ThinkNW Launches the Pacific Northwest’s Premier Creativity Awards

By thelaegotist / February 28, 2024 /

The Cascadia Creative Award celebrates work from agencies, brands and professionals across the region

ThinkNW today announced the launch of the Cascadia Creative Awards (CCA), a new annual multidisciplinary awards program designed to honor the most creatively driven, impactful and effective work of the year from agencies, brands and professionals in the Pacific Northwest. This is the first program that unites the creative industry across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, British Columbia and Alaska.

“The Pacific Northwest has an embarrassment of creative riches, in the best ways possible,” says ThinkNW co-founder and executive director Doug Zanger. “We believe there is room for a new tradition that brings the entirety of the region together to show the world how much talent we have here. Plus, we know that there will be some healthy competition between the markets.”

The inaugural Cascadia Creative Awards honors the year’s most inspiring and effective creative work across 8 categories: TV/Video, Audio, Media, OOH/Experiential, Social/Mobile, Design, B2B/Corporate and Entertainment/Gaming. Two additional categories, Bold Creative Thinkers and Student, showcase unique thinking and up-and-coming talent. ThinkNW invites brands, solo practitioners, students and creative shops of all disciplines to enter, including advertising/marketing, branding/design, production, and post-houses. 

The inaugural CCA program will be judged by a selection of global creative professionals led by Jury President Laura Jordan Bambach. Jordan Bambach is a London-based, globally recognized innovator and industry leader. She is a past president of D&AD and the founder of a mentoring platform, OKO. She is also the co-founder of SheSays, a world-famous network that works to encourage more women and non-binary people  into the creative industries through mentorship, networking events and training. Other roles include previous president and CCO of Grey London and co-founder of creative agency Mr President, where she served as its Chief Creative Officer. 

“We know from awards like Cannes, the Pacific Northwest has a great deal of creative talent and vision,” says Jordan Bambach. “I’ve never seen a region so strong compete against each other like this. I am excited to see the powerful work and thrilled that I’m the first jury president, launching a new tradition that unites the region.”

The creative industry has no shortage of award shows, but this is the only program that elevates the creative talents of the Pacific Northwest. In true PNW fashion, ThinkNW didn’t want to design another piece of hardware for winners. Partnering with the Portland Garment Factory, the CCA “trophy” for the 10 category winners is unique and bespoke—with the goal of creating the industry’s most sustainable award. ThinkNW will reveal the award at a later date via LinkedIn Live. 

Originally founded as The Oregon Advertisers Club in 1906, ThinkNW is one of the first ad clubs in the United States. Today, the non-profit is cultivating and bridging generations of talent and leadership across the Pacific Northwest through various programming and events that aim to raise the visibility of its members, including brands, agencies, marketers, media, tech, creative freelancers, nonprofits and academia. Proceeds from CCA submissions support the organization’s programming throughout the year to foster and unite the creative and marketing communities.

The 2024 Creative Cascadia Awards winners will be announced at a celebration during the week of June 3rd in Portland, Oregon. Call for entries open today and submissions will close on May 1st. To learn more and submit, visit ccawards2024.com.