About Me
- Kimber
- My name is Kimberly and I am in the Tourism Development & Management Program at Arizona State. This blog will detail the ups and downs & ins and outs of my internship experience over the next 14 weeks. I have been hired on as a Production Intern at MKG Productions in New York City and I'm excited to see where the time will take me!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
THE END.
(Two weeks after... )I have returned to Phoenix since the end of my internship and I am slowly realizing all of the things I miss about New York and too quickly forgetting all of the things I couldn't stand!! All in all, my experience was epic, eye- opening & unparalleled, and I am still trying to digest the fact that it actually happened! It was, as i heard more than anything else & couldn't agree with more, 'the experience of a lifetime!'
As if it couldn't get any better, I just found out this week that I got a job in Phoenix at Clear Channel Radio!! I was shocked to find anything at all and so quickly...? I have truley been blessed with this new and exciting opportunity & I can't wait to see where my newest endeavor will take me. I guess I will have to start a new blog of 'Kimber in the Desert' so you can know where I'm at and what I'm doing!
Friday, April 24, 2009
Reflections on my experience
Fourteen short weeks ago, I found myself in a new city, a new climate, and a new internship doing what I have felt, for some time, that I was meant to do. In that time, I experienced grueling days with unending tasks and days that bored me out of mind, but all of which taught me something. I improved my prioritizing skills, mastered my multi-tasking ability and quickly got over any fears I had within the first few days because once you’ve been thrown in the mix, anything and everything will come your way and you just have to go for it. And on days when you’re left with nothing to do, you find something to do that will benefit you or the company, whether it be organizing work areas, adding contacts to the database or researching new ideas and venues, there is always something that can help.
At MKG, I quickly realized that rank is hardly evident in this kind of workplace because the whole team is intertwined and everyone helps each other with what needs to get done. Whether you love everyone you work with or can’t stand any of them, you have to learn to work with your team & your clients because your least favorite person might be your greatest asset so there is no sense in burning bridges that you know, at some point, you will need to cross.
I experienced something like this first hand at MKG when, at the start of my internship, I chose to be the exact opposite of another intern who was always the first one to ask when she could leave, questioned every task that was handed to her and who was never ashamed to barter for compensation for anything that required extra effort. Instead, I was sure to offer to stay as long as needed, I performed each task fully and doing my best to do what was needed before it was even asked for. Basically if they said ‘Jump,’ I said, ‘How high? How far? How many times? Do you need anyone else to jump? Should there be any floral, lighting, furniture, step&repeats or celebrities? And is there anything thing else I can do while I’m up there?’ Towards the second half of the internship, I can tell you that nothing was ever said to her for her undesirable behavior, but anytime a producer needed an intern to help with an event they would always offer the opportunity to me first and ask me not to mention it to the other intern. This fact alone made me feel like a valuable part of the MKG team and I can attest to the fact that even though your co-workers or superiors might not always acknowledge your hard work & dedication (which is not the case here, they ALWAYS said ‘thank you’ & ‘great job!’), it will not go unnoticed.
For me the only real problem that I had, and addressed, during my internship was the transition of intern supervisors after the lay-offs. The intern supervisor role was handed to one of the production coorinators, who was definitely qualified, mind you, but almost to busy stay on top of us. He was a great delegator and allowed us in on as much as he could, but he didn’t have the time to set us up to do our Final Project, that they have every intern do before leaving MKG. In the Final Project, each intern plans their own event from start to finish with all of the contracts, designs, and renderings as if it were actually going to be activated. I was so excited for this part of the internship and to get to have such a valuable souvenir and future reference material to take with me. So, even after sending him a few reminders, it was to my disappointment that it was never accomplished.
Nonetheless, I did come away having learned a great deal about the interworkings of event production.
I feel like I have grown leaps and bounds as a person and as a professional in this short time. I have grown in my respect for those who work in the industry, for differing opinions, and for the little companies that may just be ‘vendors’ but without which we would not be able to pull off half of the events we do. My business sense and knowledge of how a production company works has dramatically increased since all of my prior experience in event planning was volunteer. Many things change when you’re hired to produce events and I have come to learn the vital back & forth cycle of client interaction. MKG Productions is still considered a small company, under 25 employees, and in working for a small company I was instructed on the value of brand identity and conforming every piece of communication and collateral to display the “MKG” brand so that the logo becomes a symbol of recognition that will help to grow the brand into the future.
