An Intern's Perspective: Big vs. Small Agencies

It has been one month now, and I have truly come to appreciate my internship and Frause for everything it has to offer. As I make the final moves before graduation, I have been doing my best to research different agencies and what I would enjoy most. After having several informational interviews over the last few months in the Portland area, and now having worked in an agency, I’ve noticed some of the differences that were discussed in my interviews with regard to big versus smaller agencies. Here is what I have noticed:

1. Smaller agencies can allow you to connect personally with more of the staff

A smaller agency allows you more opportunities to get to know the entire firm. You learn their strengths and weaknesses, and they learn yours. Just this week I had Bob Frause, the CEO, compliment me on my first blog post. With any intern experience you will become familiar and comfortable with the people around you, but at a bigger agency you may never spend time with the senior-level staff, which can be frustrating for some.

2. Smaller agencies can give you the chance to watch the development of a project or campaign

One complaint I have heard from others, is how working at a bigger agency sometimes won’t allow you to see the direct results of your work. At Frause, I will have the chance to watch a public relations campaign unfold from beginning to end. By the time I finish my internship, I will see the final result of our work, which is rewarding and looks great for my portfolio and a résumé.

3. A smaller agency can allow for more face time with a client

With bigger agencies, many interns may never have the opportunity to meet a client face-to-face. Since interning, I have met two different clients and sat in on two different client meetings. It’s been a great experience and I feel lucky to have the trust and respect of the Frause employees to give me this great opportunity.

That being said, no two internships or agencies are the same, and each person will have a unique experience, but hopefully this can help give a better understanding of how agencies can differ from each other.

More to come next week!

- Casey Colesworthy

New Intern with the Portland Office!

Well, it’s official. I am going into my third week at Frause and am becoming more attached to the agency and its team by the day.

My name is Casey Colesworthy and I have the pleasure of being the new intern for Frause in the Portland office. I am a senior at the University of Oregon and will graduate in June with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism with a focus in public relations. Originally from Sun Valley, Idaho, I lived in Eugene for four years before moving up to Portland three weeks ago. The change has been difficult, especially since I don’t know many people, but I am thrilled to be here, spread my wings and show my skills.

While there are many things I love about the public relations industry, one thing I enjoy most is how it’s a key component in everything we do. The industry’s unpredictable fast pace and reach in different areas of business are what keep me intrigued and coming back for more every day.

Before working with Frause, I was the public relations intern for the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on the University of Oregon campus. I also worked for two years with a student-run public relations firm on campus called Allen Hall Public Relations doing work for local organizations and businesses in Eugene.

My hope for the next seven weeks is that I bond with the wonderful employees of Frause, while getting real professional experience working with an agency. I am excited to meet the Seattle office for the first time in a few weeks and hope you enjoy reading and following my journey during this exciting time. More to come soon!

-Casey Colesworthy

Announcement!

I have some good news and bad news to announce.

For the past six months I have been blessed to have had two great internships here at Frause. Both internships have given me valuable experience in agency life and have prepared me to tackle the working world. I have toned my Microsoft Office skills by building media lists in Excel and building an internal database in Access. I enhanced my writing by creating press releases and pitches and assisting on reports. And I have also learned how to collaborate and support different teams in order to produce exceptional client work.

Sadly, the bad news is this is my last blog post on the Frause intern blog. I have completed my fall internship and I’m now hiking down the career path. I will no longer be writing for the intern blog, but there will be fresh new talent in shortly to continue to provide the inside scoop of Frause.

And the good news is I have been hired on as a full-time employee! As assistant account executive I will be assisting on various client accounts while continuing to work on internal Frause projects.

I couldn’t be happier to continue to be a part of the Frause team. I have learned more in the past two quarters than I ever thought I had the brain capacity for and I am eager to continue to learn and grow in this great environment.

I have really enjoyed writing for this blog and I hope to do more online writing in the future. Thanks for being a great audience! If you ever need to find me, you know where I’ll be!

-Amy Graham

The Power of Social Media

Social Media is a powerful tool. It is helping bring people together in both times of happiness and sadness. A recent example of social media’s power is the Facebook page created by Jacob Kimerer, 17, from Edmonds Woodway High School called “In the Memory of The Lakewood Officers.” The page mourns the death of the four Lakewood officers that were tragically shot and killed at Forza coffee shop on Sunday, November 29, 2009.

