Beattie McGuinness Bungay

Week 4 - 14th October 2013

Day 16

My first journey to BMB was pretty easy as I am very familiar with the area - Covent Garden - I love it so much here. After I arrived and got shown round by the lovely Charlotte, I got given a seat on the the same table as my supervisor, the MD and yards away from the famous Trevor Beattie!! While this at first made me slightly nervous, it increased my determination to do well there. At 12, I was invited to a status meeting with the Microsoft team. This was really interesting to be apart of as I got a true taste of what goes on inside an agency and how it is structured through different job roles. Later I helped another Placement student create a Technology Trends report for the Microsoft account.

Day 17-20th

Unfortunately and annoyingly for myself, on the Monday night I went to hospital as what I thought was a bad back turned out to be a kidney infection and I was forced to take the next few days off.

Week 5 - 21st October 2013

Day 21

On Monday I wanted to make up for lost time. I was put on the McCain table and made some new friends. Having lived off McCains microwave jacket potatoes as a student I felt quite close to this brand! I was given a task to create a report on 'Characterisation in Advertising'. I had to read academic journals an draw relevant information whilst finding real life cases and answering a list of bullet points Olly gave me for some help. I was very familiar with this type of task as it reflected Uni work so I got really stuck in to it. The end of the day was brought with a huge round of cookies and cakes which of course I didn't turn down! The food is definitely a bonus of an advertising career. 

Day 22

This morning I finished off the thorough report I had created and created a section on my opinion and recommendations brought on from my research. I spent some time after this reading into agency roles as I realised despite wanting to go into account management I do really enjoy research which is more of an account planner's job. Afterwards Mike asked if I would like to work on the Legoland account and of course I accepted! One of my jobs was to watch a few Lego Movies, which I couldn't believe had come so far since I last thought Lego was solely for playing with! I had to screenshot as many different facial expressions an emotions as part of something the team were working on. Later when Olly arrived back from his meeting he commended me on my work and I left in a very jolly mood. 

Day 23

South West Trains got me off to a delayed start but I hit the ground running once I got to work by helping Mike on the Legoland account. I was asked to help with some consumer research which was one of my favourite units in the first year. I had to analyse reports from all the global Legolands from Denmark to Malaysia, and pick out specific parts which related to what the team were working on pitching about. At lunch time I popped out for a bit of shopping and managed to get caught up in The Body Shop sale - oops! Later I continued on the lengthy analysis process, finishing around 5.30 of which I then displayed to Mike. 

Day 24

Today started off quite quiet but after I sent out a message to ask offer help to anyone who needed it, I got two offers at once! My first was briefed by Caroline, who was working on the Eristoff Vodka account. I was to create a presentation about past alcohol campaigns that has focused their advertising around a night out and then to list any that had used wolves in their creative. It was fun to watch all the different ads as I was researching and Caroline gave me great feedback which was lifting. Next, Olly came over to brief me on a pitch about an upcoming piece of work with the Metropolitan Police. I had to write a Proposal in response to a creative brief he sent me. This was my favourite piece of work I'd done so far as the topic was something so relative and interesting as well as emotional. It also was quite challenging as I'd never written a proposal before so I had to do a bit of research into templates! 

Day 25

What should of been a sad day (last day) was made happy by Mike asking if i'd like to do another week! I had to explain I've got my next placement already lined up Monday but if I find a free week I'd love to. I got to grips with the Proposal Olly set me and had such fun doing it. It was quite interesting learning how to write one as I didn't learn specifically at Uni so I felt like I had accomplished something. Just as the afternoon drew in, Charlotte brought out a load of sweets and chocolate for everyone - my favourite. I left on a really high note and hopefully will find a week to come back soon!

Brothers and Sisters

Week 3 - 7th October 2013

Day 11

Brothers and Sisters is located in Clerkenwell which is the opposite side of London to which I live so the journey over was a very new one! From Farringdon station, I admired the walk to the agency, surrounded by a modern and sophisticated area. 

Upon arrival I was shown around the agency by the receptionist Sabrina. I was amazed at the new build and the architecture. There was also two kitchens, shower rooms, a mini library and a ping pong table! Later on I got started on my first task which was to create a presentation on the top 15 adverts in the past 5 decades according to me. I had to relate to popular culture and target audience. Towards the end I met up with Wen, a designer, who talked me through what his job involved and displayed some of his work. It was interesting to hear he originally studied Law and how he got into the industry.

Day 12

This morning I carried on with my presentation and browsed through industry magazines to gain some info and research. Then I went out with one of the temps, Arianna, to buy some items they needed for a trip to Mali, Africa, on Friday. 

Day 13

Today I finished and tweaked my presentation ready to present to Alice later. Then I was introduced to Beccy and Hugo, who worked in account management and new business. They asked me if I was up for doing a huge task. I was to create a schedule of 2014 for all the Conferences and Awards that Brothers and Sisters would be interested in getting involved with. Hugo gave me a list of some that they already needed but the rest was up to me to find. I was quite scared as the last time I used excel properly was a while ago and I wanted to make sure I found all the best and appropriate events. Later, Alice sent me to a local engraver where I was to choose a plaque, colour and font that was to be hung in the office for someone leaving. While this was a fun task, I was also nervous that they wouldn't like my choice!

Day 14

This morning I collected the plaque and to my joy, they all loved it. Phew. Later, I continued with my schedule which was taking a long time as I had to find, where, when, what and set it out into my neatly designed calendar/spreadsheet. I had a chat with Alice about what I wanted to do and go into in the future and I explained my passion for Account Management to which she arranged a few meetings with some of the account managers at the agency for tomorrow. 

Day 15

My last day had come around so quickly I couldn't believe it. I presented my presentation to Alice in the morning and then caught up with Hugo about the spreadsheet I had finalised, he was so happy with it which made my day. It proved hard work pays off, working on it the night before was worth it! After lunch I got a nice surprise - Alice offered me to go on a Sky shoot! I said yes before she could finish her sentence and before I knew it I was walking into the place in Angel. I was amazed, I'd never been on one before and all the bright lights and white sheets felt very glamorous. Then to even more of my excitement I hear Millie from Made in Chelsea is in the next room shooting for ASOS! I met Steph who was a senior account manager and she was lovely, I talked to her about what I was doing and asked her some questions I had noted down. Everyone made me feel at home and I ended up working with the creatives behind the camera. I even noticed the model was shaking, so they had to sort the problem out. A free buffet finished the day around 7pm and I left on a very high note.