As I embark on my professional journey, I am gradually realizing the sacrifices that somtimes have to be made to progress in the events industry. I know that the best job might not be where I am and the best experience may not be the most enjoyable. At this point, I stand ready for the next step in my career one that will teach me and mold me into a professional well on their way to pursuing the dream of being a business owner that will be known for going the extra mile and giving clients exactly what they ask for and then some!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Delta Pershing Square
Monday, April 6, 2009
NYC Pillow Fight on Wall Street
VW10 Pop-Up store: Why Event Planning is not as easy as it sounds/looks
Saturday, April 4, 2009
S.W.A.G.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Alizé
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
New peeps in the office
They are all very different so it was definitely a quick learning experience of how differently each one operates and how the interns had to adapt when working with each one, as we do with the other event coordinators in the office. We gained one that is a nit-picky, serious, but tries to be nice; another that is an over-excited, over-eccentric, over-explainer; the last, who is super-chill, super nice, always awesome and appreciative (she's obviously my favorite).
I have decided that each person that I work with is a lesson in themselves because every one of them is different, yet we have to learn how to work with them all.
So here's to lessons from the office!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Just a few of my favorite things...
Friday, March 13, 2009
Active International
Last week I was a part of the on-site production team for a retail marketing summit event for our client, Active International. The objective of their meeting was to facilitate a dialog, between the head marketers of large companies such as Kmart & Coca-Cola, discussing marketing strategies and the integration of new digital media to be used to their advantage. The summit showcased one of Microsoft's newest products, the Microsoft Surface (pictured above). It looks like a coffee table, yet it works similarly to an iphone, with a touch screen & numerous applications were all on an completely unbreakable surface (VERY fun to play with!)! It's so hard to even explain because it does so many incredible things... check out the promo video here.
Back to the production side of things, we were faced with a challenge leading up to the event. Our client wanted 16 floral arrangements to be done with a budget of $250... HAhahaha! That will get you 2 or three if you're lucky! So it was my job to solve this dilemma without spending anymore than the alotted amount. We opted to make our own (which is still hard on that budget) and began brainstorming for inexpensive designs and materials/flowers and then I was off to the Flower District. Our final product was a cyclindrical vase filled 1/3 of the way with white gumballs (my penny-pincher idea!!), next a layer of wheatgrass (soil, roots and all) and finally one single white spider mum tucked in at the outer edge of the grass.
Here's our sample arrangement (it has pebbles substituted for the white gumballs).
The final result was so cute!! And we did all 16 pieces for under $80!! AMAZING.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Only if they IMPRESS us...
For example, a freight shipping company came in last week to market themselves and highlight the benefits of working with a smaller business for freight & shipping since we do A LOT of shipping of large items for events. As you can see, not so exciting. BUT we had another capabilities presentation with a small company called Mélangerie Inc., which specializes in extremely creative gifts, memorabilia and event details for all occasions. They offer a myriad of services including gift consultation and design, gift packaging and presentation, event identity design, invitation and announcement design, custom event favors and details, custom event websites, custom memorabilia, and custom correspondence. I was amazed at some the cool & unique ideas they have produced... and I'm not the only one. You may have seen them (or their gifts) since they were featured in Target's Red Hot Shop, which show cases up-and-coming & innovative small businesses. The Red Hot Shop sold Mélangerie's oragami-inspired gift wrap packs.
Or may you've seen those 'Home Green Home' gift bags filled with products for greening your home... their idea (someone else just paid money for it)!
These don't even being to scratch the surface of the creativity that I saw from their capabilities presentation, but they're definitely some of my favorites! You can check out more at the Mélangerie website.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Sad Day/Happy Day
Fortunately, this week is looking brighter, our situation is improving slowly but surely as our proposals move from the 'In Development' to 'Engage' section of our agendas. The newest project was confirmed and activated 5 minutes ago so I'm off to work on a Venue Proposal for a Vitamin Water Pop up store to happen in April (yikes)!
I'm so excited for the craziness that is about to ensue. :)