Who Are Pascal & Associates?

Mostly they're me -- David Pascal. I provide marketing, advertising, and copy writing services to business and professional clients.

Often I can handle everything myself. When an assignment is especially large or complex I subcontract with skilled professional associates.

Can I see some examples of your work?

Sure. The samples page has a whole set of examples of what I've done for clients over the years.

That page and others feature everything from ads to web design to logo design to direct mail copy. One page even features a full campaign for a client.

Several people can sometimes be involved in creating marketing and advertising materials. The designer does this, the writer writes that. You can't always tell who contributed what. But unless otherwise indicated, the samples you see here are entirely completely or principally my own writing and my design.

Who are your associates?

Well, I've worked with quite a few people. But some stand out. I like to use The Galen Group for general research. Mail Technologies and Epix Marketing are tops when it comes to Direct Mail, and for printing needs you can't do better than to contact Michelle Ferrin of St VincentPress. For work involving the Hispanic market, I have journalist and translator Camy Sorbello.

I know a number of professionals in the Rochester area whose services I would have to recommend to anyone. For instance, John Retallack, a superb award-winning photographer and professor who occasionally takes commercial assignments.

And then there are my students. I teach classes in marketing and advertising now and again, and a number of students have either come from major agencies, or gone on to work for them. They stay in touch.

Do you do web programming or e-commerce?

If you want an overall web site with a programming or e-commerce component, I normally call in an expert programmer and we work together on the project. I do the design and copy and layout, and the programmer does the really complicated tech stuff.

If your focus is completely on the programming or e-commerce, go direct to Lynne Perry at www.lynneperry.com. Super programmer, fine person, great references, and as knowledgeable as they come. There is no one better, and few even come close.

What size businesses do you work for?

All sizes. I work for the person that hires me. That person can do so on behalf of a large corporation, a small practice, or an individual who needs a ghostwriter for an article or a book or speech.

Sometimes I teach classes in writing, advertising, and marketing. But also in fiction and poetry. (Yes, I'm a published author too). I've lectured at colleges, and given talks at conferences.

If what I do has a keynote, it's adaptability. Nowadays, in an age of continual change, there's no other option. You have to shape your services to the client -- corporate, nonprofit, or individual.

What do your clients say about you?

Nice things.

A recent client said: "I can't congratulate David Pascal enough for the work he's done on our web site and on our direct mail packages. Our site's drawn frequent unsolicited praise from readers and has received unsolicited high rankings and awards from professional Web critics. His writing and consultation, in my opinion and in the personal opinions of the members of our Board of Directors, have been excellent.

"The bottom line is that since hiring David Pascal, our business has had the best year we've had in nearly 25 years, our web traffic has more than tripled, and we're now the fastest growing company in our entire field."

Says journalist, novelist and poet Sarah Freligh (for whom I created www.sarahfreligh.com):

"After an initial consultation with David Pascal, he knew intuitively what I wanted in a Web site and how best to accomplish it. The entire project was done quickly with a mininum of fuss.  Working with David has been a pleasure. I'd recommend David Pascal's web design services to anyone."

Local business owner Eric Koesterich put it more succinctly: "I liked his stuff. My customers liked his stuff. It got me business and it made me money."

Can't beat recommendations like that.

My very oldest client is the Upstate New York marketing firm The Galen Group. I've worked with them on assignments for over fifteen years now, and its CEO, Jonathan Rich, has called me, "the finest copywriter I ever had the pleasure of working with."

OK, he exaggerates. But I am pretty good.

How do I know you're any good?

Read me. Look at the work I've done. My web site can show you ads and ad campaigns, articles I've written, web sites I've designed, graphic work I've done, an extensive list of clients, my resume, and so on.

If you want to find out if someone can cook -- have a taste!

Why hire you and not some other copywriter or marketing guy?

I guess what distinguishes me from most other copywriters is that I'm not 'just' a writer. I'm a marketing professional with long in-house marketing experience.

I also have skills and a background in graphics and design. And my academic and training credentials are in psychology -- in particular, the psychology of persuasion and behavior.

I learned early on that being competitive these days means being up to a par with computer skills and graphics and design software. So I got up to par. Now I can not only write the marketing piece you need, but research it, design it, and produce it too.

So if you hire me, you don't just get someone with writing experience. You get someone with marketing experience, design skills, a performance training background, formal training in persuasion skills and psychology, and someone who can produce and deliver the goods as well as just write them. You get a result that's totally integrated.

Of course, if you have money to burn, you can always hire six or seven people to do all that. Personally I think six for the price of one is a good deal.

Is there anything you can't do?

There is. That's where the associates come in. I have limitations -- complex esoteric computer coding is not my area of expertise, for instance. I'm not a master photographer. I'm adequate. But if a client needs really stellar quality in those areas, I do what agencies do: I find the right person and bring them in on it.

It isn't always necessary or always cost-effective to bring in a lot of people. But when people are needed, I know several that are available, and all of them are good. If I can do it solo, I generally will. If it takes a team, I can put one together.

What do you charge?

Depends on the project. I wish I could be more exact, but you really need to know the job before you can estimate it. A web site for a multi-million dollar nonprofit (which I've done) is going to be more work than a classified ad for a one-person professional practice. Which I've also done.

Is getting a quote expensive?

Heck no. There's no charge at all. I'd be glad to chat about a project or an assignment. Call me at 585.256.3514. Or email me via the contact page. Talk to me. We can work it out from there.

What's your background?

If you'd like to know more about my professional background, my resume's on my resume page.

My personal background? I was born in Buffalo, New York, and currently live at my home in the Brighton area of Rochester, New York, not far from the celebrated Harley School.

I have a bachelor's degree in Psychology, and a second bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities (graduating first in my class and magnum cum laude). I've done some post grad study and have Practitioner Certification in neuro-linguistic programming.

I've also lectured at colleges, and taught writing, copy writing, and web design at various places, principally the nationally celebrated organization Writers & Books, where I teach regularly.

I'm a member of Mensa, Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, as well as several other groups and charities.

Professionally, I started out as an illustrator for The Galen Group in the 80's, soon turned copywriter, then Chief Copywriter, then Partner. I've freelanced since roughly 1990. I'm an award-winning writer who's been published in numerous publications.

I'm also active in the Rochester writing community generally. I recently designed and host www.writinginrochester.org, a resource for people locally who are interested in writing.

How can I get in touch with you and find out more?

To get in touch, click over to my Contact page and drop me a note. Or call me: I'm at 585.256.3514.

And to find out more? Tour my web site. I'm afraid I can't offer you a frappuccinno, but there's plenty of things to read, a great research page, nice design work, plenty of interesting links. And if you're in a rush you can even subscribe to my e-newsletter and stay updated automatically.

So look around, and enjoy your tour. And if you have any comments or suggestions on the site and how I can improve it? Stop by the Contact page on your way out and let me know.

Thanks for stopping by.

-- David Pascal

Photograph of David Pascal by John Retallack.

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