Feature

Brand Manager of the Week: Mark Stone

Owner and managing director, Hisaki Snacks

Describe yourself in three words.

Dynamic, demanding and enterprising.

What would you be if you weren't a brand manager?

Musician, explorer or (in the real world) an Asian food-inspired restaurateur.

What advice would you give someone starting their marketing career?

Be open-minded, keep learning, take risks and make it happen for yourself.

What attracted you to your current job?

A passion for Asian food and a desire to control my destiny by creating a brand that I was proud of.

What was your first job?

Fruit-picking in the school holidays. We would sometimes add rocks to our punnets to boost our earnings.

How did you get your first job?

I asked. Like mother says, if you don't ask, you don't get.

What was your finest hour?

Spotting a stranger munching Hisaki snacks for the first time. Also, achieving a national listing in Tesco.

If you were a brand, what would you be and why?

Hisaki. I'm burning bright and breathing fire.

What is your favourite ever marketing campaign?

'Red Bull gives you wings.'

What is your all-time favourite slogan?

'Give peas a chance.'

What hobbies do you have?

Playing guitar, travel and tasting weird food in the name of research.

If you weren't you, who would you be?

Mick Jagger.

What makes you angry?

Bureaucracy and forms, I hate filling in forms.

What is your favourite pub?

Rio Cafe, Glasgow. Eccentric, informal and our first customer.

What's your favourite holiday destination?

Patagonia and Sydney.

If you could get tickets to any event, what would it be?

Aston Villa vs Bayern Munich, European Cup Final, 26 May 1982.

What have been your best and worst freebies?

Front-row tickets to see The Rolling Stones at Wembley was the best. Harpic Toilet Duck was not so amazing.