Sean Cudahy
Being back on a college campus is a little nostalgic for Jesse Kirshbaum.
It reminds him of the early days of his career when his ‘differentiator’ was tracking down up-and-coming artists on the college scene. Chiddy Bang at Drexel University and Mike Posner at Duke University are clients he found and helped break into the music scene.
“Now, to be back on campus working with bright minds, which I think are the future, is exciting,” Kirshbaum says of his role as a Kogod faculty member.
But make no mistake, “instructor” won’t be his only title this next year.
On top of teaching and steering his advertising agency, Nue, and operating an industry insider-esq newsletter, Beats + Bytes Kirshbaum will take on a new label: juror.
A force at the intersection of brand marketing and entertainment, Kirshbaum recently learned he’ll serve on the jury for the next Clio Awards—a prestigious honor at an event that recognizes the most creative and innovative in advertising.
“The Clios are like the Grammys of advertising,” Kirshbaum said. “I’m going to be able to impact who wins and who I believe is doing the best work.”
And that’s precisely, he says, what makes this role so exciting: the chance to judge hundreds of campaigns alongside a highly esteemed panel of jurors, providing him an up-front seat to some of the most groundbreaking and impactful campaigns out there today.
“I’m really going to have my finger on the pulse of everything that happened this year with music and brands,” Kirshbaum said.
That’s not to say he’s wading into unfamiliar territory, though.
After all, his Nue Agency won a Clio in 2015 for its work with Sour Patch Kids and music—an unconventional yet effective brand campaign fit for a creative house Kirshbaum describes as “not your grandpa’s ad agency.”
“I’m known for being somebody that puts together really innovative deals that align artists, musicians, and brands, and I’ve been doing these campaigns for ten-plus years,” he said.
Come January, he’ll bring that knack for innovation, entrepreneurship, technology, and brand marketing to the classroom.
The Streaming Revolution
For the second straight year, Kirshbaum will teach The Streaming Revolution course as part of Kogod’s undergraduate Business and Entertainment major during the spring 2024 semester.
Equal parts history lesson and crystal ball, the course scrutinizes roughly 30 years' worth of music and entertainment streaming history.
“From Napster to Netflix,” Kirshbaum said, offering a sort of tagline for a course focused on an “ever-changing” industry.
The whole landscape has been decimated by the digital revolution and built back, in many ways, into an entertainment machine.”
Jesse Kirshbaum
Professor of Management, Kogod School of Business
“The music industry, now, is healthier than ever,” he said.
Of course, a class focused on streaming in 2023-24 wouldn’t be complete without a thorough analysis of the forces behind the recent writers’ strikes…not to mention a deep pondering of how emerging technologies might disrupt streaming, from artificial intelligence to web3 platforms and blockchain.
“Streaming is the great format of our era,” he said. “It might even be the last great entertainment format. It’s debatable.”
With that uncertain future in mind, Kirshbaum will ask students to brainstorm their own “point of view” paths forward for the industry as a hands-on component of the course, which he hopes will help students develop stronger skills in research, applying knowledge, and presenting.
For many students, though, a highlight of the course may be the guest speakers: every class will have one, he says—expert speakers relevant to the day's topic.
“So much about college is about networking and setting yourself up for the next evolution,” Kishbaum said.
In a program and field where building relationships and gaining hands-on experience is critical, is it possible Kirshbaum—the manager, agency executive, and Clios juror—is designing a syllabus he would have wanted at the outset of his career?
“I wish there were a program like this when I was starting out,” he acknowledged. “I would have loved to have this type of experience from real practitioners of music and entertainment that could open doors, show me the ropes and tell me real-life stories about what’s happening in the space… and teach me how to navigate this world.”