CAREER

Christine Kelly got her start in 2001 at Ravinia Festival, the country’s oldest outdoor music festival and summer home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. With help from philanthropist Sandra K. Crown and Ravinia Festival Woman's Board Chairwoman Susie LeClercq, Kelly secured an opportunity in the festival’s customer service department. In this position, Kelly worked directly with the public and donors, nurturing relationships with the festival’s most ardent supporters, including legendary Chicago philanthropists Sandy Crown, Mrs. A Watson Armour III, Joan and Stanley M. Freehling, Margaret McClure, Harrison and Lois M. Steans, and members of the Polk family. Or, as Kelly says, “Ravinia Family”.

Kelly later interned at Aware / A-Squared Management, working with the team that launched the careers of John Mayer, Train, and The Fray, and managed artists such as Liz Phair and Brandi Carlile. Kelly launched the digital platform of Roadtrips, Aware’s music magazine, overseeing a volunteer team of 20 contributors. As the head writer and editor of the print edition of Roadtrips, Kelly oversaw merchandise sales and shipments for grassroots artists. She also continued working at Ravinia Festival, overseeing customer service during evening performances. Upon returning to college, Kelly continued to work with Aware/A-Squared, handling regional marketing and promotional projects for artists such as Mat Kearney, Liz Phair, and Brandi Carlile, as on-site ambassador and merchandise liaison at concerts.

Kelly moved backstage to work with Ravinia’s marketing and public relations department in 2005, which coincided with the festival’s Centennial season. Highlights included the U.S. premiere of South African Zulu opera, “Princess Magogo,” “Sunday in the Park with George” featuring Audra McDonald and Patti LuPone as part of Ravinia’s Sondheim 75 performance series, and the “Carousel of Animals” fundraising auction, celebrating Chicago artists such as Ed Paschke and Winifred Godfrey. Kelly also pioneered the Ravinia Festival Intern Education Institute, and spearheaded a first-of-its-kind survey of Ravinia lawn patrons.

Kelly chaired a major charity benefit concert at The University of Kansas in 2005 for artist Ryan Cabrera, and his management team. Kelly handled logistics, oversaw a team of volunteers, secured local sponsorships, created a private performance opportunity with KU fraternities and sororities, oversaw ad placements, distributed ~5,000 EPs, and coordinated a multi-faceted media tour in Kansas City. The success of the sold-out show secured Kelly a full-time gig at Abe & Jake’s Landing, The Granada, and The Bottleneck in Lawrence, handling marketing and promotions for concerts and events. Kelly also worked in artist relations at Lollapalooza, handling talent, VIP ticketing, and transportation for promoters, as well as interned with a radio station and promoter in Kansas.

In 2006, Kelly joined Sanderson & Associates, a female-owned boutique franchise public relations firm in Chicago's Fulton Market meatpacking district, as a junior account executive. Later that year, Kelly joined Platinum Rye Entertainment (Radiate Group), the largest global buyer of talent and music for advertising campaigns and public relations programs. As Platinum’s Midwest Director of Talent Buying, Kelly oversaw the advertising and music divisions in Chicago. She later worked with Platinum’s overseas offices, leading the company's Western European expansion efforts by training new employees both on-site and remotely.

Relocating to New York City in 2009, Kelly worked to redefine the way talent and brands reach consumers. Kelly has handled celebrity endorsements, licensing, music publishing, corporate sponsorships, film initiatives, branded content, product placement/promotions, equity-based partnerships, private performances, retail/point-of-purchase sales, interactive media, non-traditional marketing, app-creation, livestreaming, and focus groups. 

