Personally Representing 92.5 XTU and Wired 96.5

As I explained in my prior posts, I spent this summer interning at Beasley Broadcast Group in the promotions department. Beasley oversees both 92.5 XTU (Philadelphia’s Country Station) and Wired 96.5 (Philadelphia’s Party Station). While the two stations play totally different music genres, my job as a promotions intern is to act as a cultural chameleon. In one day, I could be working a Brad Paisley concert, and another day I’ll work a Mac Miller concert (true stories). Regardless to which station I am representing at an event, our job in promotions is to distribute freebies and prizes from our sponsors. The hardest part about this is keeping in touch with the sales department and knowing what sponsors are going to which events.

I’ve been fortunate enough to be singled out in my internship and given the nickname Naomi The Awesome Intern because of my organizational skills and being able to keep the XTU and Wired brand identities on track at events.  One of our biggest challenges is keeping the promotions closet organized to we can easily grab promotional items to take along to station appearances and events. Luckily, I absolutely love organizing things…

Many of my peers in advertising wondered how a promotions internship had anything at all to do with advertising. A lot of my classmates were fortunate enough to get internships at ad agencies designing brochures and media packets. However, promotions is the face of the radio station. Listeners tune in every day to Wired and XTU and hear personalities like Buster and Razz, but our DJs can’t possibly show up to all of the stations’ events. That’s where we come in.

As promotions interns and street teamers, we walking billboards for the radio station. We represent a brand identity and it’s important for us to interact with each and every listener who shows up to our events. This means taking pictures with people, handing out promotional items (mini bottles of Franks Red Hot, samples of Turkey Hill Iced Tea, Frisbees with our logo on them), and responsibly contributing to the atmosphere of an event. Street teamers and interns are not allowed to consume alcohol or use profanity at events. We’re there to facilitate a positive, fun atmosphere for our listeners and represent our brand.

While many of my friends see pictures from these events and think it’s all fun and games at my internship, I truly got a crash course in branding this summer through my experience as a promotions intern. Sure, the job comes with plenty of perks– I get to go places I’d never have access to and the station has an endless supply of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce for me to snag, but this experience has everything to do with personal branding and representing a very public organization. I’m still undecided as to whether I will pursue a career in promotions, as the hours are unpredictable and the job is physically demanding, but I got a closer look into the inner workings of a radio station sales department, which is now something I am interested in. No matter where I end up in the future, my work at Beasley has paid off tremendously in networking opportunities and experience in branding, for which I am grateful.