We are just 24 weeks away till Christmas! There’s no better time than now to reflect on the first half of 2019 and to count my blessings.
These are my 4P takeaways from my energising internship with PHD China.
People. From having a nurturing boss who would take the time to train me, to having a free-spirited colleague who sees work-life differently, and locals who show me the tricks and shortcuts, or even my table buddy who cheers me up whenever stress is written all over my face – it was fun working with people who are talented and nice and I always felt welcomed as an intern.
Place. Whether you believe that China is rising or that she has already risen and overtaken, China is the future. As a Tier 1 city and the ‘consumerism Capital’, I got to work on exciting pitches with big budgets and witness product launches and crossovers before it reached other cities. With its web of metro lines meandering through the city and the lovely French Concession, Shanghai is pretty convenient and fun with lots of events to attend every weekend.
Product. Through this internship, I rediscovered media and myself. I learnt that PHD as a Media Agency is not totally about media buys and ad-spend. I can’t reveal too much but all I can say is that when every dollar matters to the client, decisions are made based on sound methodology and data-backed evidence. As an agency that strives to “Find a better way”, the challenger mentality is not always about being an underdog and discovered the kind of challenger that I am.
Possibility. Whether it is super apps or ‘IPs’ or platform collaborations, possibilities abound and there’s no rules to how creativity is defined in China. There is so much more for me to learn about, beyond the tiers and right down to the rural localities. I don’t know when I will return to China but I know for sure that one day, I will be back.
I look forward to where life leads me next in this world of communications and most certainly hope to work again with everyone (including previous internships) again!
