Anna Grace, New Business Intern

Dear Future CP Intern,

My name is Anna Grace, a recent graduate from Emerson College with a degree in marketing communications. When I was in college, I received advice from a professor about internships, stressing that they are “the cheapest way to fail successfully.” What I took from that is that you should try out an industry that interests you. After your experience, if you don’t like certain aspects of the industry you can pivot. It took me a couple of pivots to realize what skills I had to offer and how I wanted to build upon them.

Working in new business has allowed me to get a glimpse into what the advertising world looks like and how an agency runs. The pitch process is a lot like speed dating because the client meets with various agencies, who present their ideas and what they can offer. After the winning agency is selected, they work with the client to agree on a scope of work and then the team gets to work strategizing, concepting, and physically creating the campaign.  

Getting one’s foot in the door to the advertising industry is a great opportunity and accomplishment, but it can also be stressful. With Fall internship applications coming up, I wanted to write a letter of encouragement with tips for prospective interns from CP’s Summer interns.

Anna Grace
New Business Intern
She/Her

---

Seek Out Human Truths

Jackson graduated from Kenyon College with a degree in English creative writing. He shares his experience of being “thrown into the deep end and working in tandem with other copywriters on projects” that challenged and excited him. As he settled into the internship, his goals and expectations were confirmed; he expresses how he “learned to abandon clichés and puns and instead passionately seek out human truths.” He urges those who are interested in copywriting to, “go online or to your local bookstore and buy old One Show annuals, and while you’re reading them, if you get a rush of dopamine that goes straight from the top of your head to the nerve endings in your fingertips, you’re heading in the right direction.”

Jackson Wald
Copywriting Intern
He/Him

---

Form Relationships

Maya is a rising senior at Emerson College, studying visual marketing and design. Their passion for marketing bloomed when they took a commercial marketing class. She built a strong relationship with her professor, which turned into a mentorship. Maya acknowledges her mother’s wise words, “don’t ask, don’t get.” College is a space to grow and challenge your curiosity, “be courageous in class, make an effort to speak up and show up as your best self.” Seeking out a professor, mentor, or friend whose guidance you trust is helpful in the career journey. 

Maya Freeman
Strategy Intern
She/They

---

Embrace Learning Opportunities

Emma is a rising senior at Boston University, studying Film, Television and Advertising. Prior to her current role at CP she worked in the paid social department in-house for SONY Music. She emphasizes that internships are a perfect way to learn about an industry that interests you. “Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have experience because an internship in advertising is attainable.” For those currently working in a marketing position or at an agency, there are learning opportunities everywhere. Keep an open mind and embrace every experience as an opportunity to grow. 

Emma Provost
Media Planning
She/Her

---

Build A Strong Resume

Oceane is a rising senior at Suffolk University, studying Business Economics, Big Data and Business Analytics. She was most proud of presenting on the “deprecation of 3rd party cookies, which was the starting point and guide to creating a company POV on it” at CP this summer.  

Oceane affirms “having a solid resume is important and recommends working with career advisors to showcase skills that match the job description.” The advertising world intrigues her as she likes the “behind the scenes” aspect and appreciates the effort it takes to market a product or service.

Oceane Balya
Data and Analytics Intern
She/Her

---

Take It All In

Jenny is a rising senior studying communications at Lasell University. She’s been drawn to production her entire life, as “it has a little bit of everything. I get to see all of the moving pieces come together to help people and collectively make something special and beneficial.” For those interested in production, it is helpful to have a basic understanding of what goes into a successful shoot, and how to edit videos and photos. Her biggest tip for incoming interns is to “take in as much as possible. You may not find your passion in advertising, but be observant and think outside the box and it just might lead you to what you love.”

Jennifer Frechette
Production Intern
She/Her

---

An internship or any experience, whether it’s trying a new restaurant or traveling to a new place really is what you make of it. Remember the hardest part is showing up. Feed your inner creativity, lean on people you trust and question everything with intent.

If you’re someone who values empathy, ambition, integrity and curiosity join Connelly Partners and explore what it’s like to work in the advertising world. 

Best,

Anna

As a way to honour Mental Health Awareness Month, CPers from across the globe woke up before dawn on Saturday 6 May to take part in something really special.

