What is it like to work at one of the most famous international companies in the Netherlands as a consumer marketing intern?
This blog is written for my fellow students who would like to seek an internship related to communication in the future.
To be honest, I was quite nervous when I started my internship in October, but now I can proudly say that I had grown a lot during this internship, thanks to the support of my dearest team- the global shaving team of Royal Philips. Let me brief more details about my internship journey.
As most people already know, Royal Philips is one of the most famous and well-recognized companies here in the Netherlands. Since I first arrived in the Netherlands to study, I have always dreamed of working at Royal Philips. Then, thanks to the introduction of one of the previous Communication Science students, I was able to secure an interview with Royal Philips’ shaving team and eventually became a consumer marketing intern.
At the beginning of my internship, I rarely know about consumer marketing. But I do realize that Communication is the root of marketing. From its ideas to how it’s done, marketing has a lot in common with Persuasive Communication. When I prepared the packaging briefings, marketing texts, social media campaigns, and PR events, I intensively used what I learned in the Persuasive Communication course(which is my favorite course in my bachelor). Being a student of communication science, I found it that effective communication is fundamental to every successful marketing approach. During the past several months, this internship has greatly taught me how to apply what I had learned in the Communication lessons to practical matters.
Apart from that, in such a digital epoch, the marketing industry is no exception to digitalization. My team needs to use data analysis tools to analyze and visualize data, such as consumer and sales data. For instance, in my role at Philips, I used SPSS to visualize the sales data and analyze the potential impact factors of sales. And I also classified consumer data to better target them with customized marketing strategies in a precise manner. I found it immensely useful to have learned SPSS during the MCRS and SMCR courses, as well as in my minor course, Computational Communication Science, all of which have taught me how to gain up-to-date insights from data and have made me a data-savvy person. These skills came in handy when I needed to do data analysis work during my internship and will undoubtedly benefit me in my future career. During the internship, I would say that my data analysis ability was also enhanced by applying what I have learned in MCRS & SMCR & Computational Communication Science classes
In this internship, I greatly explored the marketing industry and how marketing works. In addition, I significantly participated in the projects, thanks to my supportive manager and my team. And I was lucky enough to meet so many experienced marketing and communication professionals and learned from them. I also shared my research result with my manager and discussed with her to gain some insights regarding how to increase the persuasive effect of packaging design.
I highly recommend the marketing internship at Philips to fellow students:
- Who are interested in strategic marketing and communication;
- Who are enthusiastic about Persuasive Communication;
- Who are passionate in marketing and want to have a complete overview of consumer marketing;
- Who can work well under pressure;
- Who is expecting an internship supported by a warm and experienced team who are always there for you and have your back;
- Who are good at teamwork and would support teamwork.
Here are some pictures of my internship:
