A Day in the Life at Doe

Think back to freshman year of high school, that awkward first day.  You don’t know your way around.  You recognize a few faces, but, let’s be honest, you know no one.  You’re excited, yet so nervous.  Well that sums up the first day at Doe.  For me though, I was lucky enough to experience these sensations about a month late:

1. The parking lot:  What I have discovered while at Doe is that the parking is a lot like high school when it comes to upper classman vs lower-class man.  Luckily, my mom does not drop me off like she did in high school, but instead I park wayyyyy in the back of the “parking lot,” aka the 8th floor of the parking garage, total freshman status.  You may be wondering, where the cool kids park.  The answer is right out front. The cool kids here ride bikes, motorcycles, scooters.

1. Lunch time:  I have to say I fit into the ideal “freshman” stereotype when it comes to lunch time.  I pack my lunch every day, and once 12:00 hits I make my way up the stairs with the other interns.  We are always the first ones there and sometimes the only ones.  The cool kids, or seniors as I like to call them, never grace us with their presence in the lunch room, they go out to eat.  ChopShop, Zoes Kitchen, Main Street Eatery. They are all regulars.

1. Vending Machine:  So let’s be honest, I have found the in.  Come 2:00 people need a pick me up. In high school this meant running to the vending machine for a quick sugar fix.  So what’s better than making your office a vending machine with the extra Doe food cart? (If you didn’t know this, I hate to break it to you, but we are very dry after the past month.)  The snacks in our drawers have made Abby and I quite famous (or at least I keep telling myself that).

Aside from my social observations, I have also learned quite a bit at Doe.  The work here is defiantly AP credit status.

 

Mackenzie Buese

The Halfway Point

(Post by Joanna Clark, Account Services Intern)

Last week marked the halfway point of our internship with Doe. That being said, I’ve finally figured out where our office is located. I’d like to take this moment to thank the Louisville Metro government for generously providing me with a summer crash-course in Louisville roadways. I’ve only known one route from the East End to downtown Louisville. And I often forget it. For years, my father has threatened to take away my car keys unless I agree to take a “map test” of the city. My mom, a science teacher, has given me a compass on multiple occasions, but somehow I still manage to wind up in uncharted territory on a regular basis.

This “ignorance is bliss” approach to commuting has served me well in the past, but this summer, the city really threw me a curveball when they decided to simultaneously perform road construction on every possible route leading from the East End to downtown Louisville.

While I’m still recovering from spending upwards of 30 minutes lost in a River Road parking lot, I’ve emerged from the situation with a much greater sense of direction. And by that I mean I’ve finally (and painfully) discovered that I-64 is not in fact the same thing as I-264.

So, aside from developing a semi-sense of direction, here a few of the other cool things I’ve done since beginning my internship with Doe-Anderson:

1. Witnessed our amazing creative interns produce a video that is currently playing in Times Square. (Click here to view the video)
2. Compiled research that has been discussed in meetings and, in some cases, sent to the client for consideration.
3. “Lunched” downtown. I realize this is somewhat of an embarrassing thing to be excited about, but I can’t help that it makes me feel hip and trendy.
4. Attended an event showcasing Doe-Anderson’s award-winning Maker’s Mark outdoor creative.
5. Met a lot of great people. I’ve very much enjoyed getting to know the other interns. As it turns out, we all have a lot in common. One intern is in my same tennis league, another is in my same sorority. My officemate, a fellow UK grad, lives down the road from me. Only once have we talked about carpooling, but then we both kind of smiled uncomfortably at each other because we knew that this was never going to happen.

Double Doe Intern Blog!

As if you haven’t had enough interesting intern babble for the week, here is some more! For the past several weeks we have been learning as much about Doe-Anderson and the business as our brains can hold. One very specific and important thing I have learned so far is that you have to send reminder e-mails to everyone in the agency once a week to remind them that you will be walking around periodically to take their pictures. I’m not even in charge of this project (the other Abby is), but I had to use the Doe cart as collateral for the pictures. No picture, no snacks. Unfortunately this also didn’t work either, and the picture nagging will continue.