The day following the tragedy, I continuously monitored the Facebook page and read the Seattle Times article about Jacob. I thought it would be interesting to hear directly from Jacob about what drove him to create the page and his views on social media and its effect on the people who use it.

When I interviewed Jacob on December 3 the page had over 162,000 members, and it has grown steadily since then. As of this blog post, there are 262,953 members. Equipped with over 1,600 photos, 1,400 links, 13 videos and 10 events, the page is a rich information resource center that gives Northwest residents as well as distant family and friends the opportunity to interact, share and grieve together.

Below is the short conversation I had with Jacob.

Do you think social media will help law enforcement officers with their jobs in the future?
“Social media could very well help law enforcement with their jobs. Officers need to start using social media now so they can post new information online rather than just through e-mails.”

What other social media experience do you have? What other sites do you use besides Facebook?
“I just use Facebook right now. I stay away from Twitter because it seems like more work than having a Facebook page. I like Facebook because you can do more than just status updates.

Was creating the Facebook page your idea? Did you think it would be this successful?
“The Facebook page was my idea. I never thought it was going to be this popular. I’m amazed on how big it has grown in such little time."

There are a few other groups that are similar to yours but they don’t have as many members. Why do you think yours has been the most popular?
“I must have just started my page first, or targeted it to the right people. The page is so popular because people need a place where they can share stories, grieve and show their support for the fallen officers and their families and friends. The page allows people to come together."

The page’s success is phenomenal and what Jacob did was a great thing. His page gives everyone connected with this tragedy an outlet to express their feelings and show support for the families affected. If you haven’t become a fan of the Facebook page please do so by going here or searching for it on Facebook. I’m sure we will be seeing much more from Jacob in the social media realm in the future.

Creating Currents: Surfing the Waves of Change

My highlight of the season was attending the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) National Conference. The five-day annual event was held November 6-10 in sunny San Diego, Calif. – home of the gas lamp district and the ever-famous San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park.

This year’s conference was hosted by the PRSSA chapter at California State University Fullerton, the PRSSA 2009 National Committee (made up of seven PRSSA members from across the nation), and the PRSA San Diego chapter. Over 1,000 students and PRSSA members from across the U.S. were present at the event, as well as one student from the PRSSA chapter at the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (U.A.D.E.).

The conference is designed to prepare public relations students for a successful career. It offers chapter development sessions presented by fellow PRSSA members in different schools across the country, leadership sessions for chapter board members and members interested in future leadership roles, and numerous professional development sessions where students have the opportunity to hear from and network with successful PR professionals.

Below are a few of my favorite sessions.

“View from the Top: How Young Talent Can Stand Out” Ron Cult, Partner, Director, North America Corporate Practice at Ketchum Kevin Saghy, Account Executive at Ketchum

Ron and Kevin talked with numerous junior PR and senior PR professionals all over the U.S. and asked questions related to success in the workplace and their own personal experiences. It was a unique presentation that was relevant to all members in attendance.

“Diving into Diversity” Sonia Sroka, APR, Vice Present, Hispanic Marketing at Porter Novelli Travis Parman, APR, Director, Public Relations, GMAC Financial Services and Ally Bank

Sonia and Travis talked about their work specializing in Hispanic and LGBT communities and the importance of correctly reaching out to different diversity segments.

Three important things (“The Three Ins”) to do when targeting diversity groups:

1. In-culture: Research the particular culture and its values

2. In-language: Understand the language – it’s not about translation but “transcreation”
3. In-person: Establish a personal relationship with people in the diversity segment

Sonia and Travis left conference attendees with these wise words: “Exclusion is always dangerous,” and “Great minds DON’T think alike.”

The most valuable experience at the conference this year was meeting with members from the Puget Sound PRSA chapter. Students from the Washington State chapter, Central Washington University chapter and those of us from the University of Washington chapter met with local Puget Sound PR pros who were also attending the conference. The event, a casual meet-and-greet over appetizers, was a great way to meet professionals in our area and share conference stories.
* Check out the photo of Bob and me.

This year’s conference was a huge success. I met some influential PR pros, gained more PRSSA contacts/twitter followers and momentarily escaped from the western Washington rain. Next year’s national conference is in Washington, D.C. I wish I could go again!

-Amy Graham