Office Politics
Interning at At Media revealed to me a role of advertising agencies that I had yet to associate with it. I had the opportunity to assist with the campaign for a candidate running for City Council in Philadelphia’s 2nd District (the area around Point Breeze in South Philadelphia). This was an election close to the owners of At Media as they are residents of Point Breeze and even have their own non-profit organization called Point Breeze Pioneers that aims to help the community. I have never considered myself a political person and realized there are a lot of advertising campaigns that an individual might not have any interest in or knowledge of but still become involved in.
Right away I found myself absorbed in the first campaign I was ever a part of. Somewhere in between an advertising campaign and a political campaign, I found myself helping to create a “brand” for Barbara Capozzi. As one would do when assigned to advertise a product, we looked to her competitors to see what we were up against. Focusing on creating an interactive web presence, I helped design components that were put on her website and social networking sites. I also designed fliers and promotional material. I watched as my boss assisted in finding Capozzi resources to help even in the smallest of facets, such as arranging a personal shopping to purchase clothing for her to wear on the campaign trail. I also watched as the promotional material appeared online and in newspapers such as the City Paper and The Daily Local.
I was there the last day of the City Council election when her constituents gathered in South Philly to be together as the votes were counted. It was exciting to watch the campaign that I had been a part of for months come to a close. Unfortunately, Capozzi did not win the election, but that was not due to her lack of branding. As an underdog initially in the race, she came a long way and acquired almost half of the votes in the community. The election didn’t have a good turn out and rain didn’t help but being involved in the campaign taught me a lot. It was fascinating to be involved in a project and see it to completion.
