Rachel Hindley spent her summer on amusement rides, eating elephant ears and marketing one of the World’s Largest Free Fairs. She was the Marketing and Public Relations Intern for the Ionia Free Fair.
Hindley was the only intern in the office working directly with the fair manager, office manager and all others who had a part in making the fair successful. Her internship revolved around one event, lasting 10 days, which was set to happen in about two months from when she started.
One of her main responsibilities was managing social media. She created eye-catching posts and published informative content on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Hindley would take and receive various pictures to post, in order to keep the social media following updated on the new improvements and upcoming events.
The fair recently created a brand new website with Spark and they were also finalizing a new app. She played a big part in adding content and pictures onto the website and app. Hindley spent a majority of her time planning events. She planned an event with a co-worker that grew from seven attendees in 2017, to more than 50 the next year—such a huge response that they had to turn down individuals.
Lastly, Hindley spent a lot of time working with radio, TV and the media. She distributed talking points and provided overviews for upcoming interviews. She was interviewed on radio and TV, promoting and sharing information about the 2018 Ionia Free Fair.
Hindley had never been as busy as she was during the 10 days of the Ionia Free Fair. She worked long hours, around 13 per day for 10 days straight. Hindley was running around the grounds making sure events were going smoothly, moving products to multiple offices, as well as promoting them on social media.
Through all this running around and planning, she learned more than she could imagine. Hindley was involved in meetings with agencies and individuals where she learned new terms and concepts. She learned how TV, radio and media outlets operated, as well as how to run a successful media campaign. Along with all those experiences, she made great friends and connections.
Since Hindley thoroughly enjoyed her internship, she’s able to talk about it easily. One piece of advice she’d give is to make sure you’re making the right internship choice. She said you’ll get more out of your internship if you have a passion for it. She’s bringing back examples, advice and ideas to incorporate into her studies and future job opportunities, building on what she learned in her Marketing and PR Internship.