Past Intern Interview: From Research to Strategy

Nicole Hemstad

By: Nicole Hemstad, Corporate Communications Intern

Name: Tom Riordan

Current Position: Media Associate at Spark Communications

SMG Internship: Research Intern, Starcom MediaVest Group – Summer 2008

Tom Riordan is an intern-turned-media associate at Spark Communications. In his internship, Tom got a broad view of the organization and got to work on various research projects where he learned lots of industry terminology. After learning about all the different positions, Tom decided he wanted to work in strategy rather than research and was hired on as a broadcast associate.

Now after almost two years at Spark, Tom has gotten to work on numerous successful campaigns and encourages interns to learn and spend time with all the incredible people working at SMG. Tom reflects on his experience as an intern and shares the helpful advice he learned along the way.

Read the Full interview below to learn more about Tom and the internship program.

Tom Riordan

What was your past internship at SMG and what clients did you work on?

I got the internship at Starcom through an organization called the Media Research Club of Chicago. I interned the summer of 2008, but I was only there part time – 3 days a week. I was a research intern working with the research analysts and the majority of my work was with one client at Starcom. 

Describe some of the projects you got to work on while at your internship and what you learned from them?

For the majority of my internship I worked on creating a brand research catalog. Basically it’s a collection of smaller brand metric accountability research studies on different campaigns for the brand. The data shows unaided brand recognition and shows if the advertising we are placing is working. That was my main project but I also did small projects for my supervisor. We also had an intern project where we had to create an intern recruitment video. It turned out to be a pretty funny video. 

What was a perk and a challenge from your internship?

A challenge of the internship was definitely the beginning when you are attending status meetings and you’re not really sure what is going on and they are using all this jargon. But you get the hang of it and that part gets easier.

The best part of an internship, I think, is the flexibility you have to explore all the other departments and just the opportunity to learn. I definitely took advantage of being able to grab coffee with people on other teams, asking them questions and hearing what advice they had. You get a really broad view as an intern because SMG offers so many different ways to learn about the company through their internship program.

What made you want to come back and work for SMG?

I really enjoyed my internship, so at the end of the summer I knew I wanted to come back. When you finish an internship at SMG you can be recommended for rehire. I was lucky enough to be recommended, and from there it turned into a job offer. After seeing different positions at the company, I decided I wanted to work in strategy rather than research. So I was hired on as a broadcast media associate. 

What advice would you give interns to get the most out of their experience?

My advice would be to definitely talk and get to know people outside of your team. It’s really good to learn all the aspects of the agency. Also, talk to your supervisor about what you want to be doing or what career path you want to be on. The people here are great and they will really listen and might be able to give you advice. It would really be in your best interest to just meet as many people at the agency as you can. 

What is your favorite thing to do in Chicago?

I love the street fests during the summer. I love going to concerts at Millennium Park. There is so much to do in this city for free. The summer months in Chicago are the best!

Past Intern Interview: Learning On The Job

Nicole Hemstad

By: Nicole Hemstad, Corporate Communications Intern

Name: Katie Brennan

Current Position: Media Associate – Spark Communications

SMG Internship: Media Planning Intern at Spark Communications (Spring 2010)

Making the seamless transition from intern to media associate, Katie Brennan opens up about her experience and what advice she has for future interns. Starting as media planning intern working on a global client, Katie gained knowledge and used her number skills to interpret important data. At first she was challenged by the all the difficult jargon used at the agency, but quickly learned the lingo and excelled at her internship. 

Now as a media associate Katie works on planning and activation for print, digital, and out of home campaigns for clients Montana Tourism, Pods, and Armour-Eckrich. Though her days are very busy, Katie says the great people she works with make her look forward to coming to work everyday. Katie learned a lot from her internship and encourages all intern and future interns to ask as many questions as they can and suggests spending time learning about different departments to make the most out of the experience.

Katie Brennan

What were some of the projects you got to work on while at your internship and what did you learn from them? 

The things I worked on as an intern were actually very different from what I do now. My main project was working on a big competitive deck (powerpoint.) They were a global client so I got to reach out to offices around the world to get information to help develop the project. I thought it was really cool that I got to contact global offices as an intern, because not many clients are global. I talked to people in Germany and China. 

What was a top experience of your internship and what was a challenge you faced at your internship?

I really like numbers and I enjoyed getting to interpret the data. My supervisor actually wanted my opinion on the data and even let me take a shot at creating portions of the deck before they did it. It really made me feel needed and important. 

A challenge of my internship was that media planning and buying was something very new to me; I had only taken one class in college about it. But when I got here SMG started explaining how everything worked and it was beyond anything I expected. So really one of the challenges I faced at first was learning all the lingo and learning all the processes that go into the campaigns. I laugh now because if I tried to explain to my parents what I do they would be so lost because of all the technical words. 

What made you want to come back and work for Starcom?

It was great because when I finished my internship in the spring of 2010, they offered me a full-time position at Spark. I really liked the atmosphere here at Spark. It’s such a family environment and everyone is so helpful. At Spark you can talk to people on different accounts and get their opinion and perspective on something you are working on. I think that is so great when you are working on something, like media plans, and someone who has done something similar can offer advice. Also, SMG just has such a great training program where you can learn the lingo and learn the math. They don’t expect you to come in knowing everything; they expect to teach you things. 

What advice would you give interns to get the most out of their experience?

Ask lots of questions. Everyone is so nice, they would be happy to help you. And if there is an aspect or position at the company that you are interested in, don’t be afraid to ask about it, even if it isn’t something you are working on. You can sit with someone and learn about it for a day. So if you are interested in print, but you are working in digital, then ask your supervisor and they will make sure you learn about it. Your internship is your time to learn a lot. It is what you make of it, so unless you are proactive about it, you are not going to get out of it what you really want.  Also, keep in contact with the people you work with. You can always follow up with them if you have questions and those connections can be really helpful to you later. There is an expectation with internships that you are exploring and learning, take advantage of that.

What is your favorite thing to do in Chicago? 

My favorite thing is to go running along the lakefront path. I also really like spending the summers hanging out at rooftop spots with my friends. I love Cubs baseball games too!