I walked into Obsidian Public Relations with merely a classroom understanding of how public relations works in the real world. That’s not to say I was clueless, but I knew the concepts by their name rather than their actions. I hadn’t had the opportunity to put public relations in motion yet. In my first few weeks as an intern, I learned quickly that it’s a fast-paced world and at any given moment you can go from researching a client’s target audience and building an appropriate media contact list for story pitching to writing a meaningful blog post that will be featured on their website or building a social media platform from the ground up. These are the experiences I’m most grateful for.
I have been able to experience all of the emotions that come with the field of public relations. I got to see a client’s products be put into grocery stores for the first time; stores I helped him find to go and do demonstrations for. I got to start some of the first conversations with the most critical partners for one of our client’s centennial celebration events that will take place next year. I also got to help with a restaurant opening in Starkville, Miss. where I helped with media drops at various outlets and helped organize and plan the VIP opening.
I got the chance to write about so many different things- things I didn’t know anything about that required a bit of research to start and things I’m knowledgeable of and am passionate about. The best part about the writing portion of my work is when clients need something very specific with detailed guidelines on how it has to be written in order to be published, we do monthly Obsidian posts for our website that allows us to really write about things that are trending now and topics that can really go any way that we want them to. I wrote blogs on personal branding techniques, the selfie sensation, and more. Through writing, my boss is able to review my posts and send me immediate feedback on how I’m doing. This is so helpful to those of us who love to write, but maybe aren’t the best with AP style rules.
One of my goals coming into this internship was to observe the corporate culture of an agency, because I had never worked in an agency prior to this. This has been one of the most rewarding parts of my job. Each month, we have team events where we go together and do something fun to sort of alleviate the stresses in the office and kick back and enjoy each other’s company. Last month we went to Sky Zone and it was a blast! We also participated in monthly potlucks and luncheons where we all sat around and ate yummy food while we talked about happenings in life. I think events like these really help boost morale in the office and make us appreciate who we work with and for. Obsidian is a great group of individuals and I’m fortunate to say I got to be a part of that when all is said and done.
I have been able to experience all of the emotions that come with the field of public relations. I got to see a client’s products be put into grocery stores for the first time; stores I helped him find to go and do demonstrations for. I got to start some of the first conversations with the most critical partners for one of our client’s centennial celebration events that will take place next year. I also got to help with a restaurant opening in Starkville, Miss. where I helped with media drops at various outlets and helped organize and plan the VIP opening.
I got the chance to write about so many different things- things I didn’t know anything about that required a bit of research to start and things I’m knowledgeable of and am passionate about. The best part about the writing portion of my work is when clients need something very specific with detailed guidelines on how it has to be written in order to be published, we do monthly Obsidian posts for our website that allows us to really write about things that are trending now and topics that can really go any way that we want them to. I wrote blogs on personal branding techniques, the selfie sensation, and more. Through writing, my boss is able to review my posts and send me immediate feedback on how I’m doing. This is so helpful to those of us who love to write, but maybe aren’t the best with AP style rules.
One of my goals coming into this internship was to observe the corporate culture of an agency, because I had never worked in an agency prior to this. This has been one of the most rewarding parts of my job. Each month, we have team events where we go together and do something fun to sort of alleviate the stresses in the office and kick back and enjoy each other’s company. Last month we went to Sky Zone and it was a blast! We also participated in monthly potlucks and luncheons where we all sat around and ate yummy food while we talked about happenings in life. I think events like these really help boost morale in the office and make us appreciate who we work with and for. Obsidian is a great group of individuals and I’m fortunate to say I got to be a part of that when all is said and done.