A sarcastic memo about my internship duties

      I am an intern at The Word Australia—a company that publishes a quarterly, brochure-style guide of Sydney for backpackers and tourists—and my main role in the company will be to help convince advertisers and consumers that The Word is a trusted and widely-used publication in the Australian tourism market. 

  I was initially a bit disappointed when I realized that any my internship in “Travel Writing” would in fact be an internship in content marketing for the Australian tourism sector. Then my supervisor gave me free vouchers to go skydiving, abseiling, and surfing (as research for the articles I will be writing to direct consumers to attractions advertised in the company’s publication) and I promptly decided to stop being disappointed and give marketing a go. My objective? Preach The Word.

     I will do this, first of all, by helping to revamp the company’s website so that it appears credible to consumers and ultimately directs as much traffic as possible to the advertisements paid for by Word clientele. Through this ongoing project, I hope to gain transferable experience in web design, as well as practice integrating various social media platforms for a single brand. My supervisor has given me a lot of creative leeway in this project; handling that responsibility and lack of supervision will, hopefully, be good practice for any professional endeavors I pursue in the future.  

Secondly, I will be designing a market research study to show that print media—like the quarterly “Pocket Guide” published and distributed by The Word—is still an important resource for visitors to Australia. This research, if relevant, will be used to boost sales of ad space in the company’s quarterly publication by convincing clients that, although they can’t track the number of mouse-clicks on a paper brochure, tourists are still picking up brochures and maps to get ideas for their trip. Although I do not have any experience (or interest) in market research, I am looking forward to the opportunity to practice designing and carrying out a study, writing up a report, and communicating my findings to other professionals in the field. 

Lastly, what better way to preach The Word than to stand on a street corner and hand it out to unsuspecting passers-by! My supervisor has asked me to occasionally wear a “The Word Australia” T-Shirt and hand out brochures outside Central Station. This is a way to get the word out about The Word and to show potential clients that their advertisements will be distributed on a “hand-to-hand” basis as well. This experience should be a lot of fun; I see it as an opportunity to improve my communication skills as well as interact with travelers and locals while I’m in Sydney. 

I came into this internship, like many of my classmates, hoping for writing experience outside of academia—the little box in which my words have been writhing around for the last four years. A bit idealistic, I suppose, in my hope for an opportunity to write about travel without having to sell it, I just have had to reconfigure my expectations and reflect on how I can best approach this opportunity.