Anna Avery
NBCUniversal
This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to intern at the one and only NBCUniversal, headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York, New York!
I am a senior from Overland Park, Kansas, studying Strategic Communication with minors in Theatre and Spanish. I’m also in the Honors Program. Ever since I was little, I knew I wanted to work in the entertainment industry in some capacity, which I suppose stems from being a lifelong theatre kid. Once I got to college, I discovered it would be possible to combine my passions for writing, designing and problem solving.
In all honesty, this was the internship I’ve been working toward for the last few years. I knew I wanted to participate in NBCU’s renowned internship program, so I did what I could to bolster not only my resume, but my personal experience so I would be ready to tackle such a challenge. I completed multiple Kansas City-based marketing and public relations internships, and took on PR-related leadership positions in organizations around campus including the University Daily Kansan, the University of Kansas Panhellenic Association, The Agency, and Her Campus. I found this specific role through a listing on LinkedIn, and after a seamless interview process, I received a very exciting phone call!
I worked as a creative partnerships remote intern within One Platform Marketing, also known as OPM. OPM is essentially a group that manages integrated marketing efforts across the NBCUniversal portfolio. For example, if Pepsi wanted to work with the People’s Choice Awards, my team would develop a proposal for how to best integrate them in a way that is meaningful and creative. This is a narrow example, however, and often proposals get to span the entire portfolio, including broadcast, digital, movies and even the theme parks!
As an intern, I was treated more as a full-time employee than a college student, which was a fantastic experience! I was often tasked with creating deliverables to showcase partnership ideas when RFPs came in and developed a marketplace assessment for my team’s main client, Frito-Lay, to support efforts in developing and identifying emerging opportunities. I also got to work with fellow NBCU interns to develop a culminating research project on a topic of our choice, for which we presented on how to optimize opportunities for NBCU via its streaming service, Peacock, to best reach Generation Z. Although I worked remotely for most of the summer, I got to cap off my internship with a trip to the Big Apple to meet my team in person!
Outside of expanding my abilities in design, research, and deck building, I learned a great deal of skills that can only be harnessed through experience. I gained confidence in how to speak up in a meeting, how to craft an email, and how to build meaningful professional connections. I also grew in skills relating to time management and effective communication, which I look forward in continuing to grow through.
My time with NBCU is not over, however. This fall, I will be continuing on as a Digital Planning-PMX Remote Intern! NBCUniversal is a truly amazing company, and I had the privilege of getting to work with some wonderful human beings this summer. I look forward to what the future brings me (hopefully, more trips to New York)!