Two days in the life of a work experience student at C4B Media by Kai Hales

Ever wondered what it’s like behind the scenes at a busy marketing agency? Kai Hales, a 15-year-old student from King James Academy in Royston, joined us at C4B Media for two days of work experience – here’s what he got up to.

Day 1

Monday 7th July was my first day of work experience at C4B Media. I arrived at 9:30 am and given my induction plan that covered what I would be doing over the next two days, as well as details of team members I would be working alongside with. My first activity was being welcomed by the team over breakfast. I had a chat with the whole group to introduce myself while also getting to know the rest of the team.

First, Jane, the Marketing Service Director, taught me about the background of marketing, the services they provide, and introduced me to some of the projects that the company has been working on. She spent time explaining some of the main components of making a good website or brochure, and teaching me lots of different marketing terms such as calls to action. She showed me her thought processes for the designs of some of the projects she is working on to help me understand how they are made, to increase awareness of the events/products that they are trying to promote.

Next, I was taught about social media and videos with Kevin, the Content and Social Media Expert, at 11:30. He showed me how he organised his work, with a calendar which schedules all of the social media posts he has planned for the month, posting them automatically, making sure he doesn’t lose track of what he needs to do. He also showed me a campaign for one of their clients, showing how the advert performed on both LinkedIn and Facebook, displaying the statistics, positives, and negatives of the campaign.

After I had eaten lunch, I was then taught about digital marketing by Simon, the Digital Strategy Director. He spoke to me about the process of developing a website. He then talked about how they need to ask the company lots of the right questions to get the perfect requirements and ensure that they can make the most out of the branding and the different things that the companies need. Simon also explained that some projects can take up to a year to create a design that is perfect for the company.

Following this, the team had their weekly meeting at 2:00 pm, where they spoke about their plans for the week and the upcoming months leading up until the end of the year. I was later given some time to prepare for my blog and video that was part of my plan as a personal project. Overall, my first day here at C4B Media was a huge success! It was very interesting and engaging, leaving me feeling excited for the next day.

Day 2

Wednesday 9th July – my second day of work experience. I entered the workplace at 10:00 am and started to get ready for the day ahead. I looked at my plan and saw I had a session with Will, the Senior Marketing Executive, on Email Marketing.

Will spent some time showing me his email templates, explaining how it all works and how he schedules these emails for effective posting times. He then took me through some statistics, including important information that helps them understand whether they have made a successful campaign or if there is anything that might need improving.

After my time with Will, I had an hour and a half for some personal project work, where I spent time writing this blog and planning my day in the life video. I used this time to plan some shots and started a script for a voice-over. While I was doing this, I was treated to a delicious Victoria sponge cake.

The team and I then went out and brought some food to have a picnic in Royston Park. We all spent time talking and enjoying our food before getting back to work.

Once we got back from the park, I then had a talk with Project Coordinator, Peter. He showed me how invoicing works and WordPress, as well as how he organises his work with software such as Microsoft Excel. Peter also told me about different mini projects he worked on to help the rest of the team when they ran into any problems.

At 2:00 pm, Richard, a Designer, and Sharon, the Managing Director, gave me a creative overview. They showed me one of their presentations they made for a company’s event, showing many different things they needed to design for them while using their brand as the inspiration. They also shared what type of software they use for these projects to ensure they get the best results. This was one of my favourite sectors of the 2 days, as I have always been interested in learning about graphic design.

Next, I had an hour to finish my project and make sure it all looked good. However, just before, the team had a little magic performance from another student, Lucas, who was here at the same time as me, and some of the stuff he was doing was very impressive. When I was doing my project, I was given even more cake!

Finally, I had a debrief of my time here at C4B Media with Jane, talking about what went well and my overall opinion on my experience.

Overall, my time here at C4B has been really fun. Each and every member of the team was very caring and supportive, telling me all there is to know about this type of job. It has helped me personally, giving me an idea of what I would want to do in the future. – Kai Hales