Interning in the Digital Age

The opportunity to intern in the digital department at Mudd Advertising has been a worthwhile experience for me. As a student of the University of Northern Iowa’s Interactive Digital Studies program, the education I am pursuing is centered on digital advertising and the production techniques required by companies implementing a marketing campaign. In the digital department, I have learned the importance of incorporating SEO, SEM, and social media into a cohesive online marketing strategy. Furthermore, I've received hands-on experience with the latest and greatest industry tools and strategies that are crucial in producing the service packages that Mudd provides to clients around the country. I’m looking forward to applying these techniques to employment opportunities I have in the future. My first experience in the digital department was updating landing pages of clients' websites for Google search and display network ad placements based on their seasonal incentives and promotions. As I would come to learn, landing pages are one of the biggest assets in SEM strategies. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) works by displaying promotional material based on the relevancy of a product or service to what a search engine user is currently viewing or searching for, e.g. Google and YouTube. Instead of an advertisement directing a searcher to a general website where they might find the product that is similar to what they are searching for, a landing page guarantees that the first thing the viewer of the ad sees is a web page dedicated to rich content describing more about the product and offering details on how customers can learn more or make a purchase decision about a particular product or service. Another concept that I was introduced to through the digital department is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is the practice of developing websites in a manner to provide viewers an excellent experience while at the same time allowing search engine robots to scan through the code of each page and determine a ranking. These rankings are one of the most important factors in establishing a brand on the World Wide Web in this digital age. Based on the robots' assessment of your site, you will be displayed appropriately across relevant search engine results pages on platforms like Google. Companies and brands that are at the top of the page when you enter a generic term are the ones working the hardest to direct search engine users to their website based on what they are searching for. These different tools and stratgies working together in concert is one of the biggest advantages of the digital department her at Mudd; marketers, strategists, and designers synchronize their skills in order to create and implement the best strategy for each client’s campaign objectives. These practices working in tandem are what make Mudd’s web presence enhancement and marketing practices so beneficial to both clients and the customers of clients. During my time as an intern, I even had the opportunity to lend a hand to the production team in Studio 5. I remember one morning mid-way through my internship when I was getting my fix of the local news, a commercial came on that was produced by Mudd, one that I was able to participate in during production. Damn, that was a great feeling. Seeing the scope of a real commercial on cable television put in perspective how even what seems like a small role in a project affects the big picture of an overall production. I believe this idea encompasses Mudd Advertising as a whole, having witnessed how the account executives and account managers work directly with the marketers, producers, and designers to produce appropriate content for each client’s campaign. My internship experience at Mudd has been a memorable one, from the explosive applause on the sales floor to dodging footballs being tossed around the office. I think what stuck out the most was the expertise that each employee showed when they were demonstrating a specific task that I was learning. They not only knew the best practices to complete something, but had the well-rounded knowledge to make it understandable to someone new to the concept. This not only made it easier for me learn how digital marketing applies to the industry, but also educated clients as to how they are missing out if they are not implementing such practices. This is nothing to be taken lightly, as this aspect of the industry has only begun to become mainstream. This is just one of the reasons why the digital department here a Mudd has a jump on the competition in terms of professional experience and making the best use of the technology that is available in the advertising industry.