WHO'S MIKE?
Groundbreaking work and the departments that make it possible. Throughout my career, I’ve delivered both. Most creative directors live for the output: the idea, the execution, the work. As the work shows, so do I. But few have also built the practices, teams, and cultures that make great work repeatable — on the agency side and the brand side.
I know how to move fast without breaking things — unless, of course, it calls for it. And I know how to build things that last after I'm gone.
WHAT I'VE DONE
> Repositioning a Legacy Brand
Transformed OREO from a legacy cookie brand to a millennial entertainment brand — building the newsroom model and daily creative infrastructure that made it possible. Work like The Daily Twist, Snack Hacks, and the Kit-Kat Tic-Tac-Toe moment helped drive a 200% increase in engagement year-over-year and the highest brand buzz increase of any brand in 2012 — up 49%. Ad Age called us "the master of real-time marketing." And then the lights went out…
> The Work That Changed the Game
When the lights went out at the 2013 Super Bowl, a 360i strategist recounted in Industrial Logic that "Nuzzo threw out the line, 'You can dunk in a blackout'" — and with a line tweak and an iconic visual, it was ready to go. $525MM in earned media impressions. Cited in Twitter's IPO prospectus. The Huffington Post declared the best ad of that Super Bowl wasn't an ad. Still taught in college marketing classrooms as the moment real-time marketing changed forever.
> Building an Entertainment Empire
It started with a $30K HBO design job. Within three months it became Roast Joffrey, Catch Drogon, Beautiful Death — 2.2 billion combined impressions and a nearly decade-long partnership. That work led to A&E, History Channel, and Fox Entertainment — where #KidsAreDicks drove The Mick to FOX's biggest premiere since Empire, and The Orville launched with the first-ever cryogenics sweepstakes at Comic-Con. One $30K job. Four networks. An entertainment marketing practice built from the ground up.
> Rebranding an AI Pioneer
When your company is trusted by the Fortune 50 and governments worldwide, your brand should feel like it. This one didn't. Rebuilt the creative team, gave the brand its first-ever ethos and the visual system to match. The first campaign post-rebrand drove 492% more leads, $40.6M in pipeline, and a 58% conversion rate — 2x the industry standard. The work reflected the brand. The brand reflected the company.
WHAT I'VE WON
Cannes Lions
grand prix, gold, silver, bronze
One Show
gold, bronze, short list
Clio
gold, bronze
Shortys
Effie
Facebook Studio
Webbys
ADA (formerly Omma)
IAB Mixx
Adweek 's Project Issac
Award of Montreux
Digiday
Fab Award
And so on...
WHERE I'VE BEEN
Dataminr
VP, Head of Brand & Creative
08/03/24 - present
Chobani / Pressed
Freelance Creative Director
01/2018 - 08/2018
Modem (PubMo)
Associate Creative Director
06/2006 - 07/2008
Toptal
Executive Creative Director
02/2021 - 07/25/24
360i
Group Creative Director
02/2011 - 12/2018
DraftFCB
Senior Copywriter
04/2000 - 06/2006
UEG
VP, Executive Creative Director
09/2018 - 12/2020
Razorfish
ACD / Creative Director
08/2007 - 01/2011