Tag Archive for: Advertising Internship

Ashley Payne, Shanghai Internship

ShanghaiInterned at Ogilvy & Mather, an international advertising, marketing, and public relations agency as a Public Relations intern in the OgilvyPR department. 

Internship: As an intern I was given many hands-on opportunities to learn about PR. I primarily helped to write case studies and press releases as well as create content for Chinese social media. I worked closely with the Shanghai VP of Corporate PR who pushed me to learn and gave me a lot of responsibilities, such as writing an application letter for the CEO of Tishman Speyer addressed to the International Business Leaders Advisory Council for the Mayor of Shanghai. I was also given the opportunity to help create social media content for the introduction of Lincoln Motors into the Chinese market, as well as work with other big name brands such as Chanel and Ferrari.

I Learned: Besides learning two semesters of Chinese in four months, I learned a lot about Chinese business culture, which is very different from American practices. The Chinese value strong relationships so it takes a while before you can gain their trust, whereas Americans value their time more than anything. It was enriching to experience this firsthand at my internship and it has prepared me for a possible future career in China.

What Surprised Me: I didn’t realize how international Shanghai is. I was meeting people from all over the world who were in my classes, lived in Tonghe (the international dorms at Fudan University), and interned with me.

Hardest Part: The hardest part for me was the language barrier. Going to China with no previous Chinese language lessons, it was hard to connect with the Chinese natives I worked with, and to communicate in general. I often had to rely on hand gestures and my classmates to help me get around. After a couple of weeks, I was exploring the city on my own and didn’t feel so uncomfortable communicating with people. I was able to practice the Chinese I had learned and they were able to practice their English.

Best Part: The best part was being able to go on trips around China thanks to the BU Shanghai Staff. They planned every trip and made exploring China so easy and so much fun. I loved being able to toboggan down the Great Wall of China, have authentic Peking duck, climb 10 km up Huangshan, and watch Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon with the villagers of Chengkan. Also, bargaining at the fake market is super fun.

My Tips:

  • Don’t be afraid to walk around and explore on your own
  • Always order eggplant

Ben Kvisler, London Internship—Advertising & Marketing Track

Big Ben During the London MarathonInterned in Advertising and Sales at Educate Direct, Spring 2014

Internship: I worked at Educate Direct (https://www.educate-direct.com/), a small advertising sales firm that helps universities and commercial organizations source talent. I was assigned a variety of work to support the sales team. The majority of the work involved making creative content for email campaigns and adverts. I also generated some email campaigns and made occasional sales calls. The biggest project I took part in was to design a microsite for a client, University of Derby. I designed the basic page layouts and made the creative content to go behind it.

I Learned: I used Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign to make and edit creative work. The latter two programs I got to learn about while on the job. I could have learned how to use these programs in a classroom, but learning how to use them and creating real work for clients was a lot more meaningful.

For the study abroad experience in general, I learned that taking advantage of everyday and weekend is very important. While 4 months may seem like a good amount of time, it’s not all that long. So taking advantage of the free time you have is pretty important. I used the time to travel and learn more about my hobbies. Coming into my senior year, I’ll make sure that I spend it wisely and do the things that I’ve always wanted to do instead of having lazy weekends and evenings.

What Surprised Me: I was surprised by how close every other European country is to London. Many of the big cities are a 1-2.5 hour flight away. And if I booked early enough prices were quite affordable. This allowed me to travel to many countries while not grossly going over budget.

Hardest Part: The hardest part of the experience was trying to do everything in such a short amount of time. I really wanted to travel a lot and go to lots of the iconic London and European sites. It’s absolutely doable, but you have to plan early and get your friends on board if you’d like them to go. Make sure that your on top of your homework too, that always makes it easier.

Best Part: The best part was getting to travel to different European countries and getting an authentic take on the US perspective of foreign culture and food. This was my first time aboard, so everything was pretty new. As for London, the best part was being immersed in a city that always has something interesting to do. Most every day and night there’s some kind of event or new place to go.

My Tips:

  • Use the London buses! They’re a great way to get around the city while getting to see all the major landmarks.
  • Take advantage of all the free things to do, like the museums and events.
  • Plan travel early. The earlier you can plan, the cheaper travel and lodging will be. RyanAir and EasyJet are good inexpensive flight operators.
  • Get a Waitrose card and Sainsbury card. They give you discounts at these grocery stores.
  • Get Giffgaff for a SIM card. It worked great for me in London and other countries, and it was cheap.