Karl's Brand and Marketing Internship with LSI Architects -- Not far off the end

I’m not far off the end point of my brand and marketing internship at LSI Architects, and I am incredibly excited that I will be staying here when my internship finishes, and will become the brand and marketing manager here. I don’t think I could have enjoyed this internship any more than I have. The main reason it has been such an enjoyable and successful time is because LSI have given me all the support, space and importantly real responsibility I needed to really show what I can do.

The majority of my time has been spent working on the rebranding project, where I have been conducting research into the brands that LSI are up against with a competitor audit, speaking to brand agencies, and immersing myself in LSI to find out where the brand is coming from. The project is really starting to take shape, the research and understanding has largely been built and we’re now moving into the ‘ideas’ stage of the project, where we can think about how we can attack the opportunities we’ve identified and bring the new brand to life, which is very exciting.

Not only have I had the chance to put the skills and knowledge I learned at UEA to the test, I’ve had the chance to learn new things and broaden my experience. Nobody has expected me to know how to do everything, but I’ve been given the opportunities to have a go and learn. I was involved in a really successful exhibition at City College Norwich, with a theme of sustainability in construction. The event was for construction students at the college, and they loved our tech filled stand, so I was pleased that my first go at an exhibition was a big hit.

I’ve also been putting together submissions for various different Awards. Last week I attended an awards evening where an application I helped to piece together and submit, for the new residences project at UEA, won an award for sustainability. Other awards  that I’ve been able to help with are for being a business with a responsible approach, which LSI have now been shortlisted for, and for the AJ100 Awards, where the practice has been named in the top 100 Architects in the UK, and shortlisted for two prestigious national awards.

As I mentioned in my last blog, this wasn’t my first internship. I’ve learned a lot from previous internships, especially on where I can improve. The biggest lesson I’ve learned, and my number one piece of advice, is that you get out what you put in. If you say yes to, and throw yourself head first into, as many different things and talk to as many people as possible, not only will you get a lot more experience, but you’ll make a real impression.  If you sit twiddling your thumbs and waiting for something to happen, you learn nothing and you make it easy for people to forget you. If things are a bit quiet, and you find yourself without much to do, you should have the attitude and the confidence to make things happen for yourself. Maybe this could be by spending time trying to come up with ideas or potential opportunities that the company hasn’t thought of or identified.

It’s a really exciting (and busy) time to be at LSI Architects and I’m delighted that I will be staying here, and even though the taste in football teams is quite poor, everybody here has been very friendly and very helpful.