1. Talk to us about a social media campaign you've run. Drew had managed the Facebook page for an organization at Iowa State University and they ran paid campaigns to broaden their reach for events. Solid answer. He shared with us some of the success of their campaigns, and some of the challenges they faced, and how they overcame them. It sounded a lot like the experience many of our clients go through.
2. Tell us about a challenge with social. In an unexpected turn, he shared that they were struggling with the difference between their Facebook & Twitter audiences for the organization. They had realized the audiences were different and they therefore needed to approach content differently for each platform, as they have their own unique idiosyncrasies.
I don't think we've ever had an intern who understood the need for a social media charter, unique for each property, out of the gate. We talked about our process defining audience, purpose and content for each social platform for our clients, and it was very similar to the exercise he and his organization were planning to go through this fall. 3. How do you feel about coffee (drinking it, not fetching it)? He drinks it. A lot. Somewhat of a cold-brew snob (in a good way). He confessed he sometimes drinks more coffee than water over the course of the day. We do love our coffee here. And iced tea. So that sealed the deal. (Luckily, we didn't ever have to peel him off the ceiling.) In a really uncharacteristic move for us, we gave him an immediate verbal offer and hired him on the spot. He started the next day. Drew's been a huge asset to our clients and the agency all summer, so much so we wish we could hire him—but he still has a couple of years of school left. So we'll hold off on that for now. We though, before he leaves to head back to Ames, we'd share a little more about who he is—and why he loves thunderstorms.Where are you from? Sergeant Bluff, IA. Born and raised.
What would you be doing if you weren't working here with us? I'd be at home producing music. (We'll resist posting a video from his teen rock band days here...)
What part of your personality helps you with your work with us? I have a balance of creativity and technical acumen. Those have definitely been a great help.
Eating is important to us. So it's time to talk food. If you could only eat 1 thing for the next year, what would it be? Chicken. I could eat just chicken all year.
We know music is important to you, but outside of music, what's your favorite sound? Thunderstorms. I just love everything about them. The sound. The smell. They're just amazing.
As an intern, we throw new tasks at you almost daily, including some you've never done. How do you handle that? What's your learning style?I typically am forced to learn things in a variety of different ways, but I’ve found that it’s easiest for me to just jump in a try it. I learn best from hands on experience.
We'll wrap up with a question about us. If you could describe Antidote 71 in one word, what would it be? Enthusiastic. Everyone is driven to provide our clients with the best content/customer service possible and truly enjoys the work they do! And you're all a little bit weird. Which makes for a fun day.
As Drew heads back to school on August 10, we admit it's going to be hard to replace him—he's set the intern bar incredibly high (and it makes him the second of two amazing social media interns we've been fortunate enough to work with this year). But we wish him well and hope that he's learned a few new tricks and tips to help him drive social on campus at ISU. We would definitely say he's "one to watch" in up and coming digital marketers/music aficionados.