Well my final day has come and gone, and I can’t help but see the multiple ways this summer could have turned out. After a rough start, personally and professionally, to my summer break, I desperately searched for an advertising internship of some kind. It could have been paid, or not; it could have been 10 hours a week, or 40; it could stretch my abilities to no end, or instead teach me; all that mattered was that I had something to keep myself busy and learn the industry in the process.
An entire month of calls, e-mails and interviews proved worthless and I was having even more trouble with my personal life at home. A break-up and countless battles with my parents later, I stumbled upon Mad 4 Marketing. It was too good to be true: a legitimate marketing firm, literally down the street from my house, wanted me as an intern. It was not paid, it was 3 days per week, but it would let me garner valuable experience and a resume booster (and maybe even a recommendation letter). I jumped upon the opportunity and climbed aboard the Mad 4 Team.
Three months, a new head of knowledge, and a recommendation letter later, I can now look back on my summer without regret or dissatisfaction. I rather look back with gratitude and exuberance. I wrote blogs, edited everything from artwork to website text, ran errands and made pots and pots of coffee (everyone makes coffee at some point). I did the dirty work, plenty of marketing research, and learned how a marketing firm works. I gained experience in each division of the marketing firm: business, creative, interactive and strategic. In the process, I learned many things that could have never been taught in school or by working for a huge firm. As a result, I now feel (and am) more prepared for the big marketing world out there.
Coming into such a close-knit family, as Mad 4 Marketing is, was intimidating at first, and continued to be a challenge, as I was the young college intern with little actual marketing experience. However, the Team guided me along to success and I’d like to think into their family.
With that, I’d just like to say “Thank You” to everyone that made my experience at Mad 4 Marketing so, for the lack of a better word, great.
With much Mad 4 Love,
Andrew “The Intern” Kaplan