Another thing I have learned over the past weeks is that Louisville continues to seem smaller and smaller. Everyone is connected in some way whether we know it or not. For those of you who don’t know, Ellen is my cousin. If you didn’t know this, I’m sure you guessed because we’re both really tan and look so much alike. Also, I found out this week that Jinks’ granddaughter/Ginger’s daughter was on my soccer team at Bellarmine, and they came to all our games last season. Who knows the other connections that are in the office!

Overall I’d say this has been a fun, interesting internship, and I look forward to coming to work every time! Everyone has been so patient and helpful, which makes our experience even better. I am excited to continue learning more and more about Doe-Anderson and the biz. I am looking forward to the weeks to come and to trying every food place around – at least the cheap ones. (Suggestions are always welcomed and appreciated.)

 

Abby Schuhmann

 

 

My Doe To-Do List

This is a post by Abby Coots, PR Intern

 

My Doe-To-Do List

 

It feels like yesterday I arrived with the rest of the Doe interns for our first day and orientation. Here I am, a whopping four weeks later…when did this happen?! Time seems to fly by here. We’re nearly halfway through the summer, and there’s still a ton of things I‘d like to accomplish during my time here. Here are just a few items from my Doe To-Do List:

 

1. Decorate the office I share with Brenna.  During our first week, Brenna and I came up with an elaborate list of decoration ideas for our office. The list includes, but is not limited to: a disco ball, Christmas lights, a shag carpet rug, and inflatable furniture. Four weeks later I look around and see none of this. By the end of the summer our office WILL be a 70’s disco club.

 

1. Follow through with the intern pitch-in lunch. My fellow interns and I have discussed a pitch-in lunch for ourselves. I think this gets brought up often because we are usually jealous of each other’s sack lunches when eating meals together. However, before you get too excited and try to jump in on this lunch idea, keep in mind that so far the only set items are Big Red Zero and condiments…what can I say? We all have the appetites and budgets of college students/recent graduates.

 

1. Sit on one of the Triumph motorcycles. No, I won’t actually do this (or will I?), but the thought is tempting. Each time I pass one somewhere in the office I can’t help but picture myself zooming along the second floor.

 

All in all, I can’t be upset with my Doe To-Do List slacking. If I’d had the time to complete this already, I wouldn’t be receiving the experience for which I came here. I’d like to see my list shrink, but at the same time I’d like to see it grow larger with more things I’d like to do during my time at Doe. While I may not be dancing to the Bee Gees in my office or whizzing around on a motorcycle, I am continuously learning more about agency life, working with clients, and Doe-Anderson itself. I’m happy to say I have not found myself bored here, and I have enjoyed the projects I have worked on so far. Everyone here has been super great and helpful, and I couldn’t ask for a better intern team. Cheers to a great four weeks and an even better eight to come!

What It’s Like

The Life of a baby Doe or Fawn if you will

First week. Check. As an intern at Doe-Anderson the first week was better than I expected. Of course it was nerve racking coming on the first day as all the interns were scared and didn’t know our place yet. I looked around and saw a familiar face, one I hadn’t seen since high school (sigh of relief).Then I saw another face that seemed familiar, well she saw me. This made the first introductions slightly less painful. As we stood in the lobby waiting for Amanda the air was still, hands were perspiring in anticipation of making a great first impression.

Introductions are done. Phew. That wasn’t so bad. As we began talking more that morning I learned how intertwined the interns really were. It turned out one of them knew a good friend of mine I went to UK with, another was friends with my sisters best friend, another was a cousin of a guy I went to high school with. So in some way we were all related within this small world. Lunch was great that day. I had my first experience of a Green Chili Wanton from The Bristol. I learned more about the fellow interns and more about our intern coordinators. First day went very well and I could already tell that Doe-Anderson had a lot to offer and the people were certainly inviting to us interns.