Some joined local groups in pre-organised routes, others braved the dark and cold on their own, each with the same goal – to walk towards the dawn to help break the stigma around suicide and mental health.

The “Darkness Into Light” challenge has been going since 2009 and now convenes over 150,000 people in countless countries, helping to raise over €36 million ($40 million USD) for Pieta, a foundation which supports and serves those impacted by self-harm and suicide.

The message is simple – that there will always be a dawn, despite times when all you can see is the dark.

And although we were separated by physical distance, our team felt so together that morning as we supported this remarkable cause. Whether it was Killiney, Hawaii, Vancouver, Sandymount or Boston, we we collectively experienced such a powerful moment. It was a dawn we won’t forget easily.

And we’re already looking forward to next year.

At the end of each semester, we ask our interns to reflect on their experiences and learnings at CP. As they begin to wrap up their time here, our fantastic spring interns have left us with so many valuable insights. From networking with coworkers to getting a firsthand look at the industry, and mastering valuable time management skills, they’ve truly been crushing it. Here’s what our interns had to say.

Jasmine Francoeur, PR & Social Media
Suffolk University

I quickly fell in love with CP after meeting my team and getting a tour of our amazing office. Right away, I noticed how CP has such a great sense of community and family that feels very unique from other companies I’ve worked for in the past. While I love the work that I do, which mixed my two passions of PR and social media, it was truly the people who got me excited to come in! 

During my internship, I made it my goal to meet as many CPers as I could. I arranged coffee chats with people from different departments and learned so much about what they do and their experiences. During these chats, I realized how fascinating every department is and how they must all work together to help bring our clients success. It was truly eye-opening!

This internship has pushed me to grow in innumerable ways! It has further developed my critical and strategic thinking skills. I’ve also learned so much about the industry and the people behind it as well as how to use the latest technologies to help aid in our influencer searches. 

Hayes Hollar, People & Operations
Boston University

As someone who loves the idea of “go-go-go” in a professional and business sense and is a busybody to the core, I’ve always been attracted to the advertising industry. CP stood out to me because it’s a global company that touches so many different industries. Also, CP’s emphasis on the human experience, placing that at the core of its values as a company, makes it extremely attractive. With the hustle and bustle of advertising, putting people first is not always the case. 

The first thing I noticed at CP was how friendly and genuine everyone was, before even really getting to know them. This is the first time I’ve ever had an internship experience where a company prioritizes being in the office. I think that was extremely intimidating but I was immediately comforted by the warmth and friendliness of all of the people here. It’s unique to see a work culture where all the employees seem to be good friends rather than just friendly coworkers. I approached the internship and the people I met throughout it as an opportunity to learn, grow, and have fun. 

CP has given me a new perspective on the industry. There is always a way to strike a balance between the chaos of advertising and the well-being of the employees, who keep the company running, which is of the utmost importance. 

Nick Maumus, Media
Bentley University

From my initial conversations with CPers, I knew that this agency aligned strongly with my own personal values. For that reason, this internship was the best part of every day for my last semester of college. On top of having great interactions with coworkers, I worked on a variety of client and internal CP projects.

My greatest learning experience, however, was being given a glimpse into the real world. I had to quickly learn how to juggle a full course load of both undergraduate and graduate classes and the Bentley Honors program, on top of this internship. On a good day, my 90-minute commute to the office spanned driving, walking, and taking the subway. I would lose 6 hours each week on my commute alone, which challenged me to learn the valuable skill of time management. 

I worked hard every day to maximize my time and be as productive as possible, while also managing stress. I used every opportunity to learn, including my commute to the office. One piece of advice that I received from Steve Connelly was to put my phone down on the subway and just watch people because you can learn so much from simply observing. By doing this, I learned a great deal about peoples’ habits, behaviors, group interactions, and stressors. It was a very interesting exercise that I’ll continue to practice moving forward.

Charlie Kennedy, Analytics
Merrimack College

What struck me about CP is just how friendly and understanding everyone is. People know how to act with each other in a professional, fun environment, whether that be providing constructive criticism or celebrating a job well done. 

