All Access: Behind the Scenes

Last week was a whirlwind of work...I can't believe I'm nearing the end of my third week here at LS. I can already feel myself gaining knowledge and experience and that feeling is worth all of the early mornings and cups of coffee.

Media relations was the name of the game last week. I had never really given any thought to the hard work that goes into keeping up with the media but when I joined Kendra at an event over the weekend, I realized what exactly goes into media relations. The months of preparation come down to a few short hours of TV footage, radio interviews and newspaper articles. We hurried around the event making sure that all media representatives had the shots they wanted and worked with producers to create footage that captured the essence of the event. Again, I realized the importance of strong communication skills and a good relationship with all of those involved with media coverage. Kendra was quick to make sure everyone was happy--and at the end of the day, she was extremely successful in doing so. Just being able to observe and help her out taught me so much about media relations and how important it is to the client and a successful event.

Now that I've had a little taste of the media relations world, I'm hungry for more. It's a field I'm more interested in exploring and being a part of in the future. Even though most of the work is done behind the scenes, it feels good knowing that it all led to a happy client and a successful media event.

Thanks Art Fry

Mr. Fry is the father of post-it notes, and I have become very accustomed to leaving myself tons of post-its each and every day. Some of them with nothing more than a single word on them, but yet, without them I think I ‘d be lost. Each day I seem to take on a little more work. My desk has begun to sprout Liggett Stashower branded notes every day, and after just two weeks my desk is starting to look more like a recycle bin than the clean cubicle it once started as.

Today the creative interns, myself included, began to brainstorm on concepts for an ad campaign. I’ve been waiting to have the leash loosened a bit so we can flex our creative brain muscles. We began with mind mapping, and then we threw around some ideas before deciding to sleep on it. It felt nice to get the gears turning, but I think we can all agree that good ideas don’t spring out of thin air. We have also got the ball rolling on our group t-shirt design project, and let’s just say I have plenty of unicorn sketches to add to the desk clutter. By the end of the day I had a list of projects piling up (via post-it notes) for the following morning, and it truly feels great to be busy.

For your viewing pleasure, here is look at my desk.

Catch you guys next week.

Don D.

Creative Intern

Headlines and Headaches

I think I might have a mild case of writer's block. I was asked to write a headline for a print ad campaign today, and I thought I came up with some pretty good lines. And I was told I did, but they just weren't “there yet.” I've been taught in class that you might have to write 80 headlines before you get to the winning one. But I've never actually experienced that until now. Even in my Advanced Copywriting course I never struggled this much with a headline. It seemed like my initial ideas were always on the right track, and the final headline came from those first ideas. But right now, I feel like I can’t get to that perfect (or at least close-to-perfect) headline.

I took a break from thinking about the unfinished line for about two hours, but then I got back to racking my brain for the solution. I think I've written more than 30 lines at this point. I've tried variations of existing lines and ideas or thrown those out for new ones all together. I’m not even sure I will know if I do write that one headline that stands out from the rest.

It might sound like I’m complaining, but this is actually a good thing for me to experience. Bosses and clients aren't going to like my first few ideas every time. Those ideas might only be good and not great. This is the first time I have been asked to push past those first 20 headlines or concepts. It’s not easy. It's actually rather frustrating at the moment. But it’s a challenge. And a welcomed one at that. This is exactly the kind of experience I wanted to get out of my internship. There is a reason people really want a Liggett internship. It’s about real work, which isn't always easy.

Now, time to write more headlines. I’m not backing down from this challenge.

Isabelle J.

Creative Intern

Details, details

A week ago the interns were invited to attend commercial shoot. Video is one of my interests, so I particularly enjoyed the shoot. I was aware that video takes a lot of set-up, planning, and attention to detail, but this was the first time I had ever seen that in person. I was enthralled with the whole process. The way the crew seemed to know just how to direct the light to make it look natural and get rid of the shadows, the way the talent could convey frustration with the slightest tightening of his mouth without over-exaggerating, the way the director could orchestrate all of the elements to work together to create a commercial that he can be proud of and that the client loves. Every detail of the shoot was planned, but that did not eliminate spontaneity. Everyone appeared to be very flexible, and were more than willing to make last minute changes in props, materials, camera angles, and such to achieve perfect look for the video. The client, director, and crew were all willing to put in the extra time in order to make the commercial the best it could be.
Following all of this, on Tuesday Don and I were asked to work on duct tape press kits and make a tie and chef hat out of duct tape for WKYC. This is awesome.

Alyse E.

Creative Intern

Putting the Pieces Together

As I sat at my desk nibbling on a half-eaten bagel from Starbucks, I took a look around me at the disaster area that was formerly a neat cubicle. Each piece of paper, folder or post-it serves as a reminder of the work I had put in over the past two weeks. There is the hand written note reminding me that I have to do the mail today, lists of media audits that need to be done and creative supplements to review. I'm starting to realize that even though each piece of material isn't necessarily for the same client, they all fit together somehow.

Over the course of the past couple of weeks, I have learned so much about how a PR agency works. All parts of the machine have to work together in order for it to work. The video shoot that Isabelle and I traveled to on Tuesday was a testament to that. The shoot proved to be a learning experience. There, the creative and account service teams came together to create something great for a client--a valuable asset to the campaign that will help keep their brand strong. Each side brought something to the table that helped the shoot be a success...technical knowledge, client relation skills, creative suggestions. But the the biggest thing I took away from the experience was the importance of a strong relationship with the client. The dynamic that's created from that relationship will help to make things run just a little bit more smoothly. A lot of hard work goes into creating something like a TV spot, but when the director shouts, "Cut!", and the client walks away happy I think that it's definitely worth it for everyone involved.

So yes, keeping track of all the pieces to the puzzle might get difficult sometimes. But once they all come together to making the magic happen, the feeling of accomplishment couldn't be greater.

--Alyssa P.
Brand Management Intern