Marcio Moreira, the former Chief Creative Officer of McCann was the creative genius behind several world famous marketing campaigns. I was saddened to hear of his passing away while I was away at a convention this week.
I met Marcio for the first time in April this year at an NJIT sponsored fair that connected entrepreneurs and Volunteers who wanted to work with young companies. Even in our very first meeting, Marcio got the “value proposition” in our product immediately. I had no idea what his background was beyond the fact that he had some experience in “Marketing”. He explained briefly that he was the key person behind “Coke” and “Visa Card ” campaigns, among many more.
He provided some valuable insights about competition and pricing in our very first meeting. I was very impressed with his insights and wrote to him immediately after getting back to my office.
We met several times over the next couple of months and he always came up with brilliant suggestions for our marketing material. He provided subtle twists to our marketing material that clarified its meaning and amplified the impact. Although he mentored me for a short period, he has changed my way of thinking about presenting our product to the customer.
To give you an example of his dedication and giving nature, last week, he was in Boston undergoing tests and getting ready to go into heart surgery. However, he still spent time with me going over our marketing material for the major convention we were going to attend that week. He provided valuable suggestions just in time for us to incorporate before printing. He was very positive about coming back home to New Jersey on Friday, as he told me that it would be a brief procedure.
I was deeply saddened to hear of his passing away. He will live with us forever with his words, thoughts and our memories of him.