Famous: A Summer of Firsts
This summer, we welcomed our 12th intern team and embraced an experience that brought a handful of firsts. From video conferencing to remote work and organizing Ipso’s first socially-distanced show, Famous wrapped up their summer with diverse clients and projects that helped them exercise their copywriting, design, research, and project management skills.
What got you interested in the Famous internship?
Rachel Ehlers: What got me interested in the Famous internship initially was the ‘agency within an agency’ idea. Fresh Produce is also known for having one of the hardest application processes to secure an internship. The initial challenge of getting my foot in the door along with the trust that I knew would be placed in me once I got here is what really piqued my interest.
Huong Nguyen: My interview with Mike and Ted was my first time being in the Fresh Produce office. I was truly impressed by the open, creative, and interactive space that integrated both an art gallery and working desks. The interview was also so exciting: Ted pulled out his deck of cards and asked me to pick 3, just like a Tarot reader. I remember being asked what my creative inspiration was, and I said Durex Condom marketing promotion. 😂
Austin Miller: I was interested in doing an internship in advertising. The internship positions at Fresh Produce piqued my interest. I saw that they had an art gallery which told me that they invest in creative freedom. More than anything, I think that I was intrigued by how they did business. I wanted to avoid being an intern that works in a cubicle and gets coffee for people. I wanted to create something every day and get better at advertising.
Rachel Harmon: I got interested in Famous during my sophomore year when Fresh Produce employees visited SDSU and walked us through what a project at FP looks like. I was ambitious and applied for the experience. When I didn’t get it, I worked harder in my junior year and made it my goal to get an internship somewhere in Sioux Falls. During my junior year, I was still drawn to FP as a company. At student day we got a tour and I once again fell in love with the atmosphere FP has created for itself. I decided to apply again and here we are.
What skill/s did you strengthen this summer?
RE: One skill I strengthened during this internship was my technology communication skills. This year was different from others, with most of the crew working from home and not being able to bring clients into the Fresh Produce space. This provided ample opportunity to strengthen my technology etiquette and my ability to adapt to other preferred methods of communications.
HN: On my first interview with Mike and Ted, I told them one of my goals was to become a better presenter. Though there’s still room for a lot of improvement, I have definitely bettered myself at presenting and communicating ideas. I’m really grateful that Fresh Produce always gave consideration to my goal. Mike and Katrina gave me a lot of opportunities and encouragement to present ideas and projects to the team and clients.
AM: I had to prepare numerous ideas for each of our clients, so I had to sharpen my creative process. Because I was putting out so much content, my writing skills improved drastically. I also learned how to manage my time, craft quality presentations, meet deadlines with ease, and communicate with artists and account managers.
RH: My ability to communicate, to think quickly, and meet deadlines has improved. I also think my ability to critique my work increased since we were working remotely from each other.
“Whether it was working from home, communicating over technology, or client’s plans changing, this summer was a great reminder to make the most of what you are given.”
How was your Ipso Gallery experience? What was it like to help with an art exhibition?
RE: My Ipso Gallery experience was great! With slowing the spread of Covid-19 being a large concern, our team had to plan out how to still give the Ipso feel, while not inviting people into the gallery space. This resulted in the Famous crew getting to add a lot of very different and unique components to our art show. It was exciting to dream up something new and bring it to Ipso, Fresh Produce, and Sioux Falls. 😊
HN: The Ipso show (Field Trip) was one of my favorite experiences. To get inspired for the show, we had a field trip to some toy stores in town and to the Washington Pavilion for an art gallery show. I had such a fun time doing all the first-time things: writing, video scriptwriting, filming, etc., We were so ecstatic to see how excited people were to see our final kit boxes with all the delightful items from artists and the zine we designed inside.
AM: Planning the Ipso show was loads of fun. Early in the brainstorming process, we decided to go on an adventure to some local toy stores to get some ideas for the show. That was the first time I had been in a toy store in probably a decade. We did everything we could to bring in new ideas for Field Trip, and I think we created something special. Year after year, the bar continues to be set higher for Ipso, and it pushed us to create something new and offbeat. We didn’t have a blueprint for how to plan an art show over Zoom, so it was challenging at times, but it was something that I’ll never forget.
RH: This was an all hands on deck project. Since this show was about the experience of an art gallery, a lot went into creating elements for guests to use. It is cheesy, but everything was thought out in detail and put together with love and care.
RH: I learned how to overcome challenges with working remotely and how to communicate through them.
The crew created a COVID time capsule with items that represented our summer in quarantine. What item did you add to the capsule and why?
RE: The item that I added to the COVID time capsule was the mask that was provided on the first day of the Famous internship. All the interns were thrilled that Fresh Produce opted to keep their internship this summer despite other agencies letting theirs go. In preparation for us to come into the office and work, hand sanitizer and a face mask were set out on my desk upon arrival. Having a cloth mask of my own, I had never opened the mask package, and what better item to sum up a summer internship in a pandemic than a mask!
HN: I put my AirPod case in the time capsule. This summer, I enjoyed tons of different songs that I had never listened to before. On our day being the only four people in the office, we turned Fresh Produce into a Famous hub and played music.
AM: My item was a red pen and a yellow sticky note. I started taking notes with these whenever I was in meetings, and when I was bored, I would sketch things and post them on the chalkboard next to my desk. It seemed like a good thing to remember, so I put it in the box.
RH: I put in a shell. I wrote an absolute knee-slapper joke on it that read: “SHELL I TELL YOU A SEA-CRET”.
What was your biggest takeaway from the summer?
RE: One of my biggest takeaways of the summer was being reminded to control the things I could control and just roll with the things I could not. Whether it was working from home, communicating over technology, or client’s plans changing, this summer was a great reminder to make the most of what you are given.
HN: My two biggest takeaways were inspired by Fresh Produce’s old saying, “Live an Interesting Life.” You only live once so do things you love and enjoy your life. When you’re happy, your work is best fulfilled.
AM: My biggest takeaway is that writing a good ad takes many hours to master. I’ve heard that 10,000 hours is the barrier to becoming an expert at something. During the summer, I spent 400 hours working, and probably 100 of those were spent on writing. Those 100 hours are 1% of 10,000; in other words, I’m still a complete and utter novice at this.
RH: I learned how to overcome challenges with working remotely and how to communicate through them.
Any inquiries about the Famous internship program at Fresh Produce can be sent to famous@pickfresh.com
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