Diving into the World of Broadway

Hello! My name is Ashly Kang and I am a senior advertising student here at Temple University with concentrations in Art Direction and Brand Strategy & Research. I am currently a Marketing Assistant at REALEMN Productions. 

Although the majority of my experience at REALEMN hasn’t been content creation-based, I have learned a great amount about how the varying departments work together to build a strong campaign and PR presence. It has been vital for me to work in a real world setting, wherein I had to acclimate myself with the inner workings of a team and the various positions I will have to work alongside in the future. 

REALEMN Productions specializes in the promotion of multicultural film, television and theatre projects with an emphasis on supporting BIPOC businesses. And my experiences have focused on the promotion of broadway shows such as “Hadestown”, “MJ the Musical”, and “For Colored Girls.” 

Over the course of the last few months with REALEMN, I’ve accrued crucial knowledge of the advertising strategy and research, media planning, and public relations departments. As for myself, I worked mainly in the strategy and research field to find key individuals and businesses to start cross promotion partnerships in order to better advertise each show. 

When looking back at my experience so far, I’ve come to realize that effective and clear communication, timeliness, and strong initiative were my keys to success. Because this internship was virtual, communicating was a challenge. But the challenging environment honed my abilities to communicate most effectively. I had to improve to get my work accomplished, being able to decipher what my team needed. Keeping pace with my team was of ultimate significance. Furthermore, the barrage of emails on busy days was nerve wracking, but it kept me on my toes and instilled a greater value for timeliness and early preparation. In order to properly plan the output of advertisements and promotion of each show, I have been able to see just how significant meeting deadlines and even working ahead deadlines are. With respect to initiative, following the first few weeks of my internship, I realized that initiating research-based conversations with my coworkers helped spark new ideas and further the promotion of each show. Even more so, it helped me build relationships with my coworkers allowing them to trust me to take charge on new projects.

The individuals I met through this internship all influenced me in their own certain way, but the CEO, Toni Israel, inspired me to take charge, lead, etc. It allowed me to feel like I had power even in an internship position, which is incredibly important for my motivation and self-esteem moving forward in the fast-paced work life outside of school projects and such. She encouraged equality amongst her employees, blurring the lines of superior and inferior. I felt empowered by her, and am very proud of what I’ve accomplished under her mentorship. I must also include Richard Pelzer, an individual I worked alongside who inspired my creative abilities. Richard was always brainstorming innovative advertising tactics and techniques that I will certainly employ later in life. 

Going into the internship I felt a bit of fear and was unnerved by being an integral part of an actual company. It is a big step, but I’m so grateful for my experience. I had little of a clue as to what I’d really be doing at first, and the learning curve was at times very brisk, but I found myself confident in my position as someone significant to the REALEMN team.