A Permanent Internship
Most fellow students I have come across took an internship in a traditional ad agency, or marketing company that would naturally progress into either a job, or teaching the tools in order to land one. I, however, decided to intern at a tattoo shop, entitled Lost Soul Tattoo. This presented me with many opportunities to use my creativity and strive to come up with new ways to advertise an already popular tattoo location. I was thrust into a real role, as they never had anyone do advertising or “business” oriented work in the shop, other than piercing and tattooing. It provided me with a great challenge as there was not much in the way of guidance, so I took what I learned so far from my advertising classes and did my best to put it to work. The laid back, wear whatever you want, jam out to music while you worked, atmosphere really provided for a great creative environment and made it easy for my work to come to life via Social Media campaigns, clothing designs, and creating an entire guerrilla marketing strategy based around the shop. Taking this risk of working with a company that never had an intern before was something I was nervous about at first, but in the end it allowed me to rise to the occasion and create real work that garnered many impressions as well as new business for the shop. We saw a 6.5% increase in overall sales/revenue during my duration there, and with my implementation of a “How did you find us?” card, we realized that my Social Media Campaign was driving in about three new appointments per week (about $1200 extra revenue). This post isn’t about me bragging, or saying, “Hey, Look what I did for this company,” but to challenge other students and individuals to go for a job or internship that may be out of the box, as it could end up being the best thing for you. You could make a difference right away if you are ready for the challenge, don’t just settle for getting someone’s coffee or the internship your parents want for you. Sticking with the traditional way of doing things or going with the safest choice, will look good on a resume, but will it bring out the creative, driven person in you?
Jamie–
It’s great to hear that you had such a successful semester! I also had an internship that was not in an agency and it had its challenges as well but it was worth it in the end! By the end of the semester, you feel like you’ve gained so much more because you spent the last 4 months really trying to think outside of the box and be creative in all new ways. Some times even being challenged to try to work around a small or nonexistent budget for advertising.
The increase in sales you were able to bring to the tattoo shop will be a great accomplishment for you to put on your resume. This will be an internship that will certainly allow you to stand out! Congratulations on a successful semester.