Advertising Agency Through the Eyes of an Intern
I’m a lucky guy. In my career I’ve had dozens of interns, and nearly every one of them has been a joy to coach and an asset to my employers.
Maddie Marney, Armstrong|Shank summer intern from May to August 2009, raised the bar for intern performance and pleasantness. She was fearless when challenged to do a task and voraciously receptive to any learning opportunity. We trust she found her time with us equally rewarding.
We asked Maddie to reflect on her summer with us, and here’s what she had to say.
Mark Chamberlin
Director of Marketing Services and New Marketing Development
By Maddie Marney
Before starting my summer internship here at Armstrong Shank, I had little knowledge of what it really meant to work in advertising. Of course, I have seen the movies and TV shows featuring fake all-powerful ad agencies that snag every nationwide billion dollar budget campaign, but no one tells the real stories behind this business.
Through my years of college classes as an advertising major, we are taught to think out of the box and how to work in an effective team. Though these are great things to learn, they are not the biggest challenges to face in this business. We should rather be taking classes such as, “Stubborn Clients 101″ or “Navigating Through Millions of Files,” which would seem more appropriate for the actual working world.
When asked to sum up my experience here, I dug through my brain for a way to do so that did not consist of just listing the amazing things I have gotten to do. I figured the only way to get my point across was to come up with some guidelines, or commandments if you will, for those interns that may follow me in the future.
1. Advertising is somewhat of a compromise between clients, account executives, and creatives, all who have different visions of what the ending product should be.
2. Always bring a sweater to client meetings; you never know when you are entering an icebox.
3. Good research is the key to any project put in front of you whether it is a print ad, a PR project, or anything else that comes your way. You may learn something you never thought you would know.
4. Always ask questions, whether they seem dumb or not, you might actually learn something valuable.
5. Always bring your lunch, because of the limited food options. The workers at the Sonic down the street have gotten to know me a little too well.
6. Don’t be offended when your projects go through several revisions, because you will be so much prouder of the end product.
7. Embrace the new technology, you may learn how Twitter really works.
8. And finally, be careful when asking someone if they need help, you may soon regret you asked.
Regardless of these words of wisdom, my time here at Armstrong Shank has allowed me to gain some insight into this exciting and fast-paced industry. I feel like I now have the knowledge to talk to future employers with ease, as well as finish off my senior year with gained enthusiasm for entering into the “real world of advertising.”