The General Store lures ex Brand Agency ECD Marcus Tesoriero as chief creative officer

After a huge period of growth, The General Store continues its momentum by signing highly-acclaimed creative leader, Marcus Tesoriero to amplify its creative, innovation and design offering.

Recently departing Dentsu Creative for the CCO role, Tesoriero (above left) finishes a successful two-and-a-half-year tenure as ECD across Australia and New Zealand. Joining from The Brand Agency in the midst of Covid lockdowns 2020, Tesoriero helped the BWM Dentsu agency grow back to its former success, merge with Isobar and finally rebrand as Dentsu Creative earlier this year. During his time, the agency won a suite of new business, including the prized American Express account.

Creatively, Tesoriero helped the agency win a string of international awards including a Grand at the London International Awards, Grand Prix for Effectiveness at the APAC Tambuli Awards, also picking up metal at every other major, international award show in 2022 including the Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, Spikes and Adfest.

Says Matt Newell (right), partner and CEO, The General Store: “Yes, Marcus is a highly awarded creative but what sits behind that is a razor-sharp mind. He’s prolific. He’s observant. And he cares about what he does. It’s a combination that will deliver exciting outcomes for our clients and team.

“I was also hugely impressed by Marcus’ focus on building creative cultures. There’s a misconception that creative businesses are all beer and skittles. But the pressure to take a blank Google Slides deck and blow people’s minds, every day, is very real. We were looking for someone to help build a creative business that always delivers the goods. And Marcus is that person.”

Tesoriero joins The General Store at a key point of growth after multiple account wins and new business ventures. The agency specialises in retail and consumer good brands and has built one of the most multi-disciplinary creative departments in the country that spans advertising, architecture, design and technology.

Says Tesoriero: “I first met Matt and Maddie at the Cannes Lions in 2019, so I knew what fun people they could be to work with. Matt even stated in my contract that I had to give him my orange sunglasses as a part of the agreement – and I thought it was one of the most hilarious things I’d ever seen. How could I not sign on the dotted line?

“Fun aside, this is a super exciting time to join The G Store. The culture is great and they are an extremely talented group of people. Their offering is really unique with one of the most diverse creative departments I’ve ever seen. They even have a team of in-house architects! As a creative leader I’m licking my lips to utilise that combined skillset and solve problems in innovative ways for our clients. For me, it’s one of the best places in the country to work right now – and I can’t wait to build on that.”

The General Store is AdNews’ ‘Branding and Design Agency of the Year’, Driven x Design Awards ‘Best Studio – Large’ and they work with clients like Rebel Sport, Breville, Van Huesen, Barbeques Galore, Freedom Furniture, Aussie Home Loans, Lendi and Primo.

Tesoriero is currently ranked #4 ECD in the world for 2022, according to the Bestads ECD Rankings, and ranked #3 ECD in Australia over the last 5 years, according to the Bestads ECD Rankings.

Based in Sydney, Tesoriero begins the new role in December.