Job & Internship

April 2009 Internship Spotlight

Name: Kadi Gibson
Major: Advertisiing
Company: UPP

Duties: One of my main duties was to find clients for UPP. I spent a lot of time searching through magazines and the Internet to find products that would show up well on screen and in print and then contacting the companies and pitching UPP. I also helped create PowerPoints designed to retain current clients, performed a lot of industry research, and assembled press kits.

Most Memorable Experience: By working in the product placement industry, I encountered several amazing opportunities in the entertainment industry. I really enjoyed spending time around the sets of the “Price is Right” and “Wheel of Fortune” and meeting the producers and talent. I got to sit in the front row during a taping of “Price is Right,” and I watched several tapings of “Wheel of Fortune”. After one taping, Pat Sajak offered to set me up on a date with the winner.

Special Contribution: One thing I did a lot of work for was the Critic’s Choice Awards. I helped create a PowerPoint to pitch sponsorship, searched for appropriate clients and contacted them. I was also offered to work the Critic’s Choice Awards Official After-Party, but I was not able to because I had to return to school.

Advice to Future Interns: Just go for it! Don’t be afraid to go after that seemingly unattainable internship — even if it means packing up your car with everything you can fit into it and moving 2,000 miles away from everything you’ve ever known. I learned a lot about the product placement industry and the professional business world, but by moving to Los Angeles completely alone... I think I learned even more about myself, and in all honesty, I am beginning to realize it is equally as important.

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