#BehindtheSelfie with... Jason Stott
1. Where do you live, work and play?
I live in Lonehill in Fourways, and would also consider Fourways as my playground, as it has pretty much everything anyone could need right there. I work in Cleveland, in the industrial area near Bedfordview.
2. What’s your claim to fame?
Haha, fame? I’m a behind-the-scenes guy who enjoys focusing on getting greater interest in our products and how we can improve the office and education environments. Given the number of products we stock, it’s a never-ending journey in terms of packaging, marketing and customer satisfaction.
3. Describe your career so far.
I started out working with a great team at Caxton Publishers, designing adverts and laying out newspapers and magazines, then moved onto more exciting things in branding racing teams like KTM/Red Bull SA, Yamaha/Red and Bombardier Can-Am. Then I worked in branding solutions for interiors like hotels, casinos and shopping centres. I am now head of creative for Parrot Products and work with an exceptional team.
4. Tell us a few of your favourite things.
My gorgeous fiancé! Spending time with good friends over a cold beer. Design that simply works. It’s as simple as that, to be honest. Doesn’t really matter what it’s intended use is, I just love something that is well thought out where you can see or feel the effort involved in creating it. And my cats… yes, I’ve been converted into a cat person!
5. What do you love about your industry?
Probably that no day has been or ever will be the same, there are always different challenges that require thought before taking different approaches to get the ideal outcome.
6. Describe your average workday, if such a thing exists.
No day is ever average, really. I get in and try to sift through the most urgent of emails and figure out what is going to cause me the most chaos in the day and try tackle those items first, then ensure production is running correctly and we will meet deadlines, then back to trying to get my email under control until the end of the day.
7. What are the tools of your trade?
The single most important tool would be the internet, other than that, a PC and a pen and pad.
8. Who is getting it right in your industry?
I work in an industry that is constantly evolving and I think anyone that is keeping up with it is ‘getting it right’ at the end of the day…
9. List a few pain points the industry can improve on.
Manufacturing costs in SA I would say is one of the biggest losses here, the majority of all manufacturing work always heads East as we cannot compete with manufacturing costs in SA.
Our exchange rate is also a huge speed bump in the industry, SA could get more out there on a global scale if we weren’t held back by the inflated costs.
10. What are you working on right now?
Completing my #BehindTheSelfie questionnaire and then getting back to work
11. Tell us some of the buzzwords floating around in your industry at the moment, and some of the catchphrases you utter yourself.
Personally, I can’t stand these so-called buzzwords, business jargon is such an egocentric way of communicating and I find it quite silly, its similar to teenage slang words like ‘lit’ – incredibly cringe-worthy.
12. Where and when do you have your best ideas?
Three Castle draughts in!
13. What’s your secret talent/party trick?
I really enjoy cooking and spend a lot of time looking at videos online to get inspiration.
14. Are you a technophobe or a technophile?
I wouldn’t be able to work in this industry if I didn’t seriously appreciate tech!
15. What would we find if we scrolled through your phone?
Far too many memes!
16. What advice would you give to newbies hoping to crack into the industry?
Don’t ever be obnoxious and think you know more than the next person. Even if they are in a much more junior position than you are, you can learn from anyone.
Simple as that. You’re welcome to email Stott, visit his MyBiz profile and be sure to follow Parrot Products on the following social media channels for more: LinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook
*Interviewed by Leigh Andrews.
About Leigh Andrews
Leigh Andrews AKA the #MilkshakeQueen, is former Editor-in-Chief: Marketing & Media at Bizcommunity.com, with a passion for issues of diversity, inclusion and equality, and of course, gourmet food and drinks! She can be reached on Twitter at @Leigh_Andrews.
