We recently welcomed Ellia Marton from Bournemouth School for Girls for a week-long placement in our copywriting department. She shares her thoughts and impressions below…
Agency life
My expectations of what I believed work experience to be all about were exceeded at Bright Blue Day. I thought I would be filing documents and fetching endless cups of tea for everyone, but instead I’ve been the one who’s been offered more teas than I could possibly drink, which just captures the kindhearted, welcoming atmosphere I was greeted with at Bright Blue Day, including a welcome sign with my name on it on my first day in the office. What more could you ask for?
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In just a week I have achieved so much more than I thought possible. I mean first of all it’s a miracle that as a 17-year-old girl I actually managed to get up in the mornings for such early starts, but secondly, that I’ve been writing weekly and monthly summary reports for Visa and discovering the true art behind coding, copywriting and designing, which is an even bigger miracle considering full days at work were a big shock to the system after a summer of sun bathing and using minimal brain power. I have loved being kept busy broadening and adding to my skill set, alongside gathering information about my possible career paths.
Newbies welcome
Everyone at BBD seems to love their job and from what I’ve heard “there’s no such thing as a bad day at BBD”, and I couldn’t agree more. There’s no such thing as a dull hour in the office. I also cannot emphasise enough how genuinely friendly all the staff were to the newbie in the office (aka me) and generously gave up their time out of their busy schedules to make sure I was settled in properly and never hesitated to answer my pesky questions about anything and everything.
I felt like a kid in the classroom at primary school once again, learning new words and putting them into a context so alien to me. Once I managed to get my head around some of the concepts and terminology, I was able to decipher most of what was being proposed to clients over the phone, (which I was proud of because a few hours previously I felt as though I was tuning into a different language) and most of my understanding had come from the patient people at BBD that have guided and inspired me on my journey of exploring the complexity behind advertising and marketing.
Copywriting experience & what I knew before BBD
As for my actual experience with working at the agency, I didn’t know much about what being a copywriter entailed before I came here to find out more, but I did know that it involved writing text for the purpose of advertising a company through an idea/message, which seemed like the perfect job for me as my English and Psychology A levels could give me a hand in this area.
The way that words, figures and statements can be manipulated by copywriters to convey the attitude behind a brand and attract the right attention has always been fascinating to me. BBD was able to give me the opportunity to get a flavour for what copywriting and many of the other professions within the company were all about. And boy has it been helpful.
So I’ve been introduced into the world of advertising for the first time and have been shown how it’s constantly changing with modern methods of promotion (social media platforms) being used more than ever over traditional methods, which again has helped me make informed decisions about future job choices.
How has BBD influenced next steps?
Before I began my work experience week at BBD, I had always thought about what profession I could go into, but had never thought about the reality of working a full time job in my chosen subject area for pretty much the rest of my life. I’ve always known I couldn’t settle for a ‘boring’ 9 to 5 office job where I’d watch the hours pass agonisingly slowly, longing to return home. I physically couldn’t do that as I’ve simply got way too much energy.
I’m looking for the type of office environment that makes me want to get out of bed in the morning, a job that each day will require me to overcome a new challenge and encounter tasks that will engage my interest so that my ‘job’ no longer becomes a job, but an all- consuming hobby. Wishful thinking, I know, but having a glimpse of what BBD has to offer strengthens this wishful thinking and almost makes it a possible and achievable reality.
It’s shown me not only what working environment I desire to be surrounded by in future, but also who I aspire to be, taking good examples from the employees at BBD being so driven and still being totally engaged in their work even after 5, 10 even 15 years at the company and they certainly know how to put the sunshine in a bright blue day.