Boathouse Internship Program
By Callie Cramer, Hayley Lewis and Taylor Cornacchia
“My internship at Boathouse was one of the highlights of my college experience. Not only did I have the opportunity to see agency life in action, I was also able to work with my team to create our own campaign with the help and support of so many members of the Boathouse team. Most importantly, though, it helped me learn what I was looking for in my future workplace: quality training, supportive environment, and enthusiasm.” —Brenna McGill, Summer 2018
The internship program truly began when Boathouse did, back in the garage in 2001, when our founders signed on a local MBA student to help out for the summer. Eight years later, we brought on two interns to work directly with account directors. In 2012, the program was formalized with more structure, participation and holistic education to a larger group of interns who have since walked through our doors each summer.
Today, our standard internship program aims to provide students with hands-on experience within our fast-paced agency. Throughout the program, our interns are given thorough education in the industry as a whole, as well as the ins and outs of Boathouse itself. The program’s foundation relies on two core areas of focus: daily one-on-one mentorship and team-based integrated campaign development.
In a typical summer, two teams of interns are given a real client challenge and are tasked to come up with a comprehensive marketing solution and integrated campaign to drive performance against the client’s business objectives. The interns apply the Boathouse model, working in two competing, agile teams and against a portfolio management approach that aims solely to drive performance for their pro bono clients. At the close of the program, the interns present their marketing plan and integrated campaign (including primary and secondary research, media proposals, creative concepts and measurement plans) directly to the client, and, in true Boathouse fashion, a winner is selected.
“My biggest takeaway from my time at Boathouse has been confidence. Throughout my experience with the Boathouse team and my peers, I developed confidence that will allow me to succeed in many areas. I have gained the confidence to speak on different marketing aspects through the countless things I learned. I have gained the confidence to stand in front of an audience and pitch a campaign. I have gained the confidence to start a brand of my own, utilizing the tools that I gathered during my time here to effectively market that brand. The time that you spend here will definitely boost your confidence, through workshops, campaign work, hands-on experience and mentorship.” —Latye Workman, Summer 2018
In recent years, Boathouse interns have had the opportunity to work with a variety of local organizations doing great things in the Boston community. Highlights include integrated campaign development for Orange Leaf frozen yogurt (2014), brand identity and positioning for Purple Table Reservations (2017), alumni association marketing for Breakthrough Greater Boston (2018), and the fall appeals campaign for The Food Project (2019). Each of these unique projects has provided interns with the chance to make a real impact on these organizations and see their hard work come to life in the market.
This summer, amid all of the uncertainty, we are more excited than ever to be holding an internship program. While we’ve had to adjust the format, we’re confident our interns will receive a valuable, engaging experience and still be able to witness the energy of the agency through our remote learning model.
Throughout their five weeks with us, our 2020 interns will attend 101 sessions among the various departments, work closely with mentorship teams who are dedicated to their success, participate in agency meetings and be responsible for developing a holistic COVID-19 response marketing plan for a small business of their choosing. All done virtually from the safety of their homes.
Each piece of the program will expose students to different remote working capabilities in the hope that our interns will come away from this summer as masters of a variety of online tools, with the resources and skills they will need to contribute meaningfully in their future careers.
While this summer will certainly provide a new set of challenges, we’re thrilled to be welcoming 15 new interns into our virtual Boathouse home. We can’t wait to get started!
Future interns are welcome to apply via our contact page https://www.boathouseinc.com/contact