Here at Punch, we love meeting talented and passionate people and offering them a peek behind the scenes of our Leeds marketing agency. Having recently finished her A-Level studies, Lucy joined us for a week of work experience and of course, we caught up with her for a chat (grilling) about her time within the content team.
What first inspired your interest in marketing?
My interest in marketing stemmed from a curiosity in business which was sparked from a young age of around 7 as I would be fascinated by the ability for companies to sell to individual niches and markets on a mammoth worldwide scale. My first inspiration in marketing would be from when I was around the age of 8/9 and being allowed to stay up to watch The Apprentice, I would watch in awe at the contestants, and would complete the challenges they set for them on my sofa in rural Oxfordshire, coming up with my own business plans while watching theirs unfold. With my studies of A level business I learnt there was a more creative alleyway within the profession as a whole which led me to marketing, branding and social media. The social media element of marketing allowed for creating more character for businesses, which sounded more appealing than analysing income statements and balance sheets! Having grown up with the explosion of social media, I feel I have experienced the evolution of how vitally important marketing can be for a business, watching trends unfold and businesses adapting to this new climate of worldwide social media. Marketing now more than ever is a dominant force in the business world, and I love how it requires new, individualistic lenses. The way that no idea is a bad idea is what makes marketing so engrossing for me, it really accentuates that every person can bring a different perspective which I find greatly captivating as it really is a limitless industry.
What did you think about the culture at Punch?
The culture at Punch feels exceedingly familial and welcoming, everyone is supportive of one another and will happily step in and share the workload when they can see a team member is overwhelmed, and I can only assume that that approach within the business industry is rare. The warm atmosphere in the office made me feel at ease straight away, not at any one point did I feel that staff were demotivated, and I felt they all were genuinely all working in unity toward helping Punch succeed. I felt everyone had their own individual freedom to create without restraint, all ideas were heard, listened to and accounted for. Suggestions from everyone were always welcomed with gratitude for any input, which makes the culture here feel so inclusive. The 4 day week was obviously amazing as well!
What did you learn in your week here?
I have learnt about the day to day tasks of staff in the social media and marketing department, the paramountcy of teamwork and supporting one another. Observing staff from different departments, I learnt about the creative spark they all brought to the company, how to schedule social media posts, the role of planning content and how it is all executed. I learnt how much business’ success does depend on places like Punch for sales and gaining engagement, and I was given a large variety of tasks.
What was your favourite part of the week?
Definitely being given creative freedom to brainstorm ideas for future campaigns. I relished in coming up with inventive content ideas for social media and being given the opportunity to sit in a short brain dump the team held for a winter campaign. I loved how everyone’s ideas bounced around and being allowed to participate and give my own was so refreshing. I also enjoyed observing the creative process of creating content for brands’ social media and how different businesses had different lenses on content and watching the team adapt to this.
What do you plan to do next?
I have just finished my A levels, therefore this opportunity was so exciting as I now have work experience in the industry. This opportunity has consolidated my desire to go into this sector of business in the future, I loved it! I want to make the most of my summer and be free of academic stress for a while as Covid certainly tinged my sixth form experience. I am now having a gap year which I planned to travel on, but will now utilise to just redirect myself and potentially have a look into social media marketing internships, and then go onto gaining a degree in 2022.