Through the Annenberg International Programs department, I had the opportunity to study and intern in one of my favorite cities in the world – London. This opportunity was something I had wanted to do for years, as I’ve been dreaming of living in London since I was 16, so of course I couldn’t pass it up.
Over the summer, I interned at McCluskey International, a PR and marketing firm specializing in travel and tourism. The firm had a number of clients, ranging from tourism boards, to hotels, and consumer goods. During my time there, I learned that PR in London is still operating on the traditional side, partly because of the popularity of newspapers. In North America, reading paper newspapers is rare, as many tend to consume their news digitally. However in England, commuters enjoy picking up the Metro newspaper on their way to work or the Evening Standard on their way back home. Thus our way of communicating and pitching to journalists was also very much traditional.
Throughout my internship I learned how to write better blog posts and press releases for clients, craft better social media updates and sit in strategy meetings that increased my knowledge of the travel and tourism PR industry.
I also attended and assisted the team at an event for the Luxembourg’s tourism board at the Luxembourg embassy. At this event we brought together leisure and MICE journalists to learn more about Luxembourg and meet partners that they can potentially work with. The goal of the event was to increase the awareness of Luxembourg to journalists in the U.K. so that they could write about the country and encourage readers to visit over a holiday weekend or vacation.
Of course being in London also gave me the opportunity to explore the amazing city and nearby countries with friends and classmates. When I wasn’t interning, I found myself exploring Bath, Oxford, Stonehedge, Brighton, Paris, Brussels, Geneva, and Prague.
I can’t help but already begin to reminisce about my summer experience. It provided me with endless opportunities to learn and explore. If I can recommend one thing to students, is to take a leap to study or work abroad for the summer – you won’t ever regret it!
Melissa