YMA’s Project RED at the Schulich School of Business, is offering members the unique opportunity to gain insight into the summer work experiences of current executive members. YMA members will have the opportunity to learn about executives own summer experiences and their takeaways after spending a summer working in various fields of marketing.
Julia Chong
Search Strategy & Digital Analyst -Publicis Canada
Experience: “I worked as a Search Strategist/Digital Analyst intern at Publicis this summer. I had the opportunity to work on an array of different accounts (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ontario Lottery and Gaming, Hennessy, and Rogers to name a few!). On the analytics front, I looked into web data from different company websites and sought out opportunities to improve the website's overall performance. I was able to provide recommendations to clients and watch them come to life which was extremely rewarding. From a search (SEO) perspective, I worked on implementing best practices and adjusting site content in order to improve the website's ranking on search engines and ensuring that consumers were easily finding the right content based on what they searched.”
Takeaway: “Make an effort to talk to a wide range of people, even if they're unrelated to your function - learning from people in different areas allows you to view problems from a holistic perspective and helps you acquire a well-rounded skill set.”
Jessica Lin
Marketing Intern-Nestlé
Experience: As a marketing intern I was able to work alongside brand managers within the Infant Nutrition department focusing on the Nestle Baby Club and Start Well Stay Well program which is an umbrella brand for Good Start, Gerber, and Materna. I learned first hand that brand managers are business owners and at Nestle, the interns aren’t treated like interns – they too are business owners. I was able to work on real projects across the board, meet clients, and create change. From adhoc work, SEO, shaping the UX environment, creating Amazon A+ content, working with our content studio, testing products, reading data and more, every day was a different schedule.
Takeaway: Say YES to opportunity and keep an open mind: As an intern sometimes the tasks you are given may not be exactly what you expected, but take everything as a learning experience and you will be recognized for this! Look at the bigger picture, ask questions, be curious and say yes to new opportunities. This shows a willingness to learn, grow and being comfortable with being uncomfortable so you can be the next industry disruptor.
Athena Chan
Sales Intern-Procter & Gamble
Experience: This past summer I worked at P&G in the sales role. I was put on the Walmart team in the deodorants & personal wash category, meaning I worked on brands like Old Spice, Olay, and Secret. Although my work was mainly project-based, it contributed to tackling real issues that either P&G or our customer was facing. The projects were wide-ranging, covering issues related to distribution, shelving, and merchandising. One of my favourite projects focused on creating a distribution plan for our holidays packs to optimize profitability.
Takeaway: Data is important but it’s really about the way you present it that makes the impact.
Una Mazalica
Trade Marketing Intern- Reckitt Benckiser (RB)
Experience: The corporate culture at Reckitt Benckiser (RB) is very entrepreneurial, so I was given a high level of autonomy and responsibility since day one. As a Trade Marketing Intern, I was responsible for spearheading the development of a new platform for tracking the national trade spend landscape and identifying areas to drive savings from a brand and customer level across the health category. The highlight of my experience was when I got the opportunity to present my final project to the Leadership Team, and the General Manager chose to implement my ideas into the organization for 2019.
Takeaway: Absorb knowledge like a sponge - As an intern, you're there to learn as much as possible about your role, the organization, the corporate culture, and the industry in a short span of time. Ask questions, network, build friendships, and take advantage of any opportunity you get to build your skill set.
Monique Mai
Public Relations Intern-Kaia
Experience: Although I was hired as a Public Relations Intern, my role focused more on the company’s marketing rather than their press coverage. On a daily basis, I would help create content for the company’s social media platforms as well as reach out to influencers to help promote the company’s products. My favourite aspect of the job was seeing my work come into fruition having worked on it from start to finish! The process of reaching out to influencers, sending them products, and seeing their impact on our overall sales (tracked through affiliated promotion codes), made my internship experience especially rewarding.
Takeaway: My boss always said 20% of your SKUs make 80% of your business - referring to the fact that you can have a lot of products, but it’s best to focus on a select few SKUs since people recognize your company for those 20%.
Kia Mozaffari
Entrepreneur-Market Yourself
Experience: This summer I worked to further develop my marketing business. I started my company back in the final year of high school; I intended to start a business that would be able to personalize the experience of getting things printed for clients. I wanted to be able to present individuals and companies looking to produce promotional materials with a more personal experience, where they interact with me or my colleagues and have a greater degree of control through the design process and the final outcome of their order. This summer I worked on developing old relationships and building up my client base by reaching out to companies that I would be interested in working with. I also added a new wing to my operations: Photography and Videography. This was specially started to earn the business of Real Estate agents, who constantly require photography for their sales postings. I landed a really cool client in real estate development who flew me out to their headquarters in Edmonton to shoot their past and current projects to produce a video portfolio and create an interactive and dynamic website.
Anette Jingco
Marketing Intern-Destin AI
Experience: This summer, I was a Marketing Intern at Destin AI, a legal tech startup that specializes in leveraging AI to improve the immigration process for prospective immigrants as well as immigration lawyers. In this role, I created content to promote the company's product launch for their bot and web-platform. I further developed the Destin AI brand by creating promotional videos, blog posts and other marketing collateral as well as managed their social media channels. My favourite part of this internship was getting the opportunity to work with such passionate and talented individuals and learning about the Canadian immigration process. Being an immigrant myself, having the opportunity to promote Destin AI’s vision was a very rewarding experience.
Takeaway: Prioritizing your time really matters, make sure to set deadlines for yourself.