How FCB Chicago introduced The Drum Awards Festival to existence by way of asking, ‘What if?’

Led by way of Michele Morales (SVP, head of design), Ivana Gatica (senior copywriter) and Emilee Bowman (senior artwork director), the FCB Chicago staff crafted an idea rooted within the common reality of the way concepts start – by way of interrogating human truths and exploring the unknown.

“We thought so much about the creative process and how it begins,” stated Morales. “And what we came down to is that it always starts with a question and that question is usually, ‘What if?’”

Starting with interest

Rather than center of attention on one class or medium, the staff in the back of the ‘What if?’ marketing campaign took a step again to inspect the average denominator throughout all creativity. “What was really fun for us was looking at past winners of The Drum Awards and boiling down those ideas into their ‘What if?’ question,” stated Gatica. “It became this fun exercise, like, ‘What if spreadable cheese made music?’”

This reframing didn’t simply form the script; it turned into the pulse of the marketing campaign, a rallying cry for the inventive group to bear in mind the facility of risk and put their highest paintings ahead. On the visible entrance, the staff embraced a daring, immersive manner grounded within the very object that provides The Drum its title.

“From a visual standpoint, we started thinking about how a drum reacts when it’s struck,” Morales defined. “That birthed what we called ‘percussive synesthesia’ – a world where sound frequencies and visual patterns merge to reflect the energy of the creative process.”

That exploration ended in hanging animations impressed by way of cymatics, the learn about of the way debris react to sound vibrations, giving the marketing campaign a repeatedly remodeling visible device symbolic of ideation itself. “We looked at how grains react to different frequencies on a drum’s surface,” Morales added. “That gave us this evolving universe we could build, mirroring how a single idea can morph into something award-worthy.”

Script as adventure

The marketing campaign’s movie starts, fittingly, with the query, ‘What if?’ Rather than providing a unmarried solution, on the other hand, it branches out in all instructions, echoing the chaotic great thing about real-life brainstorming classes. “There’s something powerful in that phrase – it’s charged with possibility,” stated Gatica. “As the script unfolds, we move from referencing past winners to imagining what happens when your mom sees your work, when your boss likes it. It builds that emotional excitement we all feel when an idea really starts to click.”

But the staff didn’t forestall at inspiration – they sought after motion. The movie ends with a right away, empowering name to creatives to possess their concepts and input them into The Drum Awards Festival. “It’s really a rally cry,” Gatica defined. “You’ve created all these amazing ideas – don’t hide them. Let the world see them. The Drum gives you that platform.”

Central to the marketing campaign’s id is The Drum Award itself, reimagined in hanging new fabrics and textures that carry its perceived worth. “There’s so much equity in The Drum – the name, the icon and the shape,” stated Morales. “We didn’t want to walk away from that. So, we gave it dimension, used frosted acrylic and chrome materials that reflect and refract light like jewelry. We wanted it to feel precious.”

By doing so, the marketing campaign no longer best will pay homage to the award however reinforces its function as a career-defining milestone.

While the marketing campaign will reside throughout social media and on The Drum’s site and virtual platforms, its design device could also be constructed to hold via to the awards presentations themselves, which run from November 17 to November 20, with the ceremonies happening in London and broadcast reside on-line. “We’ve been thinking about how the visuals and animations can introduce categories and set the tone during the ceremony,” Morales famous. “We want that same high energy you feel in the room at an award show to come through.”

A private milestone

For the staff in the back of the marketing campaign, this wasn’t simply any other temporary – it used to be a possibility to create paintings for his or her friends and talk at once to the worldwide inventive business. “It’s incredibly exciting for me,” stated Gatica. “I’m still quite early in my career and this is the first time my words will be out there in such a big way, being read by the creatives that I admire. It’s a little nerve-wracking, but also thrilling.”

Morales echoed the delight within the venture’s importance: “Award shows don’t just recognize great work – they shape where our industry goes next,” she stated. “It’s not just about recognition; it’s about setting a standard and creating a future for the industry we love.”

Speaking concerning the marketing campaign, The Drum’s SVP of occasions and advertising, Lynn Lester, stated: “We adored the concept of the ‘What if?’ campaign as soon as FCB Chicago presented it to us. We felt it really captures the energy of those lightbulb moments – moments when a brilliant idea, an idea that is going to make a difference, is born. We love the way FCB developed the visual approach and how it incorporates our drum icon in a dynamic and intriguing way. We’d like to thank the whole team behind the campaign and look forward to seeing it help build The Drum Awards Festival into the biggest global awards show of the year.”

The ‘What if?’ marketing campaign doesn’t simply advertise an awards competition – it embodies it. By anchoring the concept that within the very second when each and every nice concept is born, FCB has created a stirring tribute to creativity in all its messy, marvelous glory. The Drum Awards Festival 2025 has discovered its rallying cry.

Campaign credit

Creative leads

SVP, head of design, FCB Chicago: Michele Morales

Senior copywriter, FCB Chicago: Ivana Gatica

Senior artwork director, FCB Chicago: Emilee Bowman

Global leader inventive officer, FCB Global: Andres Ordonez

Design staff

Design administrators: Megan Musgrave, Ian O’Saben

Senior designers: Taylor Pirtle, Jenny Kim

Associate fashion designer: Avril Yen

Strategy & venture control

EVP, workforce strategic making plans director: Caitlin Cody

VP, strategic making plans director: Emily Raveret

Project control director: Jen Polan

VP, director of inventive products and services: Jessica Hernandez

Global inventive products and services & awards affiliate: Alisa Zervas

Production

VP, government manufacturer: Stump Mahoney

Executive manufacturer: Lisa Long

Senior manufacturer: Kelly Velev

Senior manufacturer: Thomas Zalduendo

Motion & modifying

Directors of movement design: Anj Puglise, Kevin Company

Senior movement fashion designer: Jonathan Adler

Associate movement designers: Shivani Verandai, Louis Zeller, Max Dawson

Editor: Dan Stunkle

Assistant editors: Quinn Leuder, Ariel Diosdado, Natalie Trejo

Sound design

Singing Serpent Music

Managing director: Glen Galloway

Executive manufacturer: Dennis Culp

Associate manufacturer: Beks Johnson

Creative director: Jon Spencer

Composer: Tyler Wenzel

Senior audio engineer: Marco Morales

Audio engineer: Connor Boyle