This is the next in a series of posts by recipients of the Career Services Summer Funding Grant. We’ve asked funding recipients to reflect on their summer experiences and talk about the industries in which they’ve been spending their summer. You can read the entire series here.
This entry is by Kaliko Zabala-Moore, COL ’18
This summer I had the pleasure of interning in the marketing department of the Barnes Foundation. My main responsibilities revolved around managing the social channels of the Barnes Foundation. This included content scheduling, based on submitted content from the social media committee. At 9am my phone would buzz with an alert to schedule push out an Instagram post. A picture pops up of Moonrise Kingdom for an upcoming film feature at the Barnes Foundation. With the new release of the Instagram algorithm, it was more important than ever to understand our audience and get them engaged in the content.
One important lesion I learned was the importance of consistency. The new website launch in August brought about changes to the overall digital presence of the Barnes. I used my graphic design skills to create a consistent look throughout the social channels. The Barnes had a defined voice, which included the quality and tone of the images. Using these guidelines, I was able to create graphics and social media posts. The brand image was the constraints by which we can operate creatively.
Working with Joanne Perez, Director of Marketing and Social Media, was an incredible learning experience. She really gave me a lot of autonomy to craft projects around areas of marketing that I wished to explore. This lead to the creation of one of my research and development projects on student engagement. I had the opportunity to present my ideas to the Marketing Department and the Senior Vice President. The presentation was divided into short-term and long-term actionable. My long-term ideas revolved around creation. This included the development of a program for new student orientations at Philadelphia universities modeled after programs by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Penn Museum. I am looking forward to seeing the development of this program.
I learned a great deal from my time at the Barnes Foundation. My cubicle was lined with post-it notes of questions and new ideas. I wanted to understand the rationale behind a lot of decision making in marketing from the framing of the picture to the time that we post. But most of all my team taught me that you really have to become the brand you are trying to promote. It was an incredible experience to embody the brand and the mission of the Barnes Foundation. I will continue to be a walking advertisement with my Cezanne socks and Modigliani postcards. Later in life I hope to pursue a career in marketing for an organization like Barnes that I truly believe in. I want to thank everyone at the Barnes Foundation for guiding me through this learning experience.