My internship taught me just how complex and multifaceted the advertising industry is. While working on the analytics team, I was fortunate to be exposed to various departments within the agency, particularly the media team. The role that they play in ensuring that ads reach the intended audience is intriguing to me. Media is definitely another avenue that I’d love to explore more. Additionally, I find the whole process of creating an ad to be quite interesting – from copywriting and art direction through production, it is truly amazing how so many people play a part in the process. 

While at CP, I had so many opportunities to learn. The greatest learning experience I have had, however, is learning to use Google Analytics in an efficient manner with actual clients. I also had the privilege of being able to meet and work alongside CPers from our Dublin office. 

Mia Harvey, Senior Brand Manager

The women of my family often communicate via food. Texts with my mom and emails with her mother are frequently interspersed with recipes, photos of what we’ve cooked, and interesting ingredients we’ve found. Cookbooks and spices are gifts. Food is celebratory, and certain menu items are long-held traditions – as we pass around overflowing plates and boxes of homemade baked goods, “food is love” is said to justify the process and pure quantity of food. 

Michelle Zauner incites self-reflection around the connective power between food, family, and identity in her memoir, Crying in H Mart. Chosen in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, CP’s May Book Club selection explores Zauner’s relationship with her overbearing mother, Chongmi, and her experience growing up as a Korean American in Eugene, Oregon in a deeply personal memoir brought to life through dish after dish of traditional Korean meals.

“Food was how my mother expressed her love. No matter how critical or cruel she could seem—constantly pushing me to meet her intractable expectations—I could always feel her affection radiating from the lunches she packed and the meals she prepared for me just the way I liked them.”

When Chongmi is diagnosed with cancer, the interconnection between mother, daughter, and food causes Zauner to return to the culture and cuisine of her childhood. As she revisits the traditions and rituals she had so often been served by her mother and other female relatives, she reconnects with Chongmi and her Korean heritage. Zauner’s devastating and unfiltered telling of Chongmi’s slow death is documented alongside the meals she cooked, as she embraced her mother and hoped to heal her through the power of Korean dishes. Food binds Zauner to her mother, both before and after her death.

Zauner brings us into the intense, emotional experience following Chongmi’s death of continuing to connect to her Korean heritage, and as a result, finding herself. Her raw, unfiltered storytelling leaves us feeling the quiet, dark devastation felt after a loss. She continues to embrace food in an effort to prevent death’s theft of the memory of her mother and finds both connection and a new labyrinth of grief in the process of discovering and creating the meals introduced to her by Chongmi. 

“Sobbing near the dry goods, asking myself, am I even Korean anymore if there’s no one left to call and ask which brand of seaweed we used to buy?”

Throughout reading Crying in H Mart, I was constantly reminded of “food is love.” On top of the connection that food creates, it also allows us a glimpse into other cultures and stories. Crying in H Mart did all of the above, as well as serving as a poignant tribute to Zauner’s mother. A moving memoir of family, diasporic culture, and cuisine, Crying in H Mart is a tender exploration of the mother-daughter relationship and identity as a Korean American.

Lee Junkin, Platform Media SupervisorWhen I was in college, everyone used to say that if you can study abroad, you need to do it because you may never get the chance again. Well, as a 28-year-old adult, I was lucky enough to be provided with that opportunity a second time when Connelly Partners launched their CP Abroad program. So, in late February I set off for my month of working in Dublin – after making a quick pit stop in Chamonix, France to get a few days of skiing in as the winter began to fade away.

One of the things that struck me when I first arrived in the Dublin office is that my coworkers, who I had previously known almost entirely through Zoom and Slack, were so welcoming and passionate about sharing their culture. Almost immediately after being shown to my desk, I was hit with a flood of recommendations for restaurants, pubs (a lot of pubs), hikes, and any other experience in Ireland you can think of. It’s overwhelming to try to experience as much as you can in a new country in just a month, but with the help of my coworkers, I was able to make a pretty good plan for appreciating Dublin life. 

It being March, I was able to experience an Irish St. Patrick’s Day, which is a national holiday in Ireland. The parade was beautiful and the crowds were massive. People from all over the world poured into the streets wearing green hats and Guinness shirts. By the way, make sure you call it St. Paddy’s Day and not St. Patty’s Day – Americans often come over and use the more Anglicized spelling to the dismay of Irish residents. 

