5 Things I Learned During My TREW Internship

Theory x Practice is the motto of the University of Texas AdGrad program. I should know, as I’ve lived it everyday for the last year as a full-time Masters student in Advertising and intern for TREW Marketing. Over the course of 2011, I’ve been a student of all sorts, learning things like Social Cognitive Theory, media calculations – CDI and BDI, social media applications, and the process of developing marketing plans. I’ve been fortunate to have a hands-on education through the AdGrad program and with TREW Marketing.

So what have I learned this past year? Summing it up in 5 lessons, here it is:

1. Master the message. One of the first things Rebecca and Wendy taught me was the importance of being able to write like a marketer. This was a refreshing crash course on how to be brief and be smart with all writing projects – from emails, blogs, presentations, case studies, and everything in between. Concise and compelling writing is important, because you can have the greatest idea in the world, but if you can’t communicate your ideas, it doesn’t matter.

2. Revise…revise….revise. This goes in tote with lesson #1, but it’s so important, I figured it deserves it’s own lesson number. TREW Marketing has taught me patience and to embrace the process of revising and editing. Many times, I’ll submit work that will undergo two to three rounds of revisions. This process is long and tedious, but also smart and collaborative, producing the best messaging results.

3. Go all in. There hasn’t been a dull moment over the past year as an intern. Rebecca, Wendy and all the project managers have consistently come up with new and exciting projects for me to work on. It would be impossible to write out every project on this blog, so I’ve wrapped up a year in review of internship projects with TREW Marketing in the Slideshare presentation below. (Use full screen mode to read)

4. Be resourceful. Being part of a virtual team requires a unique set of skills. Specifically, being resourceful to educate yourself and the team on latest trends, virtual tools, and interesting articles. The virtual aspect of the job requires a balance of independence and collaboration. For me, it was an acquired skill, but it’s been such a blessing to gain more independence and a work-life balance from it.

5. “Listening is 51% of communication.” This motto, borrowed from Rebecca, describes the TREW approach to marketing planning. Careful listening entails precise note-taking, and consideration of the tone of voice, personality, and dialogue. Over the last two months, I’ve been honing in on this skill, listening to clients explain their pain points and marketing goals, then taking this information to develop marketing plans that best fit their goals and needs.

As I graduate this early December, and begin a new chapter, I reflect on the last year with TREW and year and half as a Masters student. The decision to go back to school was very tough, but I did it to be prepared for opportunity. Graduate school and TREW have prepared me with the right marketing knowledge for a career in this fast-changing digital industry. Then at the beginning of this semester, TREW also came with a great opportunity, to stay on board as a full-time Marketing Specialist. So at the beginning of next year, I will be returning and re-iterating all five of these lessons I learned during my time as an intern at TREW Marketing.

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About Wendy Covey

Wendy Covey is a Principal with Trew Marketing in Austin. She can be reached at wendy.covey@trewmarketing.com