Had My Cake (and ate it, too!)

Well, it's that time again for me to journey from the beach to the rockies. Honestly, it's not a bad transition. As a San Diego native I have definitely learned that "real" winter has its perks- cool fuzzy hats, lots of hot chocolate, snow days (or should I say school-wide snowball fights), and ridiculously fun sledding opportunities.

However, I must say I am getting pretty sentimental this time. Why? Because I had my cake and ate it, too. I am FULL. Although you could use that term literally, seeing as I made sure I got my fill of California burritos and In N Out this summer (Daniel, you can relate), I mean it figuratively. My summer at i.d.e.a. provided me with the best of both worlds: work and play. Really, in this bunch, they are the same thing. It is easy to wander into a big fancy office as an intern and feel like the odd man out, "that one intern", or the little helpless child. But while walking into this office, I realized it was simply a big room filled with weirdos (the good kind) and people who really are eager to teach me. Never did I feel lost or confused because everyone took actual time going in depth explaining projects to me, answering my questions, teaching me about active clients, and providing words of wisdom.

Along with appreciating the things I was so generously taught, I am grateful for meeting such a hilarious and laid back crew. Who gets to listen to music and sing out loud at work? WE DO. I.d.e.a. is an office where you can step out of your comfort zone, be open and honest, be loud and silly, and do whatever will inspire you. With that said, one of the most important lessons I have taken away from my i.d.e.a. experience is: if it feels like it's work, you are doing it wrong.

SO, what about the work part? Oh, yeah. As Camila said while teaching me Google Analytics, "We don't just sit around all day picking out cool and funny stuff to advertise with." It's very true- I have learned that the world of advertising is much more complex than I thought before. It takes researching, data reports, analyzing, networking, studying, and so much more. The immensity of information fascinated me. Aside from the projects I worked on personally, I often took time out of my day to simply listen to the office, read reports I found laying around, and considered ALL that this industry takes.

Here is a summary of what I have gathered:

1. People who work in advertising don’t just sit around designing cool billboards and creating funny slogans.

2. Communication is the only way to success.

3. Consumers don’t really know what they want until you convince them what they want.

4. Either learn to adapt to the changes that are happening, or just call it quits.

5. It’s all about networking.

6. When you collaborate with people, you grow.

7. Studying from the success or failures of competitors will add to your successes and decrease your failures.

8. Research, research, research.

9. Be good to your clients and they will be good to you.

10. Feed your curiosity. 


Anyways, I would like to say thank you to everyone at i.d.e.a. who provided me with such a fulfilling experience. I will truly miss everyone and I am SO grateful being filled to the brim with knowledge, confidence, (italian food, office cupcakes) and happiness :)


Sincerely,
Jenna

P.S. Love ya, intern corral!

  

(+Daniel, Venice, and Lauren!)

A San Diego Summer

It started with a tweet.

Well, really, it started with me wanting an internship. Preferably, one that would allow me to migrate away from the sweat-stained state of Texas for the summer. So I researched for months, sifting through advertising agencies from coast to coast, looking for the right fit. I read reviews from previous interns online, browsed through work portfolios, studied agency Facebook pages, employee LinkedIn profiles, and, overall, elevated myself to an entirely new breed of stalker. THEN came the tweet. 

Multiple interviews, emails, and phone calls later, I got the position (thankfully) and moved to San Diego for the summer. Once here, it didn't take long for me to realize that this city is truly just as "classy" as the great Ron Burgundy himself asserted. From the beaches, to the food, to actually enjoying the summer weather (a foreign concept to a native Texan), San Diego was perfect for me. So perfect a fit, in fact, that I thought it should be renamed Dan Siego, in honor of its newest fan. Needless to say, that didn't catch on. 

Truthfully though, working with i.d.e.a. for the last 2 months as a Brand Intern has been an all-around awesome experience. I've learned far more than I anticipated and have been surrounded with and mentored by people that I genuinely really like. Here are a few highlights:

Educationally...

• On Day 1, I was given the assignment of creating a web report for one of the agency's many brand partners. Instantly, I realized that Google Analytics is actually extremely useful and a ridiculously relevant tool for monitoring a site's visits, page views, demographics, traffic, content, etc. Learning how to work with Google Analytics is definitely one of my favorite skills that I'll take away from this experience. 
• Working with the Media department and seeing how TV and Radio spots are purchased, organized, and executed has also been very eye-opening. I've enjoyed working with the different software programs and witnessing first-hand the dynamics of the relationship between the station representatives and the agency. 
• Another educational highlight has been catching a glimpse of how the agency and clients interact. By sitting in on meetings, brainstorming sessions, and the like, I've been able to see how my marketing/advertising academic background plays out in the real world work place. 
• Finally, as i.d.e.a. is a highly-integrated agency, I've seen how all the departments collaborate to deliver the end-product. From PR to Accounts to Media to Creative to Traffic, each division has a very unique and critical role in determining the functionality and success of this agency. 

Other...

• The Intern Corral has been good to me. Ever since the interns invited me to lunch on my first day, I've really liked getting to know them both inside and outside the office. They've made a Texan feel welcome. 
• Sam and I spent several days doing street team interviews for a couple of our clients. Wandering the streets of various highly-populated local areas asking total strangers questions is definitely a good bonding experience. Especially considering all the rejection. 
• Several of my supervisors (Michelle, Camila, and Alex) took us out for lunches and were very intent on getting to know us and making sure that we soaked up everything we wanted to out of our internships. I think it's rare to be more than just a nameless face shoved behind the walls of a corner cubicle while being an intern. Here, however, you feel invested in. It's obvious that these people care about our experiences and our overall success--both during the internship and in the future. 
• The candy box. Duh. Any loneliness at the front desk is quickly remedied by that infinite box of sweet goodness. 
• Hope laughing for unknown reasons. (John likes bananas?) 
• Oh, and yeah. THE PIZZA WAGON. It's even more genius than it sounds. Here's the gang:

So that's that. In just a few days, I'll be making the endless trek back to my humid homeland. I'll be forced to re-familiarize myself with this thing called "heat." I'll be buying books for classes. I'll be NOT eating In-N-Out. And I'll be counting down the days until I can come back to this place. Because trust me, interning here was definitely a good i.d.e.a.

Texas Forever,

Daniel