Fast Cars, Hot Coffee, and Writing at S3

How much does a polar bear weigh? Enough to break the ice… Hi, I’m Austin. I’m currently tearing my way through a copywriting internship at S3, a smaller agency in northern New Jersey. While S3 isn’t pushing out media in every shape and size for Coke or Chevy, they end up doing a lot of interesting (and often diverse) work for a variety of clients including Eight O’Clock Coffee, BMW Motorcycles, Panda Licorice, and an array of brands you won’t encounter until you’re 50.

S3 came to me as sort of a wild card. Being from New Jersey (and having my miserable part-time job at Abercrombie & Fitch here), finding an internship for myself in New York or New Jersey was ideal from day one. While reading news on NJ.com, I came across an article about an agency in Boonton, New Jersey that had recently won awards for creative work in advertising. After browsing their site and getting a feel for who they were, I shot an email to the CEO (go big or go home, right?) expressing my interest in a copywriting internship. She replied within five minutes, putting me in contact with her creative director, who set me up for an interview, at which he hired me on the spot. Lucky is an understatement.

While it’s a bit late to post about my official “start” at S3, I finally feel comfortable explaining my day to day here. After copious amounts of coffee, I take my desk on the third floor with the other creatives. While there are only two other copywriters (my creative director, Adam, and a woman who now works from home that I’ve have never met), I have managed to assimilate into the handful of art directors surrounding me. Between their frantic mouse clicking and running to the printer, I’ve even managed to make conversation with them about Mad Men.

For the most part, I work independently on an array of assignments for a few clients. My days are typically spent roving the internet for random and interesting information to include in social media posts. While this sounds enticingly aimless, it’s surprisingly challenging… You’d be surprised how little has to do with licorice until Panda Licorice asks you to populate their Facebook page with interesting, interaction-worthy posts. Because I’m constantly writing for about three brands, with a couple others thrown in the mix every now and again, I have a lot of freedom in what I do when, and how many brands I have to focus on each day. If I’m not feeling posts about coffee right now, I can easily switch over to something that better matches my current mindset.

S3 is an exciting, close knit atmosphere so far. As the days go by and the pages of social media posts grow, I start to see things a little differently, write posts a little quicker, and drink a little less coffee (that last one may not be true). Let’s see where this goes…