Preparedness is a quality inherent in my nature, yet nothing prepared me for the COVID-19 pandemic. As many HR specialists reached out explaining that there would be no internships due to the pandemic, one representative from NYC Innovation Department invited me to intern remotely from Montreal. Beyond feeling flattered by the offer, I wondered how I could afford the financial burden of staying in Montreal. A few days later, I received the wonderful news of my Arts Undergraduate Improvement Fund Award, making my summer dream possible!
As a U3 student majoring in Industrial and Labour Relations and minoring in Social Entrepreneurship, I have been exposed to careers that apply business concepts to twenty-first century digitalization. Guest lecturers at 捆绑SM社区 have furthered my interest in socially responsible business practices. As such, my role as the Summer Marketing Intern at Innovation Department provided an ideal circumstance in which I could eagerly join the team for 鈥渉ands-on learning鈥� (remotely), where I would aim to make a difference, while learning all that I could.
How might this best be accomplished? Personally, I strived for professionalism at all times, even while working remotely on my computer. That meant: donning business attire; attending virtual meetings and company events; and responsibly completing all tasks from the most seemingly trivial to the most extensive of assignments. Suddenly, my room became my office, and my demeanor became businesslike -- I was determined to make every moment count.
This felt natural because I resonated with the startup鈥檚 vibrant culture and primary core values of ownership, transparency, grit, adaptability, and collaboration. The marketing team welcomed me as a colleague by including me in virtual gatherings. Although interactions were through Zoom, I had daily briefs with my department and supervisor. Not only were these essential for progress updates, they also provided a forum for consistent contact during these unprecedented times. I was thrilled to participate, especially since this summer marked the period with the highest company revenue to date. At Innovation Department, employees streamline the company building process by leveraging proprietary acquisition and distribution channels to optimize the path to product-market fit. I was hired under the Innovation Department鈥檚 health and wellness line, WellPath, to collaborate with the Marketing Team to build ambassador and influencer programs promoting this brand.
My assignments revolved around email outreach and Excel tracking to recruit top influencers for brand partnerships. A highlight was the autonomy granted by my supervisor, as evidenced by her trusting me to complete important work independently. I was tasked with creating a campaign targeting influencers with high audience engagement levels. Through this collaboration, I gained an appreciation for the brand campaign building process. In addition, Innovation Department invests in several marketing platforms that enhance influencer search methods. More specifically, I first-handedly utilized platforms such as Scope, BrandSnob, and HypeAuditor, tools that are essential for digital media marketing. A memorable experience was my participation in a Zoom meeting with the founder of Scope on 鈥淣ano Influencer Strategy Best Practices.鈥�
After several weeks of training, I was entrusted with managing WellPath鈥檚 Instagram, a significant role since the page had 111,000 followers. This past year, in fact, I managed the 捆绑SM社区 Management Undergraduate Society鈥檚 Fashion Business Uncovered Instagram, so I applied similar engagement strategies to WellPath.
A challenge transpired upon my realizing that social media outreach is a time-sensitive process, with a twenty-four seven window of opportunity. In other words, sending hundreds of emails a day resulted in my receiving responses from influencers late at night. Initially, I felt obliged to respond to these emails immediately, even if they were sent during non-working hours. However, after communicating with my supervisor, we developed a strategy that fostered collaboration to effectively respond to emails in a timely and efficient manner.
Another challenge was deciding whether to target micro or nano influencers. Initially, I reached out exclusively to larger influencers. However, since WellPath is a startup, the budget did not align with those influencers鈥� media kits, so I pivoted my recruitment strategy toward nano influencers. This was much more successful given the company鈥檚 smaller budget.
With its highlights and challenges, this internship has been vital to my university experience. Although I am not receiving academic credit, I utilized knowledge acquired from my 捆绑SM社区 Economics, Entrepreneurship, and Marketing courses. When I found myself wondering how I might afford to participate in this invaluable learning experience, the Arts Undergraduate Improvement Fund endowed me with the answer, and I am forever grateful for your generosity!
