Brownstein Group

Agency Life: Teamwork at Its Finest

The last internship I had I worked more on the client side of the business. This Spring I wanted to work at an agency so I could experience the agency environment. As a Project Manager intern at Brownstein Group, I experienced just that! If an advertising agency was a car, I feel like Project Management would be the oil. PM keeps the agency running smoothly. No client really signs on an account because their Project Management team is wonderful, however Project Management is definitely needed to make an account wonderful. Through Project Management I was able to see all the different sides of an agency work together to create a project. The Project Manager brings together the creative intern and the creative director, the account management team and the digital team. It was really exciting to see all the different departments of an agency bring their work together on an account. Everyone in an agency works on their own piece of the account, PM brings these departments together to make sure everyone is on the same page. And when the final pieces are put together and everything is in place, everyone from every department can celebrate together. I really enjoy agency life and recommend advertising students to experience it!

Connect Philadelphia, A Networking Opportunity!

St. Joseph’s University is hosting an exclusive event for college students who are looking to network and look for career opportunities!

Among the list of confirmed employers/organizations, I saw that the Brownstein Group will be attending!

PR to Account Management

I have been interning in the account management department at the Brownstein Group since January. Up until early June, my desk was located in the PR department. In June, Brownstein decided to get new furniture in various departments and trade their cubicles for smaller desks. For one, it made sense to get the new furniture, because it came from one of their clients, IKEA. The main reason Brownstein removed the cubicles was to create open spaces in the agency. What used to be closed off areas for each person became big rooms where communication is easier.

Read more on PR to Account Management…

Communication is Key

My internship at the Brownstein Group has taught me many things about the advertising industry. First hand experience teaches you things a classroom cannot. Working with real clients with people who are passionate about what they do has assured me I made the right decision in choosing advertising as a major.

Don’t overthink it

Before I began my internship at the Brownstein Group, I had no idea what to expect. I talked to people who had internships before, but nothing could prepare me for what I would experience at Brownstein. As an account management intern, I have been allowed to really be involved in the process of working with clients. I have written creative briefs, researched clients and competitors, and created powerpoints for different departments.

Once you tell them you can help, they know

Interning at the Brownstein Group has been a great opportunity. It is an established agency in the city with big clients and innovative people. As time has gone on, I have made a realization about interning. Everyone is always busy. From creating, to communicating, to meeting, it seems that people in the agency don’t have much down time. That being said, as an intern, you are supposed to relieve some of their workload. There are times I finish a project and need something else to work on. When this happens, I either email account management or the strategy team or visit them directly. I let them know if there is anything I can do to let me know. Once you do that, they know you are available. The account manager I primarily work under told me on the first day that if someone needs you to do something, they will come to you. The last thing people need here are constant emails asking for things to do. Sometimes they are too busy to figure something out or just don’t have anything for you. In my experience, this is rare, but there are days it happens. To fill in the time when there is not a lot of work for me, I take advantage of becoming familiar with client work or improving previous work.

Ad agencies really are as fun as professors say they are

My account management internship experience at the Brownstein Group has been very positive. It is interesting to see how everything you talk about in ad courses actually happens in an agency. From account managers constantly meeting with the creative team to discuss client wants and needs, to deadlines constantly having to be met. Other than my observations about how efficiently the agency works, I have noticed how much fun people have here. At an agency, especially for the creative team, having fun is essential for creativity to flow. Every now and then I’ll get an email saying, “Rock Band on 6.” In most other types of companies, playing Rock Band during business hours would seem absurd. In an ad agency, this sort of thing is typical. Creative blocks can be overcome by taking a break and, in this case, by playing Rock Band. I’ve also noticed the relationships people have with one anther. People are constantly joking and talk about the weekends they spent together. Building relationships allows for a more fun and stress free environment. This is not to say Brownstein is not a serious company. The amount of work everybody does here is overwhelming. They get their work done and know when it’s appropriate to have fun. Building relationships is an essential thing I have learned here. It makes for better communication and better work. I am curious as to what other agencies do to allow their creativity to flourish.

I don’t think my title should be ‘intern’

And I mean that in a good way. I started an account management internship at the Brownstein Group in January. The Brownstein Group is a full service advertising agency in Center City. Some of their clients include IKEA, Comcast SportsNet, and the Philadelphia Auto Show. Before starting my experience, I assumed my daily tasks would primarily consist of busy work. Well, I was wrong. While there are times I do busy work, I have been much more involved than I could have imagined. I create PowerPoints and present them to the creative team, sit in on real client meetings, and write creative briefs. I definitely did not expect to do (some of) what account managers do everyday. The one thing I have learned about interning is when you first speak to your internship coordinator about what you would like to get out of the experience, don’t be shy! I told the account manager that I am working under that I would like to feel like I am more than an intern and help on a more involved level than just busy work. She definitely made this happen for me. Being vocal on my first day about what I wanted to do has made all the difference. Considering the account manager had interned at Brownstein before being hired, she understood where I was coming from. Internships are about real world experience after all, so jumping on the opportunity to do what I am going to do after graduation is a no brainer.

Why should YOU be a TAC member? What does it have to offer?

Hi everybody! This week I got an inside perspective on what it’s like to be a member of TAC, and learned about some of the great things they do. Since I am not in TAC, I thought it would be helpful not only for myself, but for other students, to see what opportunities the organization has to offer. I conducted an interview with Lindsay Gallagher, age 23, and she had a very helpful and interesting perspective on this topic.