Art Direction? Media? Strategy? Oh My!
My name is Julia Ostrovsky, and I am a senior advertising major with a concentration in Art Direction, and this semester, I have the pleasure of serving as an intern at Tierney in the Strategy Department. As an Art Direction concentration, people often assume that I hope to pursue a career in graphic design or a similar role. Although I developed a genuine passion for being a part of the creative execution of ads and campaigns, I wanted to take advantage of every opportunity to gain as much insight and experience in all aspects of the industry. I embraced internship positions with the American Heart Association, assisting with social media marketing, with Comcast working on media planning for Xfinity, and currently, with Tierney helping with strategy and research. Each of these roles allowed me to gain a greater sense of appreciation for all aspects of campaign execution and has made me feel more well-rounded as a soon-to-be applicant for full-time roles.
As an Art Direction concentration, I’m faced with the constant challenge of executing a creative vision to tell a brand or product story. As someone who hasn’t had much experience delving into brand strategy outside of the NSAC Prep course, my internship at Tierney is teaching me how essential efficient secondary and primary research are to the success of a campaign or ad. Without a well developed strategy to set the foundation for a project, it is easy for the creative to miss the mark with the target audience. Through the development of competitive analysis reports, demographic research, and participating in campaign brainstorming sessions, I improved my critical thinking and insight tracking skills.
Overall, this internship–along with the cumulation of all of my industry and course experience over the past few years–are confirming my ambitions to work for a company in-house in a marketing department. Due to the versatility of my experiences, I am confident that I will succeed in touching all aspects of campaign development instead of focusing on only art direction, media, or strategy. I am especially grateful for my experience at Tierney, because it allows me to grasp the importance of strategy and research when it comes to executing any ad or campaign. I am eager to apply my learnings from this internship to my professional endeavors in the future!
