Agency life: What’s it all about any way?
As an Advertising and Marketing Student at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School, a great deal of my second year was spent researching agencies offering internship opportunities. With competition so high and placements so hard to come by, the battle to secure a placement commenced… and it was stressful to say the least! But little did I know that an agency on my doorstep was about to change all of that.
So here I am. My name’s Steph and my Christmas present last year was the gift of no longer refreshing my emails in the hope of a response, and to start looking forward to my placement year at Savvy. I’ve now been an official intern for two weeks, but with so much going on boy does it feel like longer! Now I’d usually describe myself as a forward person, but my nerves on the first morning were something else. Feeling completely oblivious to agency life, I was anxious to find out what it was all about. Luckily for me, those nerves vanished faster than expected as the team at Savvy welcomed me with open arms.
I’ve initially worked on the account handling side of the agency, sitting in on meetings, researching all the brands on the Savvy books and getting involved with all kinds of new and exciting projects. This has helped me understand just what it means to be a part of the Savvy culture and with one-to-one inductions with different departments I’ve quickly gained a wider understanding of how the agency works together. The transition of being a student in a crowded lecture theater pacing my pen through my note book, to an intern soaking up the Savvy thinking is really refreshing.
So how would I describe my first fortnight? Intriguing, is the word I’d use. Making the transition from school to student straight away, I’ve never worked in the retail marketing industry before. I feel myself captivated by conversations going on around me, and every time I do, I feel more confident that I chose the right industry. From here, I can’t wait to understand the process a little more: starting with the client brief, applying a flare of Savvy thinking, executing projects and finally observing the work produced at the end. From studying advertising and branding for the past two years, I have a good understanding of digital marketing, consumer insight and behavior, development of TV and print advertisements, social media and creative thinking. Having joined an expert shopper-marketing agency I’m eager to see what retail has to offer. Yes, as an intern with little knowledge of retail marketing, it’s daunting, but I am looking forward to broadening my horizons and getting involved.
For now, the plan for is to work with the Creative team for the next two weeks and I am so giddy to get stuck in! The majority of the work I completed last year revolved around creative thinking and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Hopefully, I will enjoy it just as much in the Savvy world. Needless to say, I’m very excited for the year ahead… and actually understand what agency life is all about! So watch this space for the next Intern Diary.