For the past two months I have been on an intense learning journey, interning at different digital agencies in the BIMA Next Generation Digital Leaders Programme.
It’s been so insightful into how digital agencies operate and a lot of fun getting involved with different departments, helping out with all sorts from feeding an AI Machine to presenting my own game concepts, and of course connecting with dozens of wonderful people who I hope to come across again throughout my career.
During my first month at Jollywise, I was whisked off to the Children’s Media Conference in Sheffield with some of the team. The discussions explored all sorts from user generated content, fandom, authenticity, to writing comedy for kids. It gave me a great insight into the world of Children’s media, which I would be engrossed in for the next few weeks, and hopefully further on in my career.
Once we were back in Brighton, Jollywise had me working from start to finish on my own project, channelling me through different parts of the agency to learn more about their roles and responsibilities as the project progressed. They also invited me to sit in on some of the live briefs they were working on.
Having been a freelance Illustrator, I have responded to small scale briefs before; In this agency, I furthered my understanding of how a creative team responds to a much larger brief, and the process of thoroughly developing ideas that fulfil the requirements needed. I also got some practice presenting my ideas back to the ‘client’, and feedback on my ideas and presentation. It was insightful to learn how different parts of the agency work together and how a project flows through the agency.
My experience at Anything is Possible taught me plenty about the ins and outs of digital marketing, expanding on my existing knowledge of SEO. I took part in working on several different projects across the company on live briefs, creating organic content according to brand guidelines, and getting into the fundamentals of writing title tags and meta descriptions. As an illustrator, I found that my skillset lent itself to the creative tasks such as creating visual social media posts – however some other tasks were a struggle as I was completely new to some of the concepts in digital marketing. I did my best by frequently checking in with others to make sure I was on the right track, and was pleased to find that people were very happy to help explain things and help me learn; everyone wanted me to get something out of the programme that would be helpful to me and my skillset.
I recognise that I am going to learn more if I partake in topics outside of what I already know, and should embrace working outside of my comfort zone, as I have come to understand that people can be quite flexible in their job roles. Therefore, I hope to continue the trend of learning new things that contribute and add value to my abilities throughout this internship.
I am interested in pursuing a shift in my career, after a few insular years of freelancing and being a small business owner. With my new breadth of knowledge and experience, I feel that I am equipped to apply for a range of roles in the digital field, and would love to be a part of an agency. The diversity of work keeps things fresh, as well as the opportunity to work alongside others and as part of a team, and the new contexts in which I am applying my creativity.
I feel that this internship would be really useful for people who would like to go into digital media, but who might not know exactly which job role is right for them. It is a great opportunity to assess your existing abilities, and then hone them in on something specific. It has also been valuable in learning new skills, and understanding how teams in agencies operate together in response to their projects.