Day two. This day consisted of meeting more people and still getting into the swing of things. First a status report at 9 where I learned about what the media department does and the different projects that each team member is in charge of preparing and getting approved. Our intern group decided on our intern flyer for production. It turned out spectacular in my opinion. Don’t mess with Matt; he earned those tats on his face (see flier). I got to sit in on some more meetings and a tutorial on how to use a new database tool to look up information for advertising on websites. The week continues and I find out that I am going to sit in on a conference call with some publications for ad placement negotiations. Turns out these magazines are Wired and Playboy magazine. Needless to say I was pretty excited to hear about talking to the publisher from Wired.

After the first week I had been to at least eight meetings and three conference calls. It’s surprising as to how much information can be absorbed just from watching people interact. I now know how a proper business meeting is structured along with how to write a status report, a creative brief, conference report, a digital audit and not to mention I have met some very lovely people in the process.

Ben “The Twin” Williamson

(Title can be shared with Amber)

New Arrivals!

Say hello to the interns of summer 2012:

Copywriter Intern:

Hi! My name is Natalie Nixon. I am 21 years old and was born and raised here in Louisville, Ky. I graduated in 2008 from Sacred Heart Academy where I was a cheerleader. I love ridiculous TV shows such as Glee and can talk about them all day long. I absolutely love going to concerts, spending time with my family and finding exciting new places to vacation. I have the cutest dog ever – his name is Harley. He knows how to wave to people and has a squished face like an Ewok. I am currently an English major at The University of Louisville. My main focus there is creative writing. I am married to a U.S. Army Infantry Sergeant.  While he was deployed to Afghanistan, I spent my spare time writing poetry and tapping into the creative writing world. I realized I enjoyed the creative aspect of writing and started researching ways I could apply it in the real world. I am excited to be a part of the Doe intern program to get hands- on copywriting experience at this amazing ad agency!

Art Director Intern:

My name is Matt Newton, and I am from right here in Louisville. I went to Butler High School and just graduated from The University of Louisville this spring. I majored in Communication Art and Design or, as we in the biz like to call it, graphic design. I’m a huge Cards fan also, so come find me if you’re looking to talk sports. I worked third shift at UPS all through college so they would pay my tuition, and I’m unfortunately still doing it. As a graphic design student, I realized I had a love for advertising and dreamed of working in an ad agency. I’m hoping to learn as much as possible during my internship and find out if I have what it takes to work in advertising.

Design Intern:

Hello, my name is Amber Stanton, and I am originally from Florence, Ky., about 15 minutes outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. I graduated from Northern Kentucky University with a bachelor’s degree in visual communication design in fall 2011, and have since moved to the Louisville area to see what opportunities await me. I hope my internship here at Doe-Anderson will not only provide me with exceptional pieces to include in my portfolio, but will also allow me to network and gain experience along the way. Through my time here, I hope that my work as a Design Intern will showcase both my talent and worth for prospective opportunities. Before moving here, I had scoped out the top agencies I wished to become a part of, and Doe-Anderson was definitely at the top of my list. I am very fortunate to become a part of this internship program and am so excited to see what the next 12 weeks will have in store. When I am not in the office, I enjoy hanging out with my boyfriend and family (which includes three brothers and my identical twin sister) and exploring the city – I still consider myself very new to this area.  I also enjoy the outdoors; hiking, kayaking and running are among some of my favorite activities.

