Miami’s young creatives came together en masse on October 27th at Ampersand Studios in Miami for Disrupting Traditions, the first collaboration event between three local creative organizations. Disrupting Traditions highlighted the need for transformation within the advertising industry through authenticity and new perspectives, striking a chord with attendees eager to learn what it means to be a creative professional today.
Disrupting Traditions started as a class project for Michele Mardorf and her classmate Gordanda Jokanovic at Miami Ad School. Together, they devised a plan to allow learning from relatable creatives in their field, connect with professionals to help expand their careers, and meet industry leaders with fresh creative ideas. The goal was to empower young creatives to blaze a new path through illumination, conversation, and networking at this “you had to be there” Disrupting Traditions in Advertising. Michele took it to the next level and approached The One Club for Creativity to create the event.
Michele Mardorf holds two degrees from FIU. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the PRAAC program (Public Relations, Advertising, and Application Communications), and a Master of Science in Mass Communications from the Global Strategic Communications – Creative Track program in partnership with Miami Ad School. She’s currently studying Digital Design at Miami Ad School. Michelle noted “I left home at 17 in St. Maarten to come to study in the U.S. and carve my path. Soon, I realized I wanted to apply everything I was learning in advertising to one of my greatest passions – music. The challenge was figuring out how to go about it.”
For Mardorf, her diligence and determination started to pay off the more she doubled down on her dreams. “As I was finishing my Master’s, I chose to write my thesis on Hip Hop Marketing, which opened doors to working with Dreamville, a dream come true at that time.” Since then, Michele has worked with various record labels and music artists, and she is currently undertaking an internship at Mass Appeal, a media company centered on Hip Hop music, founded by Nas, a well-known music artist and producer. “It’s these full-circle moments that I hope to use as a source of inspiration for other young creatives, encouraging them to believe that they can successfully pursue their dreams, as long as they’re not afraid of putting in the work.”
