Author: Elle Housman

Overall, I think that the time spent at FWV was insightful because it reinforced my interests in business, marketing, and design. What I enjoyed the most about the internship is all the new information I learned- most prominently, how many moving parts go into an agency like this (PR, social media, paid advertising, account management, creative work, etc.) I learned the difference between working in an agency and in-house, an agency being someplace that works with a lot of different businesses and works with many teams while an in-house business typically only works for that one business. This information helped me decide what I think would be a good fit for me going into the workforce. Additionally, I thought the very brief meeting with two people working in the Creative Team was impactful because it helped me learn the scope of design work, which includes building consumer profiles, developing a company identity, and of course, designing things such as logos, websites, flyers, etc. I highly recommend interning somewhere that is involved with something you’re interested in especially if you’re on the fence about it- because what you learn and glean from that experience can truly play a major role in deciding what is best for your future.

Here’s an example of an advertisement designed by the creative team for Burger-Fi!

At our last day at FWV, we compiled contact information for reporters independently and shadowed meetings. A few days ago we sat in on a meeting where FWV team members and a client brainstormed storyboard ideas for a safe driver advertisement. Today, we got the privilege of attending a shoot for the advertisement! The storyline was based on the idea “don’t play with death”, and the video contained shots of the grim reaper playing by himself because no one was “playing with death”, AKA driving carelessly.

Here’s a picture from the shoot!

Today we had what I consider to be our most engaging meeting yet- we got to learn about equity in the workplace and research how to incorporate support for people into advertising without exploiting pride for monetary gain. We focused on pride month, Juneteenth, and men’s health month, compiling articles for the employees at FWV to read and make sure to avoid things such as rainbow washing and other performative behaviors. Our task was to look into entrepreneur David Meltzer’s Ask Me Anything podcast for a client. We created a list of possible questions for the client to propose that lie within the typical scope of questions asked.

Here’s a picture of Devil Meltzer!

Today we shadowed a meeting about possible marketing strategies for one of the biggest FWV clients, Pendleton Whiskey. This meeting gave us some insight about the collaboration involved in advertising at an agency- between teams, between FWV and influencers, and between the account employees and FWV team members. The highlight of the day was our independent task- finding influencer candidates for the ABB Formula E account. They’re looking for influencers to attend and bring attention to a race they’re sponsoring in NYC. This was interesting because it allowed me to see the what qualifies and disqualifies influencers from being asked about sponsorships, what types of people they look for, and how they market products through posts and trusted influencers.

Here’s a picture of us after finishing finding the candidates!

On the first day at FWV, we learned all the basics- vocabulary, background, key components of an agency, etc. One insight that stood out to me was that they run a “fully integrated” campaign, which means they work on all aspects of their company. For example, they are currently planning social media campaigns, influencer campaigns, press releases, pitches, and a music festival. Some other main clients include Wilmington Beaches, Town of Cary, Wrangler, Greenville NC, NCDOT, and APPA. They manage all the PR and advertising needs a company could have by being composed of 4 teams- the social team, which manages social media accounts and influencers, the paid media team, which manages all advertisements you pay for (billboards, radio ads, paid boosting on social media and sponsorships, etc.), the creative team, which manages design campaigns and all creative aspects of advertising (graphic design, videography, etc.), and the account team, which is PR focused and manages client communications, press releases, pitches, etc.

Here’s a picture of everyone in our new cubicles!

I’m extremely excited to learn about PR and marketing at French West Vaughan in downtown Raleigh! I’m interested in creative pursuits, particularly design and how it intertwines with marketing. I’m curious to see how a fully-integrated agency functions and what makes it different from in-house marketing firm.

Here’s a picture from the FWV website listing a few clients they have- hopefully I’ll be working on some of those accounts!

Today at FWV we met with John Moore and Leah Knepper- with Mr. Moore, we sat in on a meeting about their plan for a safe driving advertisement and video shoot they’ll be doing from 6/1-6/2. This was extremely interesting because we were informed about the ways to engage a target audience in short periods of time without one’s message losing weight. With Ms. Knepper, she talked about her work in PR, including running the FWV blog, managing thought leadership, clients, and tailoring outreach programs.

Dr. Mc also popped by to get some pictures for the CA account! (See below)

During our second day at FWV, we sat in on meetings, met many people in a variety of fields, took headshots, and learned about the different facets of marketing/ business. The most influential part of our day was when we met with Scott Palmer (Digital Advertising) and Erin (Senior Creative Project Manager), who educated us about their respective fields and answered the many questions we had. They also showed us presentations and plans they have set up for specific businesses they work with, highlighting key information and giving us a concrete sense of what their day-to-day looks like.

Here is a picture of us during our meeting with Erin!