Giordano's Pizza President & CEO Yorgo Koutsogiorgas said that his company has experienced "double-digit percentage revenue growth each of the last two years" thanks in part to Bulls G Derrick Rose's face adorning pizza boxes and ads around the Chicago area, according to Danny Ecker of CRAIN'S CHICAGO BUSINESS. Giordano's, which Rose "bought a minority stake in last year," has "found solid footing after ... filing for bankruptcy protection just more than two years ago." Koutsogiorgas said, "We have seen an immense uptick in our sales for the last year and a half, which coincides to a degree with the announcement of his ownership with Giordano's." Rose's billboards last season for Giordano's included "side-by-side pictures of him and pizza with catchphrases like 'D-lish' or 'D-vour.'" Giordano's this month with the help of ad agency Schafer Condon Carter, Chicago, "launched new ads" featuring only "Rose on a billboard, the word 'hungry' and the Giordano's logo -- no pizza." The billboard ads will run through mid-November. Koutsogiorgas said, "His image is only used in marketing that is institutional in nature. We don't use him to promote, let's say, a limited time offer, because we feel that would diminish the value of his partnership with us" (CHICAGOBUSINESS.com, 10/30).
