The saying goes, ‘time flies when you’re having fun’, and this 8-week internship reaffirms that statement completely. On the 3rd of July I began a summer internship at Speed not knowing too much about what PR entailed and I am now leaving with a bundle of experiences that I will treasure for the rest of my life. Everyone at Speed has guided me through the world of Public Relations and has answered my multitude of questions every single day.
During my time here, I have had more of a focus on Speed’s Consumer Clients, such as Saga Media, Sanctuary Care, Butternut Box, Revlon, and Haven. Every project I have worked on has been full of exciting opportunities:
Around halfway through the internship I was given the brief to draft up a press release pitch for Revlon’s new Smooth-Stay Collection. I was then given the green light to pitch this out to National Consumer Journalists across the country. After some time spent in Speed’s store cupboard and a few Revlon samples sent out, I managed to secure my first piece of coverage in OK! Magazine. This was a very proud moment and gave me even more inspiration and ambition to begin a career in PR. It is important that I add that none of this would have been possible without the guidance of the Revlon team at Speed and their patience with me throughout this pitch and my whole internship.
Another big, stand out moment of this internship was the opportunity to be part of Butternut Box’s biggest PR event yet. Marianna, Hannah, Ross, and I, all headed to London (Kennington Park) to spend the day with a wide variety of dogs and some of the in-house Butternut Box team. The sun shone all day, and we met so many friendly faces (humans and dogs). It was a great day to be involved in and the coverage it received reflected all the dedication and hard work that was put into it.
I was also lucky enough to be invited to help with the grand renaming of Haven’s Allhallows Leisure Park. Caragh, Helly, Hannah and I spent two nights preparing and helping out at the event to ensure some great coverage was captured and journalists/media were well looked after. This was an amazing opportunity and way to end the internship – and it was even more amazing to do be able to do it with a team of women I aspire to be like one day!
In addition to all of the crazy, stand out moments that have happened in the past two months working here, I have also loved the smaller everyday tasks. This includes creative brainstorms and pitching clinics where everyone comes together and all ideas are heard and taken into consideration, the wackier the better!
The past 8 weeks has not only taught me so much with regards to the world of Public Relations and Communications but has also shown me how important it is to be part of a team who are kind, supportive, and courageous, acknowledging and praising everyone’s wins no matter how big or small. Everyone at Speed has been so inclusive and have really made me feel part of the team, with a big shoutout to my lovely line manager, Helly, who has made me feel right at home from that very first Monday morning!
I am so grateful for this experience and all the fun that has come with it. I am going to miss everything and everyone at Speed and I hope that one day our paths will cross again…
Phoebe Gane, PR Intern