Here’s the final rep of this ten…
Mark Nicholson
Business Development Manager
Glaswegin
Glasgow
Mark, 32, worked in nightclubs across Glasgow like Trash, Bamboo and Karbon cutting his teeth doing marketing and running PR teams and latterly social media before landing his first brand rep job with Kopparberg in 2012.
He says,” My role was ground level and supporting key account managers at the coalface and I did it for four years. Then I moved to Tennent’s working on the C&C portfolio, launching Moritz beer into the UK among other things. I moved to Glaswegin in 2019.
“I loved the brand. I’m Glasgow born and bred so it was and still is the perfect fit for me. I worked throughout the pandemic.”
How has his job and customers expectations changed over the years since he first started out in hospitality?
“Lots of customers still prefer the one-to-one and the personal touch despite the move to digital during the pandemic, and this works both ways because you see things in a venue that spark an idea so there’s more chance of creativity being a factor in the way you work, but I recognise that with Zoom you can do three or four brand trainings on one day.”
Where else has he noticed a shift?
“Point of sale requirements are changing too. A lot of venues have unbranded glassware that works for every drink. People are creating their businesses as a brand rather than a venue. They are a lot more savvy than they were ten years ago.
“Activations are trickier too. You could set up sampling session with customers but for new product launches, there are more barriers to this because of Covid. Brands have to be looking at new ways of doing this in the future because I feel that the landscape is being reshaped and will continue to be so as we emerge from the pandemic.
He’s only just got back out in the field and he’s upbeat about it.
“The first week I went back out there was a new drive among customers. We are going into on-trade and having more conversations about brand. Overall there’s positive feel with an air of caution.”
