Someone once said, ‘the things you’re scared of are usually the most worthwhile’. Actually… I think that was Mandy Moore in her (highly underrated) film Chasing Liberty. Regardless, the point still stands and it perfectly describes my latest adventure to New York City. After many years of dreaming, planning, working and saving, in April I embarked on a three-month internship in New York City. While I was initially nervous about moving to an unfamiliar city, I’m so glad I took the leap! I’ve had the opportunity to make some incredible connections, meet friends for life and fall in love with the City that Never Sleeps!
My internship experience
My New York internship is with a company called Effie Worldwide who champions marketing effectiveness through their annual Effie Awards, a globally-respected awards program that spotlights Marketing Ideas that Work. In addition to its US competition, Effie holds awards in over 50 countries and regions that are organised through their network of local industry partners. For the past three months I have been completing an International Brand Audit of their 50 worldwide programs to assess the current state of the brand in individual markets and identify potential areas for growth. The nature of my work has given me real-world exposure to the marketing industry, improved my intercultural competencies and also connected me to a network of extremely knowledgeable colleagues and mentors.
The Effie team at our 50th Anniversary Awards Gala
Throughout my internship I’ve been lucky enough to have some truly unique New York experiences. I recently had the amazing opportunity to listen to Carolyn Everson (Facebook’s Chief of Global Marketing Solutions and Effie Worldwide Board member) speak during Effie’s monthly Learning Lunch staff meeting. Ms Everson spoke about her career path, how she achieves her long-term goals and what it’s like to control Facebook’s largest revenue stream (i.e. Facebook ads). To add to this incredible experience, I also had the chance to visit the Facebook NYC offices with Effie to watch the final judging round of our Global Awards. It was such a pleasure to witness some of the world’s most accomplished marketing and advertising leaders convene to discuss and debate the most effective campaigns over the past year.
Visiting the Facebook offices in NYC!
This year, being Effie’s 50th Anniversary, Effie also hosted their first Effie Worldwide Summit. The Summit was a full-day conference with speakers and panels touching on marketing effectiveness in the digital age, retention, long versus short term planning, and company culture. We were able to hear from some major global companies such as Facebook, Amazon and Google.
Effie Summit Panel Discussion: Is culture the unsung hero of Effectiveness?
The logistics
’QUT – a university for the real world‘ might be a tagline for some, but for me this is a reality. When I was considering this international internship I expected to put my studies on hold for a semester and delay my course. However, when I started exploring the options in my Business degree I was connected with Ingrid Larkin and the Work Integrated Learning units. By enrolling in AMB310, I was able to get credit for my real-world learning opportunity and organise a flexible assessment timeline that made the most sense for my internship. The reflective assignments built into AMB310 have not only allowed me to receive credit for this internship, but they have also been an extremely valuable tool that has aided my own professional development.
If you’re thinking about an overseas experience … do it!
All I know is that Mandy Moore, in all her infinite wisdom, was right. This experience was definitely worthwhile. If you are considering an international opportunity (whether that be an internship or an international exchange) I would HIGHLY recommend it. There’s nothing like being immersed in a new culture, meeting new people and experiencing a different way of life… and having the ability to build all of these experiences into your uni degree makes it even better!
