Tell us about your internship, what are your main responsibilities?
My name is Gabriella, and I am the Audience Analytics Intern at Situation. In this position I help our growing Analytics team pulling data for benchmarking initiatives as well as leveraging Google Analytics to guide the intern team in one of our intensive projects. I’ve had the opportunity to learn so much, the thing I’ve been enjoying learning the most about is Situation’s new Databox dashboards. Every week I go through each of the dashboards we create for our clients to ensure all metrics are being measured correctly. I take note of any significant changes in a report which is then passed along to help rectify any issues or guide media and strategy decisions. No day is the same!
Do you have a dream account or brand you’d like to work with? Which one?
This summer, I had the opportunity to work on a campaign for the upcoming new musical, Jagged Little Pill, which was absolutely mind blowing. I can remember singing (or screaming) You Learn from a very young age. The music is iconic and the show tells such a timely story. It was an amazing experience to work on something I know will be important to so many people. In terms of a dream brand, I would love to take on the world of travel with a client like JetBlue. I have a passion for experiencing new ways of life and really appreciate the JetBlue culture. It helps that I can totally support the company’s values of safety, caring, integrity, passion, and fun.
Talk to us about the culture in your office, how has it impacted your internship?
Situation’s mantra is all about “building passionate communities” for brands. This mantra is represented not only in their work but in the office as well. Every team member is passionate about the work and happy to talk to anyone who’s curious to learn more. As interns, we were able to participate in ‘101 Trainings’ across different departments within the agency to get the full scope of what a digital advertising agency does. Listening to Situation’s team members talk about what they do and why they do it refreshing. Who wants to work on something they can’t get excited about day after day?
What have you learned about the advertising industry that surprised you?
So. Fast. Paced. Professors tell you, mentors tell you, friends tell you, but nothing really prepares you for the fast pace of agency life other than being right in the thick of things. The turnaround time on some of the projects I had the opportunity to work on felt like a whirlwind. It makes the days go by fast, and it really encourages individuals to think ahead of schedule to anticipate what is next to come.
Choose a current popular advertising trend and tell us what’s interesting about it:
AI. I love how brands are trying to find unique ways to integrate this new technology into their customer experiences across all industries. Whether it’s Broadway ticketing sites using bots to help sell tickets and smooth out the customer experience, or the refinement of audience targeting from platforms like Google, Facebook or Amazon. These are the things that push our industry forward and keep brands relevant. What excites me the most about AI is that there is so much potential because it is such a new field. People can dream big at this phase and push the technology to its most full capacity.
Imagine your dream job, where are you, what does a day-to-day look like?
My dream job would be as a Chief Strategy Officer of a global agency using my insights to guide a team of amazing creatives elevating brands worldwide. I am still learning and developing my skills daily and keeping up with the latest trends in technology to help guide our team while traveling worldwide to connect with global clients.
Are you considering another internship, or looking for jobs now? What are your next steps?
I am excited to begin my final year of graduate school at St. John’s University. By May, I will have obtained my MBA and will be searching for full-time positions! Here’s my LinkedIn.
What is your favorite ad of all time?
Lufthansa’s #LifeChangingPlacesL highlights the many different cities worldwide the airline visits. Each video really brings life to the locations and creates a very homey feeling to some very major cities. When I watch these ads, I am ready to plan a million different vacations, using Lufthansa to get me there for course!