Hey everyone! My name is Taylor Critz and I am currently a sophomore in college. I am taking some time off and until next semester, I am working as an intern at Robertson & Markowitz. It is my first real internship with the exception of my high school senior project where I shadowed a trauma surgeon at Memorial Hospital. Needless to say, this is a bit different and I don’t really know what to expect here. I have always been interested in advertising but to be honest, I don’t know too much about it. I didn’t realize that there could be so many different aspects to a single agency but I should have guessed just by the name itself: Robertson & Markowitz Advertising and Public Relations, Inc. and Robmark Interactive. If you count the and’s and Inc.’s, that’s 10 words out of the 200-500 suggested words in a normal blog (that was one of the first things I learned this morning). Today was my first day and, as expected, I was first introduced to each employee. I then sat down with Mr. Robertson and he explained to me the different sides of the company and what each employee contributes to it. Robertson & Markowitz works with print, television, radio, websites, etc. I will be working with each of the employees trying to learn as much as I can about their particular fields. I hope to learn not only what I am interested in but also what I am not because both are equally important on the road to discover what profession I want to pursue. After spending the better part of the day learning my way around the office, I’ve compiled a list of questions that I hope to have answered after my internship at Robertson & Markowitz:
1. First of all, what is the difference between advertising and public relations? What makes a company choose to spend more money on one over the other?
2. How do you know if a certain advertisement is worth the money? Say you paid for a billboard ad at a certain location, how do you know that it will bring revenue? Is that for the company to decide or the agency? It all seems so subjective…
3. And lastly, this may seem dumb but…who does the advertising for an advertising agency…?
I am excited to learn about the business and work with new people that are full of information. I will promise to update you on my progress as I go along!