A Clear Channel Outdoor Internship: The "Contagious" Nature of Caring

On top of that, I had moved to New York City for the summer less than two days ago -- and it was only my second time here. As intimidating as the hustle and bustle was, I couldn't have been more excited to be working in one of the most iconic cities in the world.

As an advertising student, I've long felt out of home (OOH) media is undervalued in today's digital age. Since I chose advertising as my major, I have been drawn to OOH for several reasons. I love that it's one of the oldest advertising mediums, and I admire the uniqueness and creativity the medium demands. Oversaturated social media marketing has people tiring of seeing an ad between each scroll.

While these frustrations may soon be resolved in the face of the impending "cookiepocalypse," OOH will stand on firm ground. You can scroll past an Instagram ad, but you can't scroll past OOH. So, when the opportunity to apply for an internship at one of the largest OOH companies presented itself, I was thrilled. When I discovered I got the internship, I was elated. I couldn't wait to get my foot in the door in an industry and company that excited me.

Right off the bat, during my first week as a corporate communication and marketing intern, I was assigned the task of writing a blog. It was here I ran into my first learning curve of the internship: mastering the art of corporate communication. In college, you aim to stretch out your writing to meet word counts. But corporate communication calls for as few words as possible. In a world of short attention spans, each word must serve a purpose.

Ernest Hemingway, a writer hailed for his concise and no-frills writing style, has nothing on the corporate communication writing style. The experience of writing that first blog made me aware of just how much I had to learn, and that learning would happen through repetition. I continued to write blogs, newsletters, articles and even a press release. I wrote social copy, again, and again and again.

Through the guidance of mentors, I learned to dig out excitement and pack as much significance into as few words possible. I learned that more is often less. What I grew to love about writing blogs and social copy was knowing so many people were reading the words I had chosen and strung together.

While it was amazing to publish content under my byline, the most rewarding aspect of my internship was the work I did with nonprofits. Experiencing the first post-pandemic in-person Times Square event with a close nonprofit partner of CCO was a highlight of my entire summer, not just a highlight of my internship. Meeting the founders and people the nonprofit impacts was a heartwarming experience.

For many of CCO's nonprofit partnerships, I got to see the data showing the staggering number of people a nonprofit's campaign reached. Although you don't have to see a tangible number to convince you your work is making the world a better place, it sure doesn't hurt. Most special of all was being on the email thread breaking the news a missing child featured on CCO's missing child billboard campaign was found and returned home to her family.

Although I learned many new skills this summer, the most important thing I learned is what is important in a work environment. I feel overwhelmed by the kindness and enthusiasm I was showered with this summer. From eating a nice seafood lunch with my team on my first day to the countless number of executives who took the time to introduce themselves and get to know me, the intimacy of the connections I made with people I never even imagined meeting beyond exceeded the expectations I had for any summer internship.

Being surrounded by people who care about the work they're doing is contagious, and I was constantly challenged and inspired by the work I was doing with the people I was doing it with. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have worked with so many amazing people in an industry I adore.

This article was written by Brooke Blackwell  (pictured at top) who is a rising senior at Syracuse University majoring in Advertising with an emphasis in Production and a minor in English. This summer, she is interning with Clear Channel Outdoor as a Corporate Communications and Marketing Intern. You can connect with her on Linkedin at www.linkedin.com/in/brookebrennanblackwell.

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The opinions expressed here are the author's views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.com/MyersBizNet.