Intern Insider: All About Production

5 August 2017 by Young & Rubicam

Every year, we welcome interns from across the U.S. to our New York HQ for our summer internship program. Our 10-week long internships give aspiring advertisers a unique opportunity to learn new skills and make valuable connections—all while enjoying the life in the big apple. Get to know our incredible summer interns and hear about their experiences in our ‘Intern Insider’ series.

Once the Strategists, Creatives, and Account Managers work day in and day out to finalize a strategy for the client, we often don’t think about the next step - before we see advertisements running on TV or popping up on the internet. Well, this week we bring to you the team who makes this next step happen: Content Production. We spoke with two interns, Karissa Ferrugio and Sergio Rico about their experience.

If you love traveling, talk to Sergio; his wanderlust has brought him to almost every continent in the world. From Cuba to Mexico, and all the way to Taiwan, this guy has done it all. Don’t believe us? Ask him about that time he lived and worked on a coffee plantation.

Karissa is a Communications major with a focus on TV and Radio at Monmouth University and Sergio is an Art History and Creative Writing major at Columbia University. Both love the experience of working compared to being a student. “In the classroom, you know what’s coming and you have time to prepare. In the office, it’s ever-changing,” Karissa explained. They both spoke about how in content production, they deal with situations as they arrive; there's no set schedule.

What’s it like working in Production?

People in production are pretty much the directors of the show; from getting props, to reserving transportation for shoots, they manage it all. “One of the biggest things we do is assist producers. They wear a lot of hats and anything we can help them with is a huge weight off their shoulders,” Sergio explained. Sometimes, Sergio and Karissa will receive a phone call at 7 pm to figure out the solution to a problem last minute. To do this, they must work as a cohesive and collaborative team. They both raved about the supportive environment at Y&R and how everyone genuinely cares about the whole team’s progress and success. If you want to catch a glimpse of the Productions department’s culture, stop by the fourth floor of 3CC at any time of day to see an intense game of mini basketball featuring the tiny department basketball hoop.

Our Content Production Intern alumna, Nikki, or “Slick Nik”, graduated from St. Johns University and began working at Y&R in 2015. You’ve definitely seen her around the office because she’s always on the go with a smile on her face! If you’re into sports, Nikki is a good friend to have because she plays on the Y&R Softball team and is on a club soccer team, too!

Nikki didn’t know production was something she wanted to go into because she was primarily focused on creative and copywriting, but she jumped into it during her last semester of college and loved it! “Any session I could go into, I would join.” She truly believes in maximizing your time at Y&R by taking advantage of all of the resources available.

How was the transition from intern to full time?

“The transition was smooth because I had already worked here. The difference was that I was given a lot more responsibility,” she explained. She loves the department because it’s small and tight knit; everyone knows what everyone else is working on and it creates a sense of community. When she came back to Y&R as a full-time employee, Nikki felt like she was coming back to all of her friends because the relationships she had built were and still are genuine.

This post concludes our Intern Insider series - we hope you learned a bit more about the ins and outs of Y&R and the advertising industry. Be sure to check out “The Real Life of Y&R Interns” intern wrap up video coming out later this week! 

Source: www.yr.com