After St. Paddy’s, I explored the incredible Dingle Peninsula, driving over Conor Pass before eating seafood chowder with a Guinness in the quaint seaside Dingle pubs as Ireland beat England in the Six Nations rugby tournament. I also explored the beautiful Cliffs of Moher as well as Galway City.

Ireland may be an island, but plane fare in Europe is much different than in the U.S., making Dublin Airport a gateway to other cultures and languages just a few hours away. Over the course of a few weekends, I flew to Soria, Spain to reconnect with my host family from my college abroad experience, explored castles in Edinburgh and took a cruise on Lake Loch Ness, sipped coffee by the brightly painted houses in Copenhagen, and toured and learned about the complicated history of the city of Belfast.

Overall, I learned that while every culture has its slight differences – pronunciations and slang, cuisines, and lunch break standards (the Irish office is better at eating lunches together while Americans often eat at their desks) – there are many universal human truths that we all share. People everywhere are generally welcoming and excited to share pieces of their culture. People like to have fun and try new foods and keep eating the foods that they already love. Whether it’s baseball or Gaelic football, everyone loves to go to a game with their friends. The advertising industry certainly has some nuances across different countries (my position as a programmatic media buyer is not a big thing in Ireland), but in any culture, humans like to do the things they love, and part of our job as advertisers is to help humans enjoy those things.

CP Abroad provided me with a better understanding of my fellow humans and helped me grow as a person, but maybe more importantly, it was an incredibly fun experience that I will never forget.

Aoife Davis, Art Director, ZOO Digital

Like many other city dwellers during the pandemic, I packed up my life in Dublin and moved to the countryside. I landed in Westport, Co.Mayo, a small town in the west of Ireland on the wild Atlantic coast. Pandemic aside, the urge to seek out adventure and a new way of working/living was the driver above all else, something I believe is inherent to Irish people. 

As the world started opening back up, the urge to travel again and reconnect with colleagues in person was strong, especially as ZOO was still so new to the Connelly Partners family. In the past, I never got around to pursuing a US Graduate Visa after finishing university, giving Irish graduates the opportunity to live and work in the US for up to one year. I thought the opportunity had passed me by, until the CP Abroad Programme was announced. Instantly, I knew this was something I had to apply for.

Visiting Boston in February and March seemed like a wild move for someone who doesn’t own a pair of snow boots, so landing in the North End at the beginning of February to 16C (60F) temperatures was an unexpected surprise. I spent my first evening watching the sunset on the rooftop of the new company condo, taking in the Boston skyline and waterfront. As my body clock was still adjusting, I was a constant rooftop feature, catching some incredible winter sunrises over the next few days, while also getting familiar with the Italian North End and Downtown Boston.

My working day started slightly earlier than usual, so I could catch the Dublin team before they went on lunch. My Irish clients took precedence and I continued to work on ongoing campaigns and new business tenders, taking calls earlier in the day and making sure Friday close of business deadlines for Dublin were met at lunchtime Boston time. Getting an in-person introduction to one of the Boston clients was hugely beneficial, as ZOO and CP work together on a few accounts. Conversations with the brand team led to valuable insights gained from a Visit Williamsburg case study, proving insightful for our recent Irish tourism tenders. Meetings with the creative team sparked interesting ideas on how best to integrate our teams and spot opportunities for collaboration. Working with the strategy team helped ZOO build a strong research case for a new Irish spirit client.

I was delighted to be in Boston for Women’s History Month, attending an International Women’s Day event organised by The Ireland Funds, with my CP Boston colleague Niamh Marshall. This included an evening of talks with US Attorney, Rachael Splaine Rollins, and Executive Director of the Red Sox Foundation, Rebekah Splaine Salwasser, sisters of Irish descent with roots in Co.Mayo. Rachael and Rebekah spoke so wholeheartedly about their connection to Ireland, their career successes and how their work continues to push through the glass ceiling. It was great building connections with the Boston Irish on the night and witnessing how celebrated and supported the community is. 

I took in my fair share of Boston art museums, visiting the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Harvard Art Museum and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (twice). The courtyard flower arrangements are changed every few weeks – an exhibition in itself. I visited the Boston Tea Party Museum, caught a concert at Boston Symphony Hall, walked the Freedom Trail from Boston Common to Bunker Hill and sailed on a Boston City Cruise. I took weekend trips to Salem, Portland, Maine, Providence, Rhode Island and fulfilled an American dream at Modern Diner, Pawtucket, the only known surviving streamliner diner still in operation. I still think about the custard french toast! I spent a few days in NYC, exploring Manhattan & Brooklyn and spent St. Patrick’s Day at the Southie parade, which was an experience not to forget.

