Gino De Pasquale
In 1984 Gino started a career as an accountant. After securing a very junior job in one of the biggest accountancy firms in the world, Arthur Anderson, Gino’s journey into the world of credits and debits began. But it was far from the typical induction into accountancy best practices. The head of HR at Arthur Anderson discovered soon after meeting Gino that his high level communication talents would be best suited to their ever growing insolvency division. Gino’s role within insolvency lasted just 2 years and his primary role was to manage irate creditors, helping them understand the current position of the various distraught companies. Communication was key. Gino was also studying his degree in accountancy at QUT part time, until one night things changed.
He had always queried why the past was so important and why every decision moving forward always had to be reconciled back to some sort of accountancy standard that was written 50 years ago. Gino decided to pack his books for the last time as an accounting student and go in search for something a little more relevant to his way of thinking.
That same night he met with a Councillor from the University who understood his frustrations. Gino was invited to join a marketing lecture and participate in a group forum. So not even 30 minutes after packing his books from the dark and dreary world of accounting practices which were so invested in the past, was Gino discovering a whole new world of satisfying customers’ future needs. The marketing world had little or almost no rules at that stage (it was only 1984) but was already revealing that the world was one which prospers when you indulge in the future and remained focused on how the customer was feeling and thinking.
That first night when Gino joined 20 or so others in the business, he was greeted by a special lecturer, Su Mon Wong, the senior lecturer in Strategic Marketing at QUT Business School. Su Mon was proclaiming the outstanding achievements of a very special company in the US called Stew Leonards Dairy Store (www.stewleonards.com). This amazing story about a small American family who were listed in the Guinness Book of records for the highest selling gross sales per square metre (in the world) amazed Gino. A story about a family whose total business philosophy revolved around giving the customer exactly what they wanted hit a very strong and powerful cord with Gino. And there began his love with Marketing.
A few years later (1987), well into his marketing degree, Gino opted into a partnership with his brother Marco and acquired a majority share in a tiny little creative agency in Brisbane. 20 years later that same agency called de pasquale is one of Queensland’s most respected independent advertising agencies. Noted for its strong commercial business acumen, powerful insightful consumer research and outstanding creative output, de pasquale has earned the reputation as one of the most serious independent mainstream agencies in Brisbane.
In 2006, after many years as a co-owner, director, and senior strategist, Gino took a well earned break from the business world to focus on him. No one is really sure what he got up during his two year absence but he was always a welcome visitor when he made his infrequent returns back to the mother ship. Realising it was time to re-enter the land of the living, Gino started his long and anticipated return into the world of marketing. But this time things were going to be different. Long before he stepped back into the business side of things in June 08, Gino had been doing some serious due diligence on the world of advertising. Where was it going? What were clients looking for, expecting? What did they really think of agencies and how could we make them better? Much of this exploration took place overseas, with quite a lengthy trip to the UK, where Gino visited 8 of the top 10 creative and strategic agencies. Interviewing the CEOs and senior management with respect to best practices in marketing and advertising, Gino soon realized that the world of communicating with customers had changed forever and he was eager to leave his mark.
And so was born dp dialogue. Gino’s vision on his return back into marketing was to re-kindle his passion for customer satisfaction and Word of Mouth Marketing. A long time fan of delivering the ultimate customer experience, Gino seized the opportunity via Social Media and Web 3.0 phenomenon to successfully launch a new phase of marketing agency. Building an open and transparent relationship with customers of various brands and harnessing their loyalty into various brand advocacy programs is now Gino’s drive.
Gino still remains an equity owner in de pasquale advertising, but has truly found his core inspiration within the marketing world – Customer advocacy profiling.