A Day in the Life of a Pierpont Intern
Working as a public relations and marketing intern at Pierpont Communications, a leading PR firm in Texas, is an incredibly rewarding, exciting and educational experience. The role of an intern here is to assist your account teams with various projects, and most importantly, gain an understanding of what it’s like to work in the agency world. No two days are alike, and each day brings new challenges, opportunities and valuable experiences that allow interns to learn and grow in their roles. In this blog post, one of our spring interns, Chloe Willig-Friedrich, shares some insight into her day as a Pierpont intern.
My workday begins at 9 am, and the first task is to check emails and review any pending updates or assignments from your account teams. After checking emails, it’s time to grab a cup of coffee and prepare for the day ahead.
At 9:15, the office will have a morning huddle, where everyone discusses their schedules for the week and takes the time to celebrate the successes of our account teams. We love celebrating one another here at Pierpont!
Once the team huddle is over at 9:30, I’ll dive right into my assignments for the day. A few of the projects I regularly work on as an intern include sending out pitches to secure media coverage for clients, drafting blogs and social media copy, updating website content, gathering client research, analyzing competitors and generating media lists.
So, let’s break the projects down a little bit further:
One of the key tasks I work on is assisting with the distribution of pitches. This is where strong writing skills, research abilities and a keen eye for creative news angles really come into play. The pitches are designed to catch the attention of journalists and encourage them to write about your client’s timely announcements, events, products, or services, so the key here is to demonstrate the overall value of the announcement and why it is a good fit for the outlets and contacts you are pitching.
Drafting blogs and social media copy is another important aspect of the job when working with the firm’s marketing team. It is my job to draft blog posts that are engaging, informative and optimized for search engines. Social media copy also needs to be creative, punchy and relevant. It’s important to keep up with the latest trends and changes in the social media landscape to ensure that your content is effective and hard-hitting!
When it comes to making updates to Pierpont’s website, interns play a large role. This includes updating content, adding new pages and ensuring that, overall, the website is SEO and user-friendly, while continuing to keep in mind how the content will help attract and retain clients. These types of projects have given me a well-rounded understanding of website design and development, as well as the tools and technologies that are used in website creation.
Competitive analyses and client research play a fundamental role in the PR industry, so this is something that I’ve had a lot of exposure to as an intern. When doing these projects, I research client industries, competitors and target audiences to gain insight into the client’s business and the challenges they face. This information is then used to create effective PR and marketing strategies that help our clients achieve their goals and gain a competitive advantage. Trend reports and drafting media audits fall under this category as well. When creating a trend report, I research and analyze trends in the client’s industry, which helps our account teams identify opportunities for the client to capitalize on those trends. Similarly, media audits involve analyzing the client’s media coverage and help to identify areas of improvement for the client.
And finally, there is no doubt that I’ve been asked to create a few media lists throughout my time here! Media lists lay the foundation for a lot of what PR professionals do, and generating one involves identifying relevant journalists, editors, reporters, bloggers, and influencers who can help the client achieve their PR and marketing goals, both in the markets they operate in and across the industries they serve. Media lists need to be constantly updated and refined to ensure that they remain relevant and effective.
At 11:00 am, it may be time to attend an internal account call. This is an important part of the day, as it’s a chance for everyone on the account team to discuss progress on various projects and provide updates on the client. And because Pierpont values interns as true members of the team, you may be asked to share any ideas you may have on how to tackle a problem or take part in a creative brainstorming session. This is also a chance for me to sit back and learn from my colleagues while asking questions about topics that may be unclear or areas I want to learn more about.
Once it’s 11:30 am, it’s time for my lunch break. This is an excellent opportunity to take a break and recharge for the afternoon or even to network with other members of the team and chat about their experiences in the field and learn from their insights.
It’s time to attend the intern roundtable at 12:00 pm. These one-hour sessions are a fantastic opportunity for interns to learn about a wide variety of topics related to the PR and marketing industry from our very own Pierpont experts. Topics covered can include influencer marketing, best practices for media pitching, and what it’s like to work in-house versus at an agency or firm. We want our interns to leave our program with a wealth of newfound knowledge and these sessions ensure that they do. Additionally, these have allowed me to bond, make connections and get to know my fellow interns better, which is exactly what our bi-weekly intern catchups are designed for.
At 2 pm, it’s time to wrap up for the day and log off, which can vary by intern. As the day comes to a close, I will check in with my intern coordinator to ensure that all tasks have been completed and that there are no outstanding items. While the day is shorter than your average workday, I’m certainly kept busy throughout with a variety of different tasks and opportunities for learning.