Kelly’s relationships with top-tier brands, corporations, agencies, artists, celebrities, musicians, comedians, public figures, tech trailblazers, and industry representatives have led to continued successes in identifying and capitalizing upon emerging trends. Kelly’s career has ranged from representing marquee brands and corporations to working directly with talent, musicians, public figures, and tech titans. She has collaborated across advertising, public relations, and digital spectrums, including  Omnicom, WPP, Interpublic, and Publicis Worldwide agencies,

Past clients include Procter & Gamble, Pernod-Ricard, Beam-Suntory, Anheuser-Busch, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Unilever, Kraft-Heinz, Mondelēz, AT&T, Verizon, Motorola, Dell, Microsoft, Activision, Samsung, Pepsi-Co, Mercedes-Benz, Wal-Mart, Mars/Wrigley, Kao, Starbucks, T-Mobile, BlackBerry, Bushmills, Victoria’s Secret, Express, Guess, Guess by Marciano, Oscar De La Renta, Chanel, Ford Motor, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Johnson & Johnson, Kimberly-Clarke, Intel, Best Buy, Applebee’s, Molson Coors Beverage Company, MillerCoors, McDonald’s, General Mills, Gap, Colgate-Palmolive, Nordstrom, J.C. Penney, ConAgra Brands, Office Max, Staples, DirecTV, Visa, American Express, and Pfizer.

Past projects include outreach to, and/or partnerships with, blockbuster celebrities, musicians, comedians, chefs, public figures, properties and/or charities, such as Spike Lee, Donald J. Trump, Kanye West, Rihanna, Lady GaGa, Katy Perry, Beyonce, Maroon5, Bruno Mars, Kim Kardashian West, Sugarland, Susan Sarandon, Sylvester Stallone, Perez Hilton, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Michael Ovitz, the estate of Frank Sinatra, Sesame Street, Disney, “The Wizard of Oz,” Tribeca Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Essence Music Festival, Coachella, Computer Electronics Show (CES), Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Game Developers Conference (GDC), and MTV Movie & TV Awards.

Kelly consistently strives to set new precedents within the entertainment and music industries, as well as tech and media spaces. Campaigns have been featured in national media outlets, such as The New York Times, Ad Age, Billboard, The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Hollywood Reporter, Rolling Stone, and Variety.

Highlights include:

Kelly has also worked talent-side, which included various roles with a variety of electronic musicians, ranging from Tiësto and A-Trak to Skrillex and Zedd, while at Complete Control /AM ONLY. Activations include a multi-faceted broadcast and digital program with HBO for final-season of “How To Make It In America,” creative consultation of an integrated music partnership for Pepsi-Co’s first global marketing campaign, partnerships with Adidas and Bushmill’s for Fool’s Gold Day-Off, a strategic collaboration with YouTube for original content, creative consultation on a campaign to relaunch Stolichnaya Vodka, and the strategic restructuring of a global partnership between Tiësto and dance4life, an international initiative focused on raising reproductive health awareness and preventing HIV/AIDS, for which he served as global ambassador.

In 2011, Kelly joined forces with Randi Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg, having just left her position as Director of Market Development and spokesperson for Facebook, was looking for her next venture. With Kelly's help, the duo partnered to launch Zuckerberg's media and consultation agency, Zuckerberg Media. Past partners and projects include Facebook, Katie Couric, Chelsea Clinton, Clinton Global Initiative, United Nations, Melinda Gates, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Sean Penn, J/P Haitian Relief Organization (J/P HRO) now Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE), Cirque Du Soleil, Michael Jackson Estate, The International Olympic Committee, The Grammy Awards, The World Economic Forum, Brit Morin, Gayle King, BeachMint, Ryan Seacrest Productions, Ari Emmanuel, WME Agency, Creative Artists Agency, Cory Booker, Erin Andrews, Joanna Coles, Marie Claire, Kate Spade.

Kelly returned to Chicago in 2012, and continues to work with top-tier talent. Projects include launching DONDA, Kanye West’s creative think tank. In addition to long-term strategic consultation and pitching / securing several endorsement deals and private concert bookings for West, Kelly was instrumental in the blockbuster partnership between Kanye West and Adidas / YEEZY.

Kelly also created and ran one of Tumblr’s most popular accounts, while spearheading an independent sexuality and gender studies project. She is currently working on her first novel, and furthering her education.