversity work, include a bio that calls out what she is doing to leave a positive mark on our industry. POV - Did she push for diverse casting? Raise money to produce a pro bono spot? Add work notes to highlight ways her perspective shaped her work and contributions.

Nominating yourself?
Awesome!

We’re all about women putting themselves forward, so we’ve designed this award to make that possible. You can easily apply for Next Creative Leaders without:

  • A PR team. You’re your own best advocate. Go ahead, talk yourself up!
  • Your ECD’s blessing. This is your work, your words, your competition.
  • An expense account. We’ve killed the application fee (and your excuses).
  • Second guessing. The world needs more creative leadership like you.
What it costs:

Nothing. We believe so fiercely in the importance of gender diversity, that we’re working hard to break down any and all barriers to talented women seeing the spotlight. And that means waiving the application fee for this competition.



What they win:

Winners will be featured in The 3% Conference blog, The One Club for Creativity website, and in the words of Cindy Gallop, “tweeted the sh*t out of” from both of our Twitter handles. You’ll also be invited to be a part of the 2018 Next Creative Leaders Jury, and may be invited to speak at the 2017 3% Conference in New York this November.



Next Creative Leaders
Timeline

Deadline Extended: September 11th, 2017
Winners Announced - November 2nd