Fearless Thinker

“If you had the floor at Cannes, what industry-changing idea would you share?”

Joseph ‘Fitz’ Maro thought he had just the answer, and Campaign U.S. agreed.  The digital magazine that celebrates creative excellence named the 2011 Mary Washington alumnus a “Fearless Thinker” for his response. His prize: a trip to the Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity.

“Cannes is like the Oscars of advertising,” said Maro, an innovation strategist with the digital ad agency 360i New York. “It’s the holy grail of getting to see and meet industry luminaries and top celebrity talent.”

So what do you tell the people who seem to know it all?

Maro told them about how other creative have solved the problems facing the advertising industry with success. According to Maro, Paul McCartney did best – to remain relevant, he changed in tandem with the culture around him.

Maro submitted his answer and shortly found himself on the other side of the globe.

He first found out about the Cannes festival during a tour of VCU’s Brandcenter, where he would later go for his master’s in creative technology.

And once he learned about Cannes, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. “I realized that [Cannes] was the place to be and it’s never left my mind,” said Maro. In fact, he became so preoccupied with the idea that entered contests for five straight years in hopes of being chosen to attend the annual festival.

Earlier this summer, he traveled to France for his first trip to the festival that brings together international talent from creative communications and advertising fields.

Maro, who is originally from Haddon Township, New Jersey, shared his experience as a Cannes rookie through a series of blog posts published by Campaign U.S.

“I realized at Cannes that the future of advertising might be equal parts making things people want as much as it is making people want things,” said Maro. “That’s really unique. We’ve never been there as an industry.”

Despite being a world traveler, Maro credits his liberal arts education and time on the rugby pitch at UMW for where he is today.

“In advertising you work with many different clients so you have to be involved in culture, philosophy, strategy, finance, negotiations and psychology,” said Maro. “It’s great to have the breadth of knowledge you gain with a liberal arts education.”

His advice for students today?

“Start thinking about what you want your dream job to be, and learn about the day-to-day of those professions. Make an effort to better yourself in those areas; you’ll embody the sum of all those experiences and efforts.”