Spending time in the Boston office and seeing Connelly Partners land the 2023 AdAge A-List award for Best Agency Culture, firmly reinstates our combined, cross-agency, human-centric values. Getting out of my comfort zone, finding new sources of inspiration, building new connections and adventuring while exploring new ways of working/living has been an invaluable experience. Documenting my time through film photography has also inspired a personal print project which I hope to work on over the next few months. 

So put it this way, that urge for adventure I’ve had for the last while, was certainly achieved by taking part in CP Abroad and getting to do it as part of my job was a major plus. Thanks, ZOO and Connelly Partners for the opportunity.

Our work for V Foundation for Cancer Research was recently featured by Ads of the World. The “Halftime” campaign was created for the organization’s 30th anniversary as a way to elevate researchers to the level of the most celebrated celebrity talent to drive awareness and donations to V Foundation. The launch was timed to sync up with March Madness to shift the public conversation from NCAA victories to victory over cancer.

Check out the full coverage here 

Read more about the campaign here 

Recap by Brandy Shabowich, Assistant Marketing Manager

On Sunday, February 12, millions were watching Super Bowl LVII. Roughly 50 minutes of the game were dedicated strictly to TV ads and a 30-second spot cost $7 million for media alone. With this in mind, brands had to be smart about how they captured viewers’ attention and the message they shared. They were up against numerous other brands, all competing for the same mental real estate of viewers. They walked a fine line between needing to fit in and, at the same time, standing out. 

Ahead of the Big Game, CP’s strategy and creative teams shared their take on this year’s TV spots. Were they worth the millions of dollars to make and place? Or did they miss the mark? 

1. Workday “Rockstar”

Complete with a star-studded cast of actual rockstars, this spot played on the common corporate usage of the word “rockstar.” Rock legends like Ozzy Osbourne, Joan Jett, and Billy Idol explained what the word actually meant. 

Comical and entertaining, with high-profile cameos and a clear message throughout, we believe that this was a traditional and successful Super Bowl spot. This, for lack of a better word, rocked and was one of our favorites. We believe it was a fan favorite as well. 

2. Budweiser “Six Degrees”

There were no Clydesdales from Budweiser this year. Instead, Budweiser opted to reach a younger audience by emphasizing the powerful force of human connection. Was it beautifully shot? Yes. Was it a spot that was easily remembered among the 80 others? Not really. We believe that the $7 million could have been spent differently.

3. Alaska Airlines Visa Card “French Tuck”

In this spot, TV personality Tan France quickly ran through the list of perks that come with the Alaska Airlines Visa Card. All that was missing, he explained, was the “French Tuck” as he placed the card in his wallet. There was nothing particularly memorable about this spot and we feel the creative fell short. It’s more important than ever for brands to capture viewers’ attention, even with a regional Super Bowl ad buy – and this didn’t cut it for us.

4. Hellmann’s US “Who’s in the Fridge”

John Hamm and Brie Larson found themselves in a refrigerator, representing their namesakes, ham and brie. With Hellmann’s mayonnaise, they were dinner – for comedian Pete Davidson. 

A main point in Hellmann’s strategy is that with their product, no leftovers will go to waste. The spot made one reference to this and if you weren’t listening, you likely missed it. And we think that was a miss. 

With this in mind, we do not believe this was worth the money it took to produce and place. 

5. Oikos “Sanders Family Reunion”

The Sanders family reunion turned into a competition, with the various family members showing that they were the strongest. Highly symbolic, this spot demonstrated how the brand’s variety of offerings are loaded with protein to help make you stronger. 

We don’t think this spot was particularly memorable but Oikos reported an increase in sales after last year’s ad. Featuring much of the same cast, this spot is a sequel to 2022’s “Strong.” 

6. DraftKings “Kevin Hart’s House Party” 

They had us in the first half… 

While hosting a party, Kevin explained that DraftKings is giving everyone a free bet. After each line of dialogue, we segued to guests whose names matched the last word Kevin said. Big Papi, Ludacris, The Undertaker, and Tony Hawk all make appearances in this spot, which we feel quickly got out of hand. 

