Tell us about your internship, what are your main responsibilities?
My internship was at the strategic department of creative agency Lemon Scented Tea. Which made my responsibilities revolve around performing research, analyzing brands for new business, and social media & PR tasks. Next to this I was also writing my graduation thesis in-company, where I researched how to apply social listening and the gathering of social data to Lemon Scented Tea’s strategic department.
Do you have a dream account or brand you’d like to work with? Which one?
This is quite a hard one, but coming from my own passion for streetwear I think Nike is definitely on my list. They are a very strong in their communication globally, and are able to communicate their sportswear as well as their streetwear really well. Even though these two cater to quite different target groups, Nike remains very strong in both. And sometimes they even merge, for example the ‘Nothing Beats a Londoner’ ad brilliantly merges street culture (even with an appearance from notorious Nike-wearer Skepta) and sports. Additionally, I would also really like to experience working for a brand that is very conscious about societal issues. For example Patagonia or Dopper, a brand that has strong core values and acts upon these to try to make the world better.
Talk to us about the culture in your office, how has it impacted your internship?
The office culture is very open, literally and figuratively. As Lemon Scented Tea has an open plan work floor I have been able to really get immersed in the company. With this I mean that I was not only on my ‘strategy-island’ but also got to see what account and creative is up to. As this was my first internship within the agency world, I think it really gave me a good introduction into how agencies work. Next to this everyone was very welcoming and open to answer any questions I had, which made me feel like I was really part of the team quite quickly.
What have you learned about the advertising industry that surprised you?
I would say that the world is much smaller than I initially expected. Even though there are so many agencies in the Netherlands, and so many people working in advertising, it sometimes seems like everyone knows each other. It really is almost a small world on its own, which I had not expected before starting my internship here at Lemon Scented Tea.
Choose a current popular advertising trend and tell us what’s interesting about it:
I would have to say data-driven is quite a trend that I am interested in, although I am not sure if it can still be called a trend. I think it is very interesting what you can do with data that at first may not seem relevant, however when you can combine it with other data, or with previous knowledge, something completely new and exciting comes to live. As it was also my subject for my thesis I feel like I am quite biased on this topic, I immersed myself into it for 5 months and have read a lot of (research) papers on it, and I feel like there is a lot of opportunity within data-driven, as long as you do keep it human. Staying human amongst all this data is what I believe is very important, do not just assume that what data says, is going to work all the time, stay critical. Another thing I think is really cool; storytelling is more and more being recognized. As Lemon Scented Tea creates brands with the power of story, it is really nice to see that our ideas are also being recognized by others in the industry. I think combining these two trends, data-driven and storytelling, can actually form a very interesting duo and I am curious to see what the future will bring.
Imagine your dream job, where are you, what does a day-to-day look like?
If I were to have my dream job, it would not be possible to describe day-to-day, because no day would be the same. I want to be able to do different things everyday, and it doesn’t have to be a major difference, however I don’t want to get stuck in doing the same thing day by day, over and over again. Further, my dream job would involve me being busy with strategy, analytical & critical thinking and analyzing situations has always been things that I am quite good at (if I may say so myself) and I always have enjoyed it as well. Being able to put this in practice in the advertising industry is something that I would really enjoy, and it keeps me critical.
Are you considering another internship, or looking for jobs now? What are your next steps?
Actually, after I had finished my internship and graduated from college I moved on a position and am now working fulltime at Lemon Scented Tea!
What is your favorite ad of all time?
One series of ads that always stay with me are definitely the ones from the Albert Heijn with the supermarketmanager, it was pretty much the first ad that made me realize as a kid that advertisements could be fun and that it sparked my interest for marketing/advertisements. Another one that really stood out to me the last 6 months is the one from Apple HomePod, I really like the arts of dancing and music to be fully immersed into ads. Especially this one, after seeing the bts has really left its mark with me.