Intern Insights: Life at Finch Brands

As the leaves start to change and cold nips the air, our interns here at Finch Brands have slowly begun to stray from the comfort of their desks and intermingle with fellow Finch employees. It started slowly: an intern took a trip to the restroom without asking permission; another took two pieces of candy from the front desk; one brazen intern even tagged along on a coffee run. Over the past few months, we have chipped away at our interns’ enigmatic exteriors in an attempt to get to know them better and to find out what they think of their experience at Finch Brands.

Corey, a senior at Temple University with a focus in Account Management, interns on our Strategy Team along with Grace, a Psychology major and recent Davidson College graduate. Melissa – a recent graduate of St. Joseph’s University with a Marketing major – works with the Integrated Marketing team.

Q: What made you interested in interning at Finch Brands?

Corey: Bill (Finch Brands’ president) visited a research class I was in last fall. He gave us an overview of what branding means and how it impacts a company. I’d never heard branding explained like that before and I wanted to learn more.

Grace: I wanted experience in marketing in a company that was well-regarded in the Philadelphia community. I didn’t graduate with a marketing degree, so I wanted some hands-on experience in a company where people knew what they were doing.

Q: What were your expectations of a brand agency before you arrived at Finch Brands?

Melissa: I hoped that a branding agency would do a little bit of everything and touch every point of a client’s business. Whether that be small marketing materials, a website, a strategy overhaul, or a logo.

Grace: I imagined that everyone would sit around a big table and just talk about their ideas. The media portrays agencies as full of people sitting around with their PPTs and their easels.

Q: How has your view of branding changed since interning here?

Corey: There’s only so much that you can learn in a classroom. Seeing the specifics of how a company is changed and how the brand is integrated across all channels is awesome. I’ve gotten real-world experience here that you can’t get no matter how many hours you spend in class.

Melissa: Since being at Finch, I have gotten to see and experience more than I expected. I see all of the tiny details that go into a brand that you don’t necessarily realize. I’m learning about things I’ve never done before like CMS and SEO and all of the background work that it takes to build a complete brand.

Grace: Before this opportunity, I don’t think I looked as much at tagline and what a company really stands for. After working in Strategy, I look more at what a company is trying to convey. Now I see that taglines and messaging aren’t just for the sake of a company’s image, they’re the values and mission that serve as a promise to consumers no matter which way the company goes.

Q: What has been the most memorable thing that has happened to you while at Finch Brands?

Corey: I’ll never forget when I learned Richard’s (the VP of Integrated Marketing) Instagram name—MaskedDiablo. I definitely was not expecting that from him.

Melissa: I get to play with dolls (Bleacher Creatures) for the day and then see hundreds of people liking and sharing those images.

Grace: Singing karaoke in the conference room with Mandy (Brand Analyst) and Kiana (Brand Strategist) on a Friday afternoon. I sang Evanescence, Mandy took The Eagles, and Kiana attempted Whitney Houston.

Q: Advice for future interns?

Melissa: Never say no to work because experience is everything. Even if you’re afraid to learn something new, it’s going to be valuable in the end.

Grace: Eat the office candy early in the morning or Bill will get it.

We are incredibly grateful to have the privilege to work with Corey, Grace, and Melissa. They have aided Finch Brands in innumerable ways and continuously make us stronger as a company and a team.

If you think you have what it takes to fill their shoes, check out our current opportunities.

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Valerie Slade, Marketing Manager