This entry of Blog and Pony Show is by Joe Citro, another Schifino Lee summer intern who is pulling double duty with the account service and creative departments.
The days leading up to arrival at Schifino and Lee were filled with excitement and a little bit of nervousness. I was unsure of what I would be doing, who I would work with, and most importantly what challenges would be placed in front of me. However, I did reflect on what I hoped to achieve during my internship. I have 5 goals which I plan to achieve before the end of my time here at Schifino and Lee.
1. Interact with clients
2. Participate in five internal creative team meetings
3. Create concepts and write copy to be used in three advertisements
4. Understand more about how an advertising office works as a team
5. Understand more about the process of developing PR and advertising materials, from getting client input to executing the creative.
The assets I would like to take away from this whole internship the most are knowledge and experience.
I am a creative and account services intern because I want to know both sides of the agency. What they do, how they work and what makes them vital to the success of the team. I feel that it is important to know the role of each position and be able to have experience in every area so that I can adapt to any situation now and in the future.
My first three goals involve my creativity and allow me to interact with others in the agency to achieve a common goal. Participating in a client meeting would give me the experience to hone my personal communication skills which is vital in order to be successful in an ad agency. Participating in team meetings allows me to be prepared for what is going on or what needs to be achieved during the meetings. My personal definition of copywriting is writing words that influence people and help sell the product by relating it to the consumer on a personal level. I really enjoy how words play such a vital role in every ad.
My last two goals are quite similar. They deal with my role in this office and how I am part of this great team. I am becoming familiar with some terminology around the office, such as stet, and the importance of having a deadline for every task that I undertake. I feel that I have already learned a great amount about the process of developing the materials from the research to creative. I have participated in many parts of a campaign already, from writing a client proposal to editing copy.
I believe that at an advertising firm you learn more than any book, classroom or teacher could tell you. Some of the things I have already learned here are that everyone works as one team to achieve the ultimate goal — satisfy the client efficiently and effectively. The terminology, meetings and projects make every day challenging and fun. At school you do work on certain projects but are graded by how well you execute them, whereas in a firm it is not only about execution but about communicating successfully with the clients and everyone in the agency.
I am excited to continue gaining experience and I’m looking forward to what the future holds for me as I intern here.
Clearwater, Florida native Joe Citro will be returning to USF in the fall as a senior. Once he learns the Adobe suite, he’ll be a one-man agency.
