360 students. 4 major brands. One weapon: sound.
On 9 April 2026, at NRJ Global’s AudioMoves conference, the Audio Creative Awards announced the winners for their fifth consecutive year. This competition is far from a mere academic exercise: here, teams from Sup de Pub are given real briefs, work in real studios, pitch to a real jury of professionals, and prove, year after year, that the next generation of creatives also thinks ‘audio first’.
In a media landscape where podcasts are booming, music streaming is redefining how we consume content, and radio remains an indispensable mass medium, the question is no longer whether brands should invest in audio. The question is:how can they do so effectively?
The Audio Creative Awards are there precisely to address this.
What are the Audio Creative Awards?
A 100% audio creative competition, now in its 5th year
Since 2021, the Audio Creative Awards have been organised by NRJ Global in partnership with Sup de Pub and supported by the JEAN-PAUL collective.
The principle is simple, but the challenge is not: third-year students are given real briefs from advertisers and must design complete audio campaigns — no poster campaigns, no TV adverts, no videos. Just audio creations.
Their response takes the form of a strategic recommendation presented to a panel, just as an agency would do when competing for a client’s account.
What made me want to join the ACA adventure was, above all, my interest in a format that is still under-exploited but extremely powerful. Audio offers a unique sense of intimacy and creative freedom, with the ability to tell stories and transport listeners in a different way.
Charlie VERDIER – Campaigns & Partnerships Project Manager / Transavia
A three-pillar project
- NRJ Global
The commercial arm of NRJ GROUP, with 10 million daily listeners across NRJ, Chérie FM, Nostalgie and Rire & Chansons. It provides the institutional framework, supplies professional studios and ensures the event’s credibility with advertisers. - JEAN-PAUL
The brand entertainment collective that bridges the gap between the agency and the classroom: masterclasses, creative coaching, strategic support. - Sup de Pub
Our partner school is involving 360 third-year Bachelor’s students this year, divided into creative teams across the Paris, Lyon and Rennes campuses.
2026 Edition: 4 clients, 4 themes, 4 real-life briefs
The diversity of advertisers is a conscious choice: it forces teams to adapt their creative thinking to conventions, audiences and challenges that have nothing in common. The 2026 edition brought together:
| Hyundai | How can we ensure that everyone can pronounce ‘Hyundai’ correctly? |
| Parc Astérix | How to create events using digital audio the launch of the new Londinium zone? |
| Pink Lady | How can we capture the distinctive sound identity ‘So crunchy, so juicy, so cool’? |
| Transavia | How to create audio concepts centred on the anticipation of travel? |
These briefs haven’t been made up for the occasion: they are real communication challenges, submitted by the brands’ own marketing directors.
A process lasting several months, not a hackathon
The Audio Creative Awards aren’t decided in a single day. The competition follows a structured, step-by-step process:
Masterclasses: learn before you create
Three sessions led by industry experts provide the framework for skills development:
- “Radio and Audio Media” — hosted by Marie Noëlle Le Moal and Anne-Sophie Nectoux: understanding the media ecosystem in which these creations will exist.
- “Creative conventions in audio and advertising effectiveness” — presented by Romaine Mellinger: what makes an audio creation stick in the mind, and what causes it to be forgotten.
- “How do you turn a creative idea into an audio production?” — presented by Virginie Ordureau: the practical steps from an idea on paper to a production ready for broadcast.
Production at NRJ Global’s studios
Armed with their briefs and their new knowledge, the teams develop their strategy, build their concept, write their scripts and produce their creative work in NRJ Global’s professional studios. This is the longest and most intense phase.
The pitch to the jury
The best entries are presented to the jury. The teams present not only their audio creation, but also their strategic reasoning, their understanding of the brief and their vision for the brand.
The ceremony at AudioMoves
The awards ceremony takes place every year at AudioMoves, NRJ Global’s annual conference, which brings together participants, advertisers, creatives and media professionals under one roof.
An exceptional panel of judges: more than 20 professionals involved
The jury is co-chaired by Guy VASSEL (Deputy Managing Director of Parc Astérix) and Fabrice PLAZOLLES (Managing Director of Havas Play) – with one foot in the advertiser’s camp and the other in the agency’s.
Its composition reflects the entire audio communication value chain: representatives of partner brands, measurement and data experts (Médiamétrie, CSA Data Consulting, EGTA), creative professionals and agencies (Rosa Paris, Jacques Paris, Strike, La Réclame, J’ai un pote dans la com), and institutional bodies (SRI France, IAA France, La Villa Numéris, Storymind).
Each creation is therefore assessed across all its dimensions: strategic, creative, audio and commercial.
More than 20 professionals from the fields of communications, media and marketing assessed the audio creations by students at Sup de Pub.
2026 Awards: the big winners
Grand Prix of the Jury
FAB Agency, Sup de Pub Lyon (Hyundai brief)
The Grand Prix goes to the team comprising:
- Olivia DEBERNARD
- Mathias DROUOT
- Leonie GRARRE
- Maëva GUÉRIN
- Lénina REY
Representing the Lyon campus, having worked on the Hyundai brief. Faced with the question “How can we ensure that everyone knows how to pronounce ‘Hyundai’ correctly?”, the team devised a concept that was both clever and deeply rooted in the mechanics specific to the audio medium. Their recommendation won over the jury with its accuracy, creativity and ability to fully harness the potential of sound.
The team also had the opportunity to explore the world of the NRJ Group through a colourful, immersive experience: a tour of Spot Machine, an insight into careers in radio, a behind-the-scenes look at our stations, and a meet-and-greet with the SuperShow teams.
Jury’s Favourite
Agence Rive 15, Sup de Pub Paris (Parc Astérix brief)
The jury’s ‘Coup de Cœur’ prize goes to the Paris-based team that worked on the Parc Astérix brief. Transforming the opening of a physical area into a memorable digital audio experience, without a single image, is a highly creative feat, which the agency Rive 15 has pulled off brilliantly.
What the Audio Creative Awards tell us about audio in 2026
Behind the competition lies a strong conviction, shared by all the organisers: audio is undergoing a renaissance. With the boom in podcasts, the rise of music streaming and the enduring central role of radio, sound is everywhere, and brands have everything to gain by making their mark in this space with creativity.
The competition addresses two key issues:
- To train a new generation of creative professionals capable of thinking ‘audio first’
- To offer partner brands a fresh perspective, unclouded by industry conventions
It’s also being talked about
