I remember my first day at KSA; my first assignment was to go to the team meeting. I tried to be sharp and pay attention, but I honestly had no idea what anyone was talking about. Katie was going through her list of clients and getting updates from each of the team members. Obviously, I had nothing to report to her, but the next week I would and know about two of the clients on the list. By the end of my internship, I had knowledge on just about every one of KSA’s Rhode Island clients and had worked on most of them in some capacity.
I believe the most rewarding client I worked with was RINLA. I was fortunate enough to start working at KSA as they gained this client so I was involved in the process from the very beginning. The task we had was rebranding their apprenticeship program for high school and college students. One of the first steps we took was determining which archetype fit the program. To do this, we sorted through a pile of archetypes to find the ones we felt reflected the program in some shape or form. We then looked at what category the majority of the chosen cards fell under and had a conversation about them. From there, we narrowed down our results to Creator, Explorer, and Innocent, which we then presented to our clients.
This was my first ever real client meeting. My job during the meeting was to take notes, but I learned so much more about branding and archetypes as Katie was describing them for the clients. I could clearly picture the program and its messaging fitting into any one of the three suggested archetypes. At the end of the meeting, Katie asked me what I thought, I responded, “I’m exhausted, and I didn’t even say anything!” and that was completely true. The clients were excited about the presentation and I was proud that my internship was off to a great start.
I found my internship to be a very positive experience. I was able to learn new things,
work in the marketing industry, and make connections with my co-workers. I have learned how to use new technologies such as Airtable and Mailchimp, I have gained experience by working with clients as well as the creative team, and I was even able to sit in on two client presentations during my time at KSA. By the end of my internship, I believed in my ideas and felt comfortable bouncing ideas off of my teammates and voicing my own opinion.
Throughout the past three months I have definably grown as a student and as an individual. I feel confident in my work and I believe this internship will have a favorable effect when I am looking for a career upon graduation. I was involved with the creative process and my thoughts on a subject were valued and encouraged. My favorite parts of the internship were being involved in the process of branding companies such as RINLA, being right next to PieZoni’s, and the fantastic work environment that KSA has. The Tide Mill will be missed, thanks again to everyone who made this internship awesome!