Broadcast Intern:

Hey there! My name is Melanie Niemann, and I hail from the great city of Louisville, Ky.  I spent my college years as a Hilltopper and ended up with a meteorology degree. The first part of my post-graduate career was spent as an on-air meteorologist in Bowling Green, Ky., at WBKO. I then traveled east to Charlottesville, Va., working at the CBS station, again as the “Weather Girl.” Click HERE to see some of the things I covered! Yes, I did try to cook an egg on a car… I decided to make a career switch a few months ago and that brought me back to good ol’ Lewis-ville. (No one in Virginia pronounces it correctly.) This summer I’m working in the broadcast production department at Doe and am very excited to see what agency life is all about. When I’m not running around setting up commercial shoots here, I’m running around Slugger Field. You can find me at any of the nearly 80 home games for the Louisville Bats as their in-field host. Here’s to a very busy/awesome/productive summer!

Account Services/Public Relations Intern:

Hi everyone! My name is Brenna Brooks, and I’m a summer intern splitting my time between the Account Services and Public Relations departments here at Doe-Anderson.  This is a huge career change for me.  After I graduated from the University of Kentucky with degrees in Marketing and Fashion Merchandising, I moved back home and spent my first three years out of college working in management for Target stores here in Louisville. After a year and a half of managing the clothing side of the store and about 25 direct reports, I was transferred to Human Resources- NOT for me! I left Target last April to focus on pursuing my master’s at the University of Louisville and will graduate in the spring of 2013 with an MBA in Entrepreneurship.  I’m so excited to finally be in a creative environment and to learn everything I can from some of the best.  When I’m not here at Doe-Anderson or at my night job at Bonefish Grill, I can usually be found somewhere around horses (I’ve been riding and competing in three-day eventing for most of my life), enjoying live music with my friends, cooking for anyone who will come eat with me (I am an AWESOME cook), or spending time with my amazing friends and family. Cheers to the beginning of a great summer!

Media Intern:

Howdy. My name is Ben Williamson. I graduated from the University of Kentucky this May with a degree in integrated strategic communications and a business minor. I lost several couches in the process of attaining my degree due to the extravagant nature of the University of Kentucky students during the Final Four. New to the work force and low on cash, I currently live at home with my moms and my pops as well as my twin brother. If for some reason I am acting differently one day, I may have switched places with him because I needed a change of scenery. I got the idea of joining an advertising agency when I decided I wanted to be more hands-on with marketing. With advertising you get to see? (I’m not following) the project work through all of its stages until it becomes a success. My older sister currently works for the competition down the street on Jefferson. She has taught me a lot since she has been in the industry, and I hope I can continue to learn, but from my lovely coworkers at Doe-Anderson. I love baseball, so if anyone wants to talk baseball with me, I would be delighted to share my knowledge from the sandlot days. I also love to run. This April I ran in my first half marathon and enjoyed the hell out of it; beat my old man which was the ultimate goal. I want to try and get into biking as well, so you may see me riding down River Road one day.  Just honk at me to get off the bleeping road if I’m going too slow.

Public Relations Intern:

My name is Abby Coots, and I am a senior at Purdue University studying PR and advertising and minoring in art and design. I have one more semester there and will be graduating this December. Boiler Up! I’m from Floyds Knobs, Ind., so I drive down the hill to work with all of you Doe dudes. In my free time I like going on spontaneous adventures with my friends (the more random, the better), reading and eating. Even though I have only been at Doe for a few days now, I can already tell I am going to have an amazing experience here, and I hope to learn a lot!

Account Services Interns:

I’m Joanna Clark, an Account Services Intern. I graduated from the University of Kentucky in May 2011 with a degree in integrated strategic communications. After graduation, I moved back in with my parents where I’ve since been living in indentured servitude. I am now a highly skilled power-washer, landscaper, garage-insulator and soon-to-be carpenter, as my assignment for summer 2012 includes building a tool shed for the backyard. I’m assuming it will be my new living quarters. When I’m not paying my rent in household renovations, I earn a living as a full-time dog-sitter. I also have a 16-year-old cat named Buster who requires round-the-clock pampering and snacks. You’ll probably hear me talk about him quite a bit. When I’m not interning or feeding Buster, I like to stay active. I recently joined a tennis team where I am a stand-out player in the worst possible way – my serve, on the rare occasion it goes in, has been touted as nearly impossible to return due to its “impossible slowness” and my opponents’ “shock of it actually going over the net.” While I do enjoy the flexible hours and mediocre pay of pet-sitting, it’s just not where I see myself in five years. That being said, my ideal career is in advertising. I thrive in an energetic, creative environment, which is why I am incredibly excited to intern with Doe-Anderson. I’m enthusiastic about my career path, and I love working with people, so I am confident that a career in Account Services is a perfect fit for me. All in all, I’m looking forward to spending the next 12 weeks with Doe!

