Gathering practical experience and the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge is a high priority in the Management, Communication & IT bachelor program. The internship in the 5th semester as well as the bachelor thesis offer our students to experience the corporate environment and to establish their network of contacts. In this interview, Marlene Männer talks about her exciting internship and her practical bachelor's thesis in the marketing department of the BWT AG.
Marlene, how did you find your internship?
I wanted to supplement my existing theoretical knowledge in digital marketing with practical experience. The BWT AG is known far beyond the borders of Austria for its extremely good marketing and media presence in the sports sector. Especially due to the striking pink corporate colors, the company stands out not only in winter sports, but also in Formula 1. That's why I decided to apply for an internship in marketing at the BWT AG.
What areas of responsibility did you take on during this time?
Among other things, I worked on a future-oriented sustainability product and its marketing plan. For this, I was then allowed to develop, publish and evaluate a Facebook campaign as part of my bachelor's thesis. In addition, I was able to participate in the creation of social media content. Here I researched ideas and created drafts independently.
What did a typical working day look like for you?
I was able to organize my workdays quite flexibly, depending on my schedule. I usually started by answering customer inquiries. Here, I often worked with different departments, such as product management or research and development. I was also able to take part in various meetings with agencies and thus gain closer insights into the planning activities of marketing. I especially enjoyed creating social media posts and social media guidelines.
What were the biggest challenges you overcame?
Reconciling the scientific criteria of a bachelor's thesis with its practical suitability for the BWT AG was certainly challenging. In addition, I had not yet run an advertising campaign on Facebook and therefore had to do additional research. My experienced colleagues and my supervisor for the bachelor's thesis, Dr. Schwazer from MCI, were a great help here.
How did the MCiT Bachelor's program prepare you for your internship?
Besides the MCI badge for digital marketing, the lecture "Development of Media Planning" helped me a lot. Here we created a digital marketing concept for a company and were able to give free rein to our creativity in prototyping and strategy development. I also learned a lot about video shooting and editing during the "Innovation Camp" course. This gave me a good idea of how much work is involved in producing a commercial spot.
What was your greatest success during your internship?
The fact that I was able to create my own advertising campaign on Facebook and observe its progress was a great. I was allowed to think about settings such as the target group, region, ad text and image and then implement them in coordination.
What advice would you give MCiT students when looking for a suitable internship?
Take enough time to polish your application documents and start applying early for positions at companies that really interest you. If you are looking for a primarily creative job, an internship at an advertising agency is a good idea. If, on the other hand, you want to get to know many different areas of business and work, an internship in an SME can be a good idea.
Thank you very much for the exciting interview, Marlene!
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