For my internship I worked for Melanie O'Reilly, a celtic jazz singer, advertising for her upcoming show. This was a remote position that involved online research and organization of information.
Daily Log
April 21st, 4:00pm - 6:00pm
Today I met with my supervisor in Albany. We went over in specific detail the tasks she is assigning me while I took notes. One of my main tasks is compiling a list of local radio stations and schedules that correspond to her musical style. I will get contacts from each station. Then I will share the list with her on dropbox. I must also make flyers and posters for her upcoming show. Besides radio stations, I’m also looking into newspapers where we could possibly post an ad. Lastly, I will be making an account on Constant Contact and researching how it works.
April 22nd, 12:30 - 1:30, 5:30 - 7:30
I began compiling a list of radio programs with contacts. It definitely takes much longer than I expected. Some stations don’t have all the information I need which can make it frustrating. So far, progress is steady.
April 23rd, 2:00 - 6:00
I added to my list of radio stations and moved on to newspapers and local TV stations. I will continue working on the radio station programs and contacts tomorrow.
April 24th, 4:00 - 8:00
Today I made an account on Constant Contact which is an emailing service. I familiarized myself with the website and started working on creating a newsletter and event email. I tried to find email templates for concerts but the closest thing I could find were event related templated. After that I added to my list of radio station programs to target and contacts.
April 25th, 4:00 -8:00
I began compiling a list of wineries that have music in California. As expected, many of the wineries are in Napa. There are a few jazz clubs which I think would work well. So far the list is about 30 names long. I’m going through each of the names one by one and making sure they book artists for live music. I also worked on the list of newspapers.
April 26th, 2:00 -5:00
Today I finished compiling the lists for everything including the radio stations. I went through every local radio station and searched through their programs. I shared them with Melanie.
Today I met with my supervisor in Albany. We went over in specific detail the tasks she is assigning me while I took notes. One of my main tasks is compiling a list of local radio stations and schedules that correspond to her musical style. I will get contacts from each station. Then I will share the list with her on dropbox. I must also make flyers and posters for her upcoming show. Besides radio stations, I’m also looking into newspapers where we could possibly post an ad. Lastly, I will be making an account on Constant Contact and researching how it works.
April 22nd, 12:30 - 1:30, 5:30 - 7:30
I began compiling a list of radio programs with contacts. It definitely takes much longer than I expected. Some stations don’t have all the information I need which can make it frustrating. So far, progress is steady.
April 23rd, 2:00 - 6:00
I added to my list of radio stations and moved on to newspapers and local TV stations. I will continue working on the radio station programs and contacts tomorrow.
April 24th, 4:00 - 8:00
Today I made an account on Constant Contact which is an emailing service. I familiarized myself with the website and started working on creating a newsletter and event email. I tried to find email templates for concerts but the closest thing I could find were event related templated. After that I added to my list of radio station programs to target and contacts.
April 25th, 4:00 -8:00
I began compiling a list of wineries that have music in California. As expected, many of the wineries are in Napa. There are a few jazz clubs which I think would work well. So far the list is about 30 names long. I’m going through each of the names one by one and making sure they book artists for live music. I also worked on the list of newspapers.
April 26th, 2:00 -5:00
Today I finished compiling the lists for everything including the radio stations. I went through every local radio station and searched through their programs. I shared them with Melanie.
Closing Report
I interned for musical performer Melanie O’Reilly. She sings Celtic jazz, a fusion of traditional Irish music and American Jazz. My job was primarily to promote one of her upcoming shows. This is a more jazz centered show following the story of Anita O’Day, a famous jazz vocalist, as she struggled to achieve her dream. It’s an amazing show that I have attended in the past and I was glad to be able to get the experience of advertising for her music. Since I plan on going into filmmaking in the future, advertising is an essential skill that’s very applicable to film and also very useful. During the orientation for the internship we created a marketing strategy. There were multiple ways to find people who might enjoy the show. They included radio, local television, newspaper features, email newsletters, flyers, etc. I spent the most time compiling a list of radio stations, programs, and contacts that would be a good fit for Melanie’s type of music. Doing this is tedious and took much longer than I originally expected. I visited each site and went through descriptions of every single program, sometimes listening to a program online if the description wasn’t clear. Then I found the names of the hosts and producers of those programs and looked through staff directories to find their contact information. Of course, how easy it was to do all the research depended on how easy to was to navigate the individual sites of the radio stations. One obstacle I encountered was the fact that not all of the information I needed was made available on a site or sometimes I would be able to find the contact information for literally every single program at that station except for the one that I needed. The specific skills I used during this internship were organizing, advertising, researching, and communicating my findings with my supervisor.
I learned how tedious advertising for something small like a show at a local jazz club and not something like a blockbuster film can be, especially when you are on a tight budget. You have to be patient and determined to get the job done well because you want the seats to be filled at your event. Having a great show at a great venue is only part of the job. If you can’t get the word out, then everything you’ve done is completely useless. The same goes for film. If you make a great film but hardly anybody sees it, then what is the point? Initially I thought advertising was bad because it manipulates viewers in order to steal their money. However, at least when it comes to advertising for small businesses or entertainment, it seems rather that ads connect viewers to things that might interest them. What small businesses provide are very unique products that fit into a niche while large corporations try to appeal to the many so they can make the most profit. In addition, the internet has had a big impact on the way we advertise. For my internship, I started working with a site called Constant Contact which helps small business owners send out professional emails and newsletters. Using the site was not as difficult as I expected and it makes me realize how much you can do just by being willing to learn new things and with a little elbow grease.
I learned how tedious advertising for something small like a show at a local jazz club and not something like a blockbuster film can be, especially when you are on a tight budget. You have to be patient and determined to get the job done well because you want the seats to be filled at your event. Having a great show at a great venue is only part of the job. If you can’t get the word out, then everything you’ve done is completely useless. The same goes for film. If you make a great film but hardly anybody sees it, then what is the point? Initially I thought advertising was bad because it manipulates viewers in order to steal their money. However, at least when it comes to advertising for small businesses or entertainment, it seems rather that ads connect viewers to things that might interest them. What small businesses provide are very unique products that fit into a niche while large corporations try to appeal to the many so they can make the most profit. In addition, the internet has had a big impact on the way we advertise. For my internship, I started working with a site called Constant Contact which helps small business owners send out professional emails and newsletters. Using the site was not as difficult as I expected and it makes me realize how much you can do just by being willing to learn new things and with a little elbow grease.