Getting the Ball Rollin'

After my first full week at Liggett, I can honestly say I have already learned more about new developments in the tool and office supply industry than I have in my entire life. Liggett threw me right into work as a copywriter, making headlines for a construction client’s new product on the very first day. It was refreshing to get started right away and to have my opinion valued right off the bat.

Another thing I am realizing is just how much blogging is affecting the advertising world. It seems like instead of wasting time sending out surveys and asking peoples opinions around the office, you can do really high quality product and industry research by just looking through some of the millions of blogs that are out there. It gives a quick and relatively accurate representation of what the world thinks about every topic you can think of.

As nice as blog research is, nothing is like the real thing- and that is just what I got the chance to do this past Friday. My mentor, Mark, who is the director of Brand Voice at Liggett, Katie, the graphic design intern, and I went to do some top secret research for a potential new client. We walked around noticing what would be needed to make our client’s product the one that would jump off the shelves and into peoples’ carts. After the research, Mark took Katie and me to an authentic Polish restaurant to see the side of Cleveland you wouldn’t see if you weren’t a local. Being from Connecticut, I know about as much about Cleveland as I do quantum physics, so it was nice to see a little tour of some of the areas I had never seen before. Clearly Cleveland has a lot more to offer than one particular northeasterner would imagine. The Polish restaurant was fantastic, but Katie, who is at least 50% Polish chickened out, or should I say turkeyed out, and got a turkey sandwich instead of the authentic pierogies and other Polish delights. Sorry Katie, I told you this would show up in the blog.

But moving on, the first week at Liggett was exciting, with every day bringing something new to the table, and I look forward to the remainder of the internship. Already, it feels as though the seven weeks we have left will be over far too fast.

Dan F.
Copywriting Intern

Greetings

I would be remised to skip a formal introduction before I discuss my first day as a public relations intern at Liggett Stashower. My name is Marc Feher and I will be a senior this fall at The Ohio State University. I am a double major in journalism and political science with a minor in philosophy. I have interned at various nonprofits and news stations. I also write features for Uweekly (uweekly.com), a Columbus independent newspaper, on a free-lance basis.

Coming to a mid-sized firm seemed daunting, initially. But it’s the equivalent of going to a large university, the bigger the firm, the more opportunities to learn and network. I applied for an internship at LS because I was impressed with its case studies and the intern program structure. How many interns go on field trips? Not many. Also, the mentoring program shows just how serious LS takes developing interns into future professionals. Working one-on-one with a public relations expert allows me to hone my skills while increasing my knowledge of the industry.

On my first day, I jumped into action by creating client clip binders, making press kits and researching biotechnology conferences. Grabbing coffee was not on the agenda. Getting use to time sheets and the firm’s sheer size are the most difficult tasks that lay ahead. With that said, I am looking forward to a productive and challenging summer.

Marc F.

"intrain"

Two workdays down, thirty-seven left to look forward to. I already love this place. The Listerine in the bathroom was pretty exciting and the LS block of post-it notes is definitely going home with me on August 8th. After the first day, I bragged to my friends about the pool table, the Zen Room, and the location. Progressive field and Panini’s are just down the street. I also called my mother, gloating about how excited I am to be working at such an interesting agency with seven other college students.

We’ve gotten all of our training done now. Soon I can start entering real job codes into my timesheet as opposed to the 7.5 hours of “intrain” I've been acquiring daily. I’ve gotten familiar with Lotus Notes, the intranet, and the fancy phones. Every minute has offered something new, from corporate genie games to alphabetizing hundreds of papers. I got to update the monthly reports and use the financial software. I look forward to driving downtown and dodging the maze of poles in the parking garage to be here.

I work in the finance department. My mentor just had a baby and I have yet to meet her. However, Monica and Steve have kept me quite busy. I’ve learned so much already and I can’t wait to learn even more. I enjoy finance at Liggett because I can play with numbers all day, but there's a wildly creative side just down the hall. I actually have an “arts and craft box” at my apartment. My friends and I make t-shirts and picture frames for every occasion. So I do get a little jealous of the creative interns. They always seem to be doing something adventurous.

The general vibe in the office at Liggett is youthful, fresh, and involved. The employees are happy to be here. It’s a very welcoming environment. The other interns are awesome. We had our first intern meeting today and we pretty much figured out what we will be doing for our t-shirts and “fun-day Fridays.” However, that information is very confidential. I’m eager to spend my summer here.

Angela B.

Here we go....

Well I’m through my first day, and I can say it was a success because I was invited back to work on Tuesday. After about 8 hours on the second floor of the Halle Building, I can finally find my way to the bathroom and back without having to ask for directions.

I must admit I had no idea what to expect while I wandered around downtown at 7:30 in the morning since I arrived a little too early. However, I was relieved after meeting my fellow interns, and even more relieved when I began meeting the people here. Everyone I met was so nice and welcoming, which made it so easy to transition into the work environment. It’s always a nervous experience when entering into a new job because you don’t know what to expect, or more importantly, what’s expected of you. This nervousness disappeared throughout the day as I met more people and become more comfortable with my surroundings.

After a great lunch at the Lizard, I got straight to work. I was very pleased to find out my mentor played as much golf as I do, and this common thread made it easy to talk with him. My first job of the summer was to bind a marketing plan using a machine that seemed to be here since the 1970’s. Despite the age of the machine, I was able to complete the small task and still have time to spare to hear Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open … again.

I enjoyed my first day, and I think this is going to be a challenging but equally fun experience for myself and the other interns as well. I'm looking forward to the upcoming 8 weeks.

Scott A.

The 2008 Interns start on Monday

So we should have some new posts coming next week.