Agency Life is a scheme developed for the marketing and digital business schools at Manchester Metropolitan University. The scheme introduces undergraduates to the experience of working in a busy advertising, PR or digital agency.
The scheme offers students the chance to spend ‘about a working day’ working with agencies carrying out ad hoc tasks on single or concurrent projects. MEC relished the chance to support the scheme, which allows us to educate students about what it is like to work in a leading media agency.
Recently the new organic performance team was joined by an agency life student called Anna Mathiesen, who is in the second year of a public relations and digital communications management course at Manchester Metropolitan University. Anna is currently working one day at week at MEC and is quickly learning some key SEO skills, from a range of experienced members of the MEC organic performance team.
As part of her on-going training and development Anna has written the following review about her experience so far
“I was lucky enough to get my placement at one of the world’s leading media agencies MEC Global Manchester which is also part of GroupM which is one of the largest advertising and media agencies in the world.
MEC offer a variety of services from their core media planning and media buying services, copywriting, finance, to SEO – where I joined. With a wide range of clients throughout UK and abroad, I was excited and eager to learn how an agency really works and how they create great and successful campaigns.
Starting Agency Life I was quite nervous, which wasn’t helped when I woke up with no voice. Fortunately I was quickly reassured and put at ease by the friendly atmosphere MEC holds and the extremely warm welcome. On my first day I was shown a short presentation of the business which included a short video with everybody in the office introducing themselves and giving me little gifts.
The best ones being an empty tissue box with a face drawn in the middle (very artistic) and a single tea bag. A very welcoming and nice touch and something that is part of the ritual it seems.
MEC made me feel like part of the team straight away, not just a visiting student, by getting me involved in idea generator sessions, helping to contribute to campaigns from day one.
The organic performance team has vast experience in search, through my short time here they have already introduced me to key SEO skills such as natural link building and reporting through Google Analytics. As part of my ongoing training I have also completed many tutorials from industry leading sites such as distilled and have been filling in weekly training documents.
The organic performance team have access to some of the leading tools in the industry which I have been lucky enough to gain training on, this includes BuzzStream, SEO Moz, Searchmetrics and Open Site Explorer.
These sites will help me carry out my own research when given tasks either here at MEC or in my university assignments. Recently I have been assisting on the EE campaign helping the EE SEO team in conducting a content audit and consumer outreach. This has given me beneficial experience and insight in to the steps of how SEO campaigns are pieced together.
I have been here for a few weeks now and I feel like I have a better insight and understanding into how agencies work, which I believe will give me an advantage when applying for my industrial placements for next year and in my future career.
I have now also seen and experienced myself the theory I have learnt at university in practise, which has helped me with my academic work.”