As a marketing researcher intern for Gia Kuan Consulting, I help research brands that the agency could work with and report back to the founder and principal, Gia Kuan Consulting. Work starts around 10:00AM and ends at 6:00PM on a normal day for a full time worker. Since I am doing research remotely, my schedule is more flexible. Everyday, I receive the proposal emails from companies forward to me through email by Gia Kuan. I then create a ‘new business brief’ of what the company does and upload any assets they attach to the company Dropbox. Sometimes we get proposals from really enticing companies and those are especially interesting and fun to do. However, most of the time the companies are still too small and new to judge any future potential.

Every Friday I have a meeting with Gia discussing the new businesses and which ones are promising. I also schedule times for Gia to meet with clients. Even though we don’t accept most proposals, we still take calls to be formal and show good will. Aside from marketing research, I will also help send out press blasts for our clients about new products or collaboration opportunities. I also maintain an over 1,000 press contact document and update new emails daily. This is important because if we send out a press blast email to over 100 contacts and the emails are incorrect, we are losing out on potential press. I also help research press narratives some clients could take. For example, one of our new clients is ESSX, a physical fashion boutique store that is soon to open in Chinatown, Manhattan. As part of my research, I did a deep dive on past press pieces about store openings in New York city. I researched large chains like Macy’s but also smaller independent stores and compared and contrast the press sentiment. Furthermore, I also noted the press contact names to reach out to them on behalf of ESSX.

It is such a privilege to work with such an amazing team and that factor is a large reason for why I decided to continue working at Gia Kuan Consulting. The team, consisting of 6 full-time staff, 2 freelancers, and myself are all hard working and passionate about the intersection of art and fashion. They are intelligent and do amazing work. We have great conversations with each other and help each other out. In contrast to traditional work environments that DePaul has prepared me for, I truly find myself blessed to work for such a lovely and positive team doing work that I genuinely feel passionate about.

After COVID-19, the company has experienced positive growth and has gotten a lot of press attention within the public relations industry about how innovative the agency is. My boss is also an incredible and hard working woman and is the driving force in the team. She treats everyone with dignity and respect despite her busy schedule and genuinely cares for people.

On a technical basis, I have understood and been immersed in the world of public relations and communications. I am getting more familiar with well known writers for various publications and slowly developing professional relationships with them. I also know how to send press blasts, know how to read a press report, I can assemble a post-release for an event, and so much more. I really feel the skills I have learned in this internship have built strong hard skills that I can transfer to other industries. Furthermore, the ever-changing nature of the arts and fashion makes me nimble and adaptable to many situations helping me become more confident in my thinking and myself in the professional world.