Making moves outside my element
Junior year of college was by far one of my best years at college because not only did I dedicate my spring semester to studying and interning in London, UK, but I also found my niche in the world of advertising and marketing.
As a brand strategy and research concentration at Temple University, I was required to take the course Qualitative Research. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this class because I haven't had much experience with this kind of research. My professor, who was a brand new adjunct, was this sweet and enthusiastic woman who was eager to teach us all about crafting the perfect interview. Our class structure consisted of creating discussion guides, executing IDI's, a focus group, and an ethnographic study, and finishing it off with analyses of each study we conducted. (see my work from this class in the portfolio tab)
Upon completing my interviews for my assignments, I got such a rush when going back and analyzing them to discover what is "the big insight" that would make a transformative impact on the topic at hand. I knew the Market Research industry was something I had to try so while being in London, I focused on my internship search on strategy and market research positions.
With the help of a connection I made in class, I was able to score an interview with my current employer, M3 Global Research, for the position of market research intern. While holding this position, I was responsible for project coordination. My daily schedule including confirming respondents, creating schedules for upcoming studies, screening and re-screening respondents, and assisting in closing out projects. This experience was a perfect way for me to understand the ins and outs of the Market Research industry while also gaining meaningful connections. I am now a client coordinator at M3 Global Research in their Philadelphia studio facility. My role here consists of facilitating clients in their studies and serving as a liaison between the project managers and their clients.
I am continuing to practice my qualitative research knowledge in my course this semester that is a preparation for the National Student Advertising Competition. This competition is framed as "the college world series for advertising" where schools from around the country compete to create the best advertising campaign for the sponsored client of that year.
As team captain of the research and strategy team, I am responsible for overseeing the secondary, qualitative and quantitative research efforts in order to gain meaningful insights on the topic of AdTech solutions.
I hope that when I graduate from school I can break through in the market research industry and attain a position that will give me hands-on experience with market research.
Comments