Annabelle, Kill the Messenger, and Events, Oh my!

So, this semester I am a publicity and promotions intern for Allied Integrated Marketing. They have over 20 offices in the US and Canada. They primarily work in the entertainment industry, specifically for film studios. Before I started there, the intern coordinator contacted me and told me I would be working on the Warner Brothers and Focus Features accounts with Jesse, the director of the office. Since Jesse is the director, he is super busy, but that’s good for me because it means that I am never bored. Jesse likes to joke that he “has time for everything except the actual accounts he is in charge of.” Luckily, he has me and two junior publicists to help him out.

The first film I was actively a part of was Annabelle. Annabelle is the prequel to The Conjuring, so it is definitely a horror movie. This fit in perfectly with the Halloween season. We scheduled Annabelle publicity events at a ton of different Halloween/fall attractions around the city. My favorite part, however, was definitely when they sent us the 3′ tall version of her. (Since Philadelphia is one of the bigger markets in the country, we get special perks sometimes!) We decided it would be fun to take her around to all of the iconic Philly places. We were pleasantly surprised that so many people recognized the doll on the street.

For Kill the Messenger, the only real promoting we did was screenings. That meant sending out 700 passes to Pittsburgh (2 times) and to Philadelphia (2 times). You can only Google so many variations of “artsy hip places in Philadelphia/Pittsburgh.” So even though that got a little painstaking at times, it was a good change up from researching and setting up events.

One really cool thing about my internship is that you can work screenings and events whether you work on the account or not. I have done a lot of street teaming in the 2 months I have been at Allied. Street teaming is basically just passing out flyers/merchandise to people to spread the word about a film/event. When we promoted Newsies at First Friday, I had to wear a Newsies cap and bag. I was surprised by how many people asked if me and my partner were in the show. I have also worked a lot of screenings. Screenings are awesome because who doesn’t love a free movie? You just have to keep track of the demographics of the audience, take note of reactions during the film, and get quotes after. My first screening was Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day. I was way more nervous than I had to be. Turns out, that it is pretty smooth sailing as long as you keep your cool. Screenings and events are a great way to make money, since office work is unpaid!

All in all, I have really loved working at Allied so far. I didn’t know that it is exactly what I wanted until I started working there. I plan to continue my internship there after I graduate in December and (fingers crossed) eventually work at one of their offices full time!

Hannah, the Newsie.

Hannah, the Barber of Seville expert.

Annabelle visits LOVE Park