Often when thinking about an internship, most people could be tempted to assume a workday dominated with making teas and coffees, photocopying, or redirecting telephone calls. However, I can tell you after three weeks of a marketing and communications internship with WSA, this is absolutely not the case. From sitting in on client meetings, learning media and PR scheduling software and writing analytics reports, to watching ‘Mod-Zilla’ be brought to life by the Studio team (fortunately not literally), this hands-on experience has been invaluable to me and provided me with experience that I will carry forward as I pursue a career in marketing and communications.
A background in geography?
I think it is important to preface that I do not have a background in marketing. I have spent the last three years studying geography at university, and whilst it is a subject I love, like many graduates I could not identify a clear career path that would follow on from my degree, particularly due to the breadth of the course and the sheer number of paths I could subsequently go down. Several careers’ quizzes later, I concentrated on thinking about how I could use the transferrable skills developed during my degree.
One main conclusion I came to was that I had become completely accustomed to being exceptionally busy, working on numerous different projects and assignments at once. I loved the creativity that came with this, having to think outside the box and adapt how I worked to get things done. After some research, it became clear this was key in marketing job roles, and I became determined to understand more. The more I read, the more excited I became having found a job combining creativity, imagination, and attention to detail with organisation, planning, and method. However, with little experience or exposure to this industry, the next challenge was getting a foot in the door and some hands-on experience. This is where my time interning at WSA has been so important, being the complete opposite to the misconceptions floating around that suggest all you do on an internship are menial tasks.
Inside a marketing agency
Each day at WSA I have learnt so much, with every member of the team taking time out of their day to explain what they do and how they do it, doing so with examples of previous and ongoing projects. Fast forward three weeks, I can tell you with certainty that a job in a marketing agency is as varied and busy as it seems. From time with the marketing and PR team providing first-hand experience with the planning, scheduling, and dissemination of content, to time with the account managers emphasising the importance of relationship building and communication, my internship here has shown me that a job in marketing is exactly what I hoped it would be, with no two days the same.
Not only this, but I will leave WSA having significantly improved my knowledge of marketing and communications, having a well-rounded understanding of the campaign process from start to finish thanks to the guidance and advice of the entire team. Here I can use the example of ‘Mod-Zilla’, whom I mentioned earlier. On day one, I got to be a part of the meeting in which we discussed Halloween movie posters as a seasonal marketing campaign for a WSA client. As part of this, previous campaign performance, target audience, and competitors were all a factor, giving insight into campaign planning. Then, the creative task of generating Halloween movie titles using a play-on-words began, from which ‘Mod-Zilla’ was born. The Studio team then got to work, using imagination and photoshop skills to design a movie poster that transformed the iconic ‘king of monsters’ into the ‘king of modular buildings.’
Following the creation of these posters and after working with the digital marketing team, it became clear the numerous channels through which a campaign can be marketed depending on budget. From organic social media posts, to display advertising on Google and Meta, all the way to print, there is a wide variety of strategies, all scheduled, tracked, measured, and analysed. If that wasn’t enough work for one team, the account managers then maintain continuous contact with clients, building positive relationships built on trust and respect. And this is only a glimpse of just one project.
More than just making tea and coffee
While during my internship at WSA I did in fact have a cup of tea, this only served as a morning boost as I got involved around the agency. No photocopying was done, and I did not spend my day chained to a single desk, but often hopped around to sit with team members, learning as much from them as I could. Not only will I take away valuable skills and knowledge from my time at WSA, but I have thoroughly enjoyed interning here and would encourage anybody starting in their career to put themselves out there, regardless of their previous work experiences- you never know what great experiences you could find.
