Internship Lessons
Halfway through my advertising agency internship with Curious Plot, and here are the things I have learned so far:
1. A Lot of Client Knowledge: Watermelon makes you happy. Early calf health is essential. Sustainability is the future, and agriculture has the opportunity to lead it. Mushrooms are super sustainable. Tree vaccinations are a thing.
Client knowledge is one of the biggest reasons I wanted to start my career in the advertising industry. In 6 weeks, I have become a subject matter expert in multiple topics in the agriculture and food industries.
2. I have discovered places where I thrive and places where I want to learn more.
Influencer Relations, New Business, Podcasting, Public Relations, Social Media, and Account Management are where I have developed an interest. I have worked with influencers and got the opportunity to start developing influencers in the ag industry. New Business combines sales, strategy, and connection into a sector of work that I would love to explore more as I grow in my career. Podcasting can be successful if prepped accordingly and can range from 7-minute topic-specific content to hour-long rambles. I have skills in understanding connections in information, organizing information, seeing trends, building connections, and asking questions, which has served me well in this PR role, but excited to see where else I can utilize these skills within the agency.
3. You can still learn a lot from looking through magazines, plus a greater understanding of the interconnectedness of PR and Journalism.
After looking through 50+ publications and turning 500+ pages, I have learned a lot about the agricultural industry and the interconnections of public relations and journalism. They work way more closely than I thought, and companies can have a lot of say in the content we consume past just their owned media.
4. PR plans create the narrative.
From pitching topics to suggesting data, PR plans are where professionals get to develop the framing and messaging they want to share around a topic or idea. They use so many tactics and can create the best narratives. Events, News Hooks, Press Releases, Personal Pitches, etc., are all new tactics I have explored and kept in my back pocket.
5. Time/Project Management can be difficult when you are so connected to logging your time.
I have personally struggled with focus throughout my internship. Sometimes I have eight projects going on at once and struggle to let go of them in the moment and can become overwhelmed trying to figure out where to start. Let others help and take breaks. Find the thing that recharges you and do that before coming back to work.