Many workplace skills don’t come from school, but from internships. Studies have shown a strong correlation between internship experience and job prospects, but great work experience doesn’t just happen. It takes nurturing and time from managers and peers. We’re thrilled to host an ambitious group of interns every summer across our global offices. As summer draws to a close, our interns took some time reflect on their experience and what it was like being a part of the Siegel+Gale team.
Marketing/Biz Dev:
Annie Cassius (Siegel+Gale NY)
What was your favorite project to work on? A social media audit which entailed creating a competitive analysis, then a best practices deck after conducting additional research. Afterwards, I pulled insights from the two decks and created mock suggestions for posting content to our own social platforms while also determining things we lacked or needed more of going forward. It was really fun to see it all come to life, and to see what was working or not working for others.
James McHale (Siegel+Gale NY)
What did you learn about the branding industry that you found interesting? I didn’t know much about the branding industry prior to working at Siegel+Gale. Seeing the thought processes and just how much work and detail goes into client deliverables is incredible. I also found it fascinating how much each department throughout the agency collaborates.
Cameron Brown (Siegel+Gale LA)
What did you learn about the branding industry that you found interesting? I used to always think about a brand only as a consumer, but I’ve learned that what a brand stands for is equally as important from an internal perspective. Behind every great company is a well-thought-out brand story that guides the company towards success.
Naming:
Amaya Lopez-Silvero (Siegel+Gale NY)
What three words would you use to describe the process of naming a new product or service? Imaginative, Exhaustive, Experimental
Daria Balaeskoul (Siegel+Gale NY)
What is the most amount of names you had to come up with for one project? The most we’ve had to do together is 230 names for one project, and there wasn’t even a guarantee that any one would be picked!
Brand Communication:
Rachel Benner (Siegel+Gale NY)
What surprised you about working in brand communication? In brand communication we create strategic voice guidelines and verbal identities, but we also get to show how those guidelines come to life. During my internship I had to write scripts, headlines, taglines, and more— I really had to flex my skills as a copywriter!
Insights:
Liam Vesey (Siegel+Gale NY)
Will you think of research differently after your internship, if so, how? The research I performed in school was often one dimensional. In chemical engineering experiments, it’s necessary to have as much consistency over the variables as possible. Market research, on the other hand, deals with human impulses, making it difficult to apply controls to those emotional decisions. I think learning to work with that variability instead of eliminating it can help extract greater insights from research.
Strategy:
Debbie Cheng (Siegel+Gale NY)
What was the most interesting experience you had in your role this summer? I had the opportunity to create my own trend forecasting analysis on any topic I was interested in. I decided to cover the future of brand storytelling and had the opportunity to attend several panel discussions after work as part of the research process. It was amazing to hear entrepreneurs who are pushing the envelope with technologies such as VR,AR and AI. I even got to hang out at VR World and experience VR for myself!
Spencer Levitt (Siegel+Gale LA)
How do you describe your job to your friends and family? My friends and family always ask how branding is different than marketing or advertising. I tell them that in order for marketing or advertising campaigns to be successful, they have to be grounded in a strong brand foundation. Building that foundation begins with strategy, beginning with research and then applying that to create messaging and structure within the company. Strategy takes into account everything that goes into a brand, both internally and externally, to develop a consistent and powerful identity that goes beyond just a logo.
Account Management:
Emily Wong (Siegel+Gale NY)
What have you learned about the process of account management? The account management department works to not only ensure that projects are following scope and meeting deadlines, but to foster client relationships and ensure that the end deliverable meets the client’s expectations. I’ve learned about how important a role account management plays in a project’s process in order to move it along, and the day-to-day tasks that this entails.
Megan Bogatz (Siegel+Gale NY)
What was the toughest part of your role this summer? I would say that coming into projects halfway through and having to get up to speed quickly was the hardest part, as well as making sure projects are running smoothly both internally and externally.
Design:
Zach Denis (Siegel+Gale NY)
Favorite client to work on? Wyndham: being involved with a client that’s forward-thinking and excited about the project, as well as one that thinks constructively about their brand, almost always pushes the work into a better place. Our team was able to sit down with them and get very clear feedback. We then learned from it and were able to begin something entirely new.