My name is Abby Schuhmann, and I am a Louisville native. From grade school at St. Albert the Great, high school at Assumption and college at Bellarmine University, I have been living it up in Louisville my whole life. I started playing soccer for Javanon when I was younger and fell in love with the sport instantly. I continued to play through high school and was captain of Bellarmine’s women’s team the past two years. Soccer has basically taken over my life for the past 15 years or so. I currently live with three other roommates in a house off Norris and Newburg, so if anyone is ever in the neighborhood, I am almost always free for drinks! I also live with my dog, Bill Brasky, who is the best and worst dog depending on the day. He is part dachshund and part Jack Russell (where the crazy comes from) and loves to play with anyone and everyone. If anyone hears me talk about Bill, it’s my dog, not my boyfriend. Lastly, I am very excited about working at Doe this summer and hope to learn a lot and meet some fun, new people along the way!

Hey all, my name is Mackenzie, otherwise known as the mysterious black figure on the intern flyer.  I figured with the new and improved updated flyer (with a picture of me) it was time to write my introduction on the blog.  Many of you may be wondering where I was the first month, and the answer is Europe.  I was lucky to study abroad and do some amazing things, all while getting school credit. I have to admit starting work the Monday I got back was a bit rough (talk about jet-lagged) but it was an exciting adventure in itself. In the fall, I will be returning to what I like to call “Fake Life” as a junior at Miami University.  I am majoring in Finance with a Marketing Minor and am thrilled to take my experiences from Doe-Anderson into the classroom.  Before Miami I spent my days in the Derby City, going to Sacred Heart Academy for high school.  I am sad to say that this summer my family will be moving to Baltimore, Md., and leaving Louisville.  I look forward to spending my last summer “at home” in Louisville working in Account Services at Doe-Anderson.

Keeping Up With The Joneses

This is a post by Matt Walker.

“I’m saving your neighbors $400 a year by switching their services over to us.  What do you think you would do with an extra $400 a year?”

I’m a salesman for a local company and I use this line often to get my potential customers wondering what services their neighbors have.  I usually follow up with the names of neighbors utilizing my companies’ services.  I’ll say, “Do you know the Browns? They have all three of our services. “ When I really need to dig in; I’ll say, “You work hard for your money, right? (As I shake my head up and down.)  Do you think it’s fair that you spend all this money on these services you currently have and all your neighbors are getting the same services for $50 less a month?”  The strategy

I’m using on these people is called the Jones Effect.  It’s sometimes referred to as keeping up with the Joneses.  This technique is often used by marketers to motivate potential buyers to buy based on what their neighbors are buying.  You might be surprised how many times a potential customer will look at my sheet and say, “Does Jim, from across the street, have your services?”   When the potential customer look down at my sheet and realizes he’s the only person on his street not highlighted, which means he doesn’t have our service, he starts to feel “less than.”  He’s probably wondering if all his neighbors know something he doesn’t.

This kind of marketing technique is used mainly by direct salesman but the psychological effect of keeping up with the Joneses is instilled in all of us.  Marketers and advertisers can use this technique to their advantage as well.  For example, At&t has a cell phone commercial, where one guy is the last to get the text message because he’s the only one with another service provider.  Everyone else in the group gets the funny text and laughs.  While “Poor Jim” has to wait for the message on his “slower network.”

