IJʿ students, interning this summer at companies such as NBCUniversal, Hukkster, Nike, and Facebook, are sharing their experiences. This post is written by Gracie Rentschler ‘16, an intern at Nike in Shanghai, China.
Gracie Rentschler ’16 in the Shanghai office
IJʿ stresses the importance of internships and gaining experience, so I knew I wanted to have an internship this summer.
I combined some of my interests—sports, Chinese language and culture, and marketing and advertising—to find an amazing opportunity. This summer I am working as an intern for Nike Greater China’s Brand/Communications (BC) team in Shanghai, China.
I joined the team at an exciting time, as they are in the midst of launching a new summer campaign unlike anything they have done before. It is a privilege to experience the integration and involvement of other agencies’ and contributors’ teams such as Wieden+Kennedy, AKQA, Mindshare, and Kong Ming. I feel like I have watched the ideas grow and change in the four weeks I have been at Nike.
Despite the role sports have played in my life, the ideas are entirely different in China, changing how I view sports. There is an inspirational aspect attached to Nike that feels even stronger in China, allowing the company to be influential in shaping what the concept of “sports” means here. In this unique market the team adapts global ideas to appeal more specifically to the Chinese consumers.
While every day in the office lends more insight into the intricate process of how things work, one of the cooler experiences thus far was a two-day video shoot. The shoots began after work, around 6:00 p.m., and finished at 4:00 a.m. I watched the sunrise as I took a taxi home, slept for a couple hours, then headed to the office and repeated the same overnight hours of the video shoot. It is incredible to see the amount of planning involved for a couple seconds at a particular location in the final product.
This internship has undoubtedly helped build my knowledge of marketing and advertising as well as given me hands-on experiences that could not be taught in a classroom. I look forward to seeing what my remaining time at Nike brings!
-Gracie Rentschler ‘16