August 9, 2022
by Hope Thompson

After recently completing my freshman year at Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts at The New School, I was striving to find a place this summer that would keep me enriched in a working environment and help me to grow as a learner. It was at GrayMatter that I was able to grab a seat and take a deep dive into the real world of marketing, media, and work collaboration. I sat in on client meetings, proofed client documents, created an agency Instagram account, researched other marketing social media, and took professional headshots of the company team for their website. Each task gave me a new perspective of agency life. We even ended some days with a bowl of my homemade guacamole and a good conversation.

At the beginning of the summer, I spent a lot of my time researching how ad agencies across the world presented themselves on social media, specifically through Instagram. I looked at their content, their followings, and their clients to get a better idea of what made their accounts successful for their businesses. With this, I gathered up all the information and presented it to the agency senior management team to offer ideas on how we could grow a digital following and present ourselves to clients through media. Ideas about content possibilities were passed back and forth. We discussed how we should post, when we should post, and why we should post. I then set up the business Instagram account and began producing content. Based on our reactions to the research I had conducted on other agencies, I thought of creative approaches to present GrayMatter for Instagram. With interesting layouts, color schemes, and visuals, we found ways to make the agency account feel cohesive with the company itself.

Being a Journalism + Design major, I am taught to think about how layout and design are important in the process of displaying the correct look and feel to any sort of story, company, or message that is being presented to the public. My experience with the work on GrayMatter’s Instagram account and research on social media platforms gave me a better understanding of how companies can use the social media world to reach out to specific audiences and curate a polished look that will build up their business and create stronger client connections. The way in which a company presents itself provides an open window for their clients to gather an idea of who they are and what they stand for. Their presentation is part of their story and it is important for companies to make it as authentic as possible.

While a lot of my internship was spent around digital media and research, I was still given opportunities to sit in on meetings with some of GrayMatter’s clients. Whether it was over Zoom or in person, these meetings gave me the chance to see how clients and agencies communicate with one another to share ideas and gather information. I was given the task to take notes during our time with a client and was encouraged to give my own insight on some of the creative ideas that were being bounced around the room. This gave me the chance to practice my own communication skills and really experience the thinking process that comes with working with clients.

The professional, yet casual feel to the office made me feel at ease. I wasn’t afraid to ask questions about my work and offer up new ideas to the meetings. They made me feel as though I was part of the team, while they listened to my thoughts and gave me insightful feedback. Everyday at GrayMatter offered me new chances to explore the world of marketing and communications in ways I hadn’t experienced before.

When given the task to take the company headshots, I had a great deal of creative liberty and freedom to explore my approach to the project. The senior management team trusted me in what I thought would look best in regards to look and feel, as well as color scheme and decorative editing elements. We had a lot of fun playing around with backdrops, outfit changes, and layouts.

This was my first time professionally taking photos of any kind. It is exciting to know that my work will be used on the company website and in pitch decks. GrayMatter made the experience very enjoyable. They let me take my time with the photo prep and helped me with the direction of the shoot. This photoshoot gave me a look into the ins and outs of a more professional shoot and left me with ideas on how I could improve my work in the future.

This summer, I was given the opportunity to explore and discover new techniques that will push me further in the field of communications and design. I am excited to be leaving with a greater understanding of the work environment and an enriched skill set that will help me continue on to my next step in my educational and professional journey.