This technique works best when you make it personal to the consumer.  Telling someone their neighbor across the street has our services and is saving $400 a year works better than telling him a neighbor four streets over  that he doesn’t know is saving money.  I remember this kind of mentality growing up.  If my friends got a Nintendo, I had to get a Nintendo.  If my friends got a cell phone, I had to get a cell phone.

This psychological effect has been around for years, and it’s not going anywhere.  We live in a capitalist society where our status is defined by our consumption of goods.

So, the next time you go to buy a TV, ask yourself: Am I buying the 55 inch because I need it, or am I buying it because the Joneses down the street have a 55 inch?

SIGNS AND “BUMVERTISING”

This is a post by Maegan Albert, Account Services intern at Doe-Anderson.

As I was driving down Shelbyville Road a few days ago I saw a dancing man holding a sign.  The temperature was below twenty and as I sat at the stoplight watching the show I felt awful for this person, but I also had to applaud the effectiveness of the idea.  This sign had definitely caught my attention.  Unfortunately, I was not able to attribute this credit to any certain company because, although I sat looking at the man with his sign for a good three minutes, I was not able to make out the small text that displayed the name of the store.  All I knew was that some store, somewhere in that shopping center was having a  “30% OFF!” of something sale.

This experience made me wonder about the effectiveness of sign-holding in marketing.  I saw that the technique had great potential but could become a waste of time and money if it was not executed correctly.  I decided to do some research on the topic and what I found was an even more attention-grabbing concept than the dancing man.  What came as no surprise was that effectively executed techniques of sign-holding have shown a great consumer response and that this technique has become a popular form of advertising.  The point is that people need something more than a stagnant sign to grab their attention in this fast-paced society.  The surprise came when I stumbled across the idea of “bumvertising”.

The idea, developed in 2005 by Ben Rogovy of Front Door Enterprises, is to pay homeless people to tack on an advertisement to their existing signs.  This novel idea struck me as very surprising, so I’m sure that witnessing a bumvertiser at work would be even more shocking.  The amount of surprise and attention that this approach brings in seems like it would be even more effective than hiring the average person to hold a sign.  The idea behind this method seems like it would be successful; the reason most of us have not witnessed this approach is because the amount of controversy associated with the idea.

The concept of bumvertising is highly debated among the visitors of the bumvertising web page.  There are countless posts on opinions from both advocates and opponents of the idea.  There are several posts by homeless people, all of whom supported the idea.  They say that any help is appreciated and if the opponents of this idea lived a day in their shoes and knew how hard it was to just get by, they would see things differently.  Adversaries state that the tactic is exploitative and unfair.  They accuse the business of failing to practice fair labor laws in paying their employees.

From everyone involved, it seems like there are only good intentions.  The company found an idea that furthers their business while helping the needy, plus they have ways for visitors to volunteer and donate to the needy on their website.  On the other hand, the challengers are only trying to protect the less fortunate from being taken advantage of and exploited.  In my opinion, the actions of and the voice of the homeless are what is most important to pay attention to.  They welcome the opportunity for a steady income, and most say that holding a company’s sign generates so much interest that they receive more donations from passerby’s than ever.

As far as I’m concerned, if everything is kept legal and fair, I say “go bumvertising!”

Introducing….

Hello!  We are the new interns for the spring semester.  We are very excited to be at Doe Anderson and to learn as much as we can from all of you during the next three months.  This internship is a great opportunity for us to learn all the aspects of a successful ad agency.  We hope to get to know all of you while we are here, for you to get to know us a little better here is a brief description of ourselves.