With its slapstick humor, puns, and the great cast of celebrities, we feel that this had the makings of a great Super Bowl spot, but it quickly derailed, becoming increasingly chaotic and then abruptly ending.

7. Sam Adams “A Brighter Boston”

Your Cousin from Boston fantasized about a Boston where everything is brighter. We saw various situations in this new city. People were friendly, welcomed Yankees fans with open arms, and advocated against talking trash. Ultimately, this all turned out to be a daydream. 

We were split on this one. On one hand, it clearly resonated with folks from the Boston area and was entertaining to watch. On the other, if you aren’t a fan of the Sam Adams spokesman or are not from the area, this would not have been enough to capture your attention.

What do you think? Were our predictions correct?

Carla Doyle, Account Director, ZOO Digital 

There’s no doubt about it, the Irish do love to travel. I wonder, is it something to do with living on a tiny island on the most western, wet and windy part of Europe…hmm? In 2017 I left my job and life in London (after 10 years of living there!) and took a year off to go travelling before setting back at home in Dublin, Ireland in 2018.

I didn’t think I’d really get the chance again to spend an extended period of time in another country…..until the CP Abroad programme was announced. As soon as I heard all the details, I knew this was something I definitely wanted to get involved in. Luckily enough, I got a spot on the programme for 2 months in Boston during October and November, aka ‘Fall.’ There’s no doubt about it, ‘Fall’ is a beautiful time to visit Boston and the wider New England area. Whilst working in Boston, I was still managing my client accounts back in Ireland – ESB Networks and MyMilkMan.ie. I have to say (and not because this blog will be public!), each of my clients were super supportive and very encouraging of me taking part in the programme. From a work perspective, I adjusted all my client meetings to AM Boston time, which would be afternoon Irish time. So there was no real disruption in my day-to-day management of the accounts. 

I got into a rhythm of always working a half a day ahead of myself. This meant any feedback or new briefs that had to be shared with our creative team in Dublin were ready to go and in their inboxes in the morning, so they could start right away. Then we’d catch up in the afternoon and chat through any questions or comments they had. In fact, at one stage, one of my clients said she felt she was just about getting 24-hour service while I was in Boston! Not bad, eh?!It was really great to get to know colleagues in CP Boston, as ZOO were still relatively new to the CP family. I had some great conversations with people across Brand, Creative, Strategy, Media and Marketing / PR. For me the biggest benefit from a work perspective, is being able to share ideas. For example, CP colleagues in Boston shared some really interesting and successful case studies around influencer campaigns they managed in Boston. This is something I really want to introduce to some accounts I am working with in Ireland, as the power of the ‘influencer’ will only continue to grow! Putting names to faces has also been great, and takes the initial awkwardness out of contacting someone you’ve never met before. I’d have no qualms now contacting anyone in Boston for a chat, work or social!

There was also time for exploring Boston and some travel too. It wasn’t all work, work, work! I enjoyed some amazing Italian food in the North End, saw the Celtics play, visited the MFA and Isabella Stewart Gardner museums, saw the historic Head of the Charles Boat Race and of course experienced Halloween in Boston which was amazing!! I flew to Washington DC for a long weekend. So much history and so many free museums and galleries to visit! I spent a weekend up in Portland, Maine and gorged myself on delicious seafood and lobster rolls. #NoRegretsI look forward to welcoming colleagues from CP Boston and VRX to Dublin, and showing them around our city! So….when can I apply again?!

 

#holidayshutdown 

The last few years showed us all that working from home is possible, but it also taught us that being in-person is invaluable. What happens when you believe in both? The boundaries between work and home blur more than ever. 

Working is no longer limited to the office and home isn’t the safe space it used to be. Work has crept into our bedrooms, kitchens, kid’s rooms, cafés, and commutes. With constant email, Slack, WhatsApp, Zoom, and other notifications, it’s hard to create separation. Which is our new reality. 

And that’s ok. Except for the holidays. We believe the holidays are our time to reset the boundaries, even if for a short period of time. Which gives new meaning to “home for the holidays.”

Happy Holidays from Connelly Partners!