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Over the winter break, economics and business major Brandon Ellis ’12 (Jeffersonville, Pa.) participated in a three-day externship with Jonathan Schecter ’04, senior account manager at M & C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment in New York City. Ellis also is starting cornerback for the College’s Division I football team and an ambassador for Career Services’ Gateway program.Waking up in the morning at 6:30 a.m. and getting myself together to catch a train to Manhattan was something I was not use to doing. I had heard how busy the New York subway got during morning rush hour and I was not let down.
When I finally reached Battery Park Place I was excited and eager to learn. The first thing I noticed when I stepped into the office was that everyone was on the internet updating themselves on the latest gossip and headlines in the world of sports and entertainment. As a public relations agency, it is essential to be aware of things of this nature because it affects everything they do. If one of their clients is receiving bad press, it is their responsibility to take action and correct it.
So like everyone else, I began to explore ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and every other sports and social web site out there. While in the process of doing this, people would just throw their opinions out there and others would comment, similar to an open forum.
Once that was completed then it was on to the real work. Throughout my three days, Mr. Schecter asked me to research several things including top football sports writers, Panasonic, and UFC, which were pertinent to assisting him in talking to clients and making a stronger sales pitch. I sat in on several conference calls with Reebok, their biggest client, discussing things they had planned for the Super Bowl, and Rockport, a shoe company which was in the process of introducing a new line of shoes.
Throughout this externship, I have learned the key in this industry is being able to network with people and maintain that relationship for future reference. Also being creative and thinking outside the box definitely goes a long way. This experience has confirmed that being in the sporting and entertainment industry is the right job for me.