From Matthew:

I am Matthew Walker from Louisville, KY.  I went to Ballard High School.  I graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Business Administration.  After college I joined the army and was stationed in Vicenza, Italy.  Vicenza is an hour train ride from Venice.  I was a part of the 173rd Airborne Infantry.  I currently work full time at Insight Communications.  I’ll be the intern that’s wearing an Insight uniform every day.   I also referee and play ice hockey on the weekends.  And for fun I lift weights, swim, and run.  I’m currently training to run the mini marathon.   I applied for the Doe Anderson internship because Doe’s the best advertising firm in Louisville, I need the experience for my resume, and I really like how the interns are rotated through three departments.  My sister Natalie was a graphic designer here at Doe.  What I like most about winter is college basketball, GO CARDS!  What I least like about winter is scrapping ice off my windshield.

From Meagan:

My name is Maegan Albert and I am originally from Morehead, Kentucky.  I went to school at the University of Kentucky where I majored in Creative Advertising and minored in Psychology and Art Studio.  I am very excited about being a part of the client services internship at Doe Anderson because I am eager to begin a career in this industry and learning how a successful ad agency is run is a great first step!  Also, the atmosphere seems to be friendly, relaxed, and productive all at the same time, which I believe is the ideal environment.  This internship brought me to Louisville, so I am very new to the city and so far I love it!  When I am not here, I am working at Starbucks or taking care of my new puppy.  She is a 3 ½ month old Border collie mix named Keeli.  I have always loved winter and the snow, but with my new puppy, my least favorite thing about the season is taking Keeli outside in the middle of the night when it is snowing and cold.  My favorite aspect of winter is when a new snow falls and it is perfectly white and clean!

From Dan:

My name is Dan South and I am from Hudson, Ohio (between Cleveland and Akron).  I attended the University of Dayton and majored in Marketing and received a minor in Entrepreneurship.  I choose Doe Anderson to test the waters of an advertising agency and to see whether or not this is the path I would like to take my career.  I decided to take my talents to South Beach, of the Ohio River, to Louisville to live with my girlfriend; I enjoy watching basketball and football, and I am slowly but surely turning into a Cards fan.   My favorite thing about the winter is the snow, as long as I am skiing on it; what I least like about winter is the snow, when I am getting it in my shoes as I scrape it off my car.
Thanks for taking the time to get to know us!

Rattle My Brain

This is a post by Andrew Bovine, Client Services intern at Doe-Anderson

The first time I entered the office I would occupy during my internship with Doe-Anderson was a moment of pure happiness. I had successfully landed the position and knew there would be great things in store. While making myself comfortable in my new surroundings, I made sure my username and password worked properly, set up my voicemail and added a signature to my e-mail account. As I sat taking root in my home for the next three and a half months, I began to notice this incessant rattle coming from the air vent in the ceiling. I pondered bringing it to someone’s attention but used my better judgment not to make a fuss on my first day. The next few days came and went, some with rattle episodes that drove me nuts and others without a single click at all. Over time I noticed absolutely no pattern or schedule to the rattle, only that it was overbearing some days and absent others.

You may wonder where this story is going, and it may sound berserk, but I have learned a lesson from this pestering noise. Just like the rattle in my air vent, the ad world is highly unpredictable; therefore, so is my workload as an intern. There were days in the beginning where I asked countless people for projects or assignments. Intern work was present; it was just at a low volume. However, in the past few days, lunch has come and gone, and the next thing I knew I was headed out the door for the day. I have become considerably busy with a growing workload. Do not misinterpret my intentions; I am very pleased and enthused by the learning opportunities. I am simply shocked by the highs and lows of work volume, as well as the priority levels at which it must be completed.

It has been fun working with various personalities and work styles. Every day is unpredictable, which creates an element of mystery.  While some of the tasks can be monotonous, they are entirely necessary and only a small portion of the whole day. The bigger picture is much more exciting.  No two days have been the same regardless of the workload or the pesky rattle. Whether I am working on a simple task or occupied by a major project, I am learning. I can now say I am confident that an ad agency is where I want to begin my career.

While I was able to turn an annoyance into a realization, it does not mean the noise drives me any less crazy. So, if you see me standing on my desk with my arms in the air, I have not gone mad, I am simply adjusting my air vent.