Meet the Interns: Mindgruve's Leah Kolchinsky

Tell us about your internship, what are your main responsibilities?

I started interning my junior year of college and although I was expecting coffee runs and stapling papers, it was so much more than that. Media planners would have me help out with various campaigns across different channels, analyze data, shift budgets, report market trends and make optimizations. After a few months, I was even trusted with to directly communicate with clients. I’ve had internships at digital marketing firms in the past but no other agency has made me feel so valuable and welcome. Although I came in with anxiety and sweaty palms my first day, it didn’t take long for my jitters to dissipate and feel like part of the team.

Do you have a dream account or brand you’d like to work with? Which one?

In an ideal world, I’d be advertising at Spotify. I’ve always had a soul entanglement with music, whether it be through singing, songwriting or listening to other artists and Spotify has capitalized on that power and has revolutionized the way we all interact with music. I would love the opportunity to raise awareness about such an amazing music platform that’s easily accessible, visceral, and life changing! So Spotify if you’re reading this - please hire me!!!

Talk to us about the culture in your office, how has it impacted your internship?

Where do I even begin?! Maybe it has something to do with working in the city of San Diego but everyone here is so happy and helpful all the time. Mindgruve prioritizes culture above all else and offers multiple platforms for employees to stand out and to get acquainted with everyone in the crew. Mindgruve embodies all of its values and it’s difficult to imagine a better work environment…. Did I mention we have a rooftop bar? ;)

What have you learned about the advertising industry that surprised you?

This might get me in trouble but what I’ve learned through working in the ad industry is that the client isn’t always right. Clients pay agencies for their innovative ideas and when you’re just agreeing with the client, you’re not bringing them any value. I’ve worked retail jobs where that catchphrase has been repeated to me during every shift but now working in an industry where I’m hired for my ideas, I’ve come to realize that this ideology can be self-destructive and sometimes you just have to go with your gut. With that being said, the client always has the final word and that’s something I’m never going to dispute!

Choose a current popular advertising trend and tell us what’s interesting about it:

A topic that’s not often talked about (perhaps it’s because few people understand how it works including myself) is how blockchain is about to change the advertising industry. Originally created to trade cryptocurrencies, this technology is developing in advertising and will be applied to data management, targeting, transparency, and media buying. Like programmatic, blockchain will transform the way we plan, buy and serve media within the traditional ad landscape.

Imagine your dream job, where are you, what does a day-to-day look like?

Everyone knows that agencies come with infinite perks but for me, a dream job would be working with a range of clients, industries, and subjects I wouldn’t typically immerse myself in. Advertising has the ability to open your mind up to a lot of different personalities, categories and trades and the fact that I can come to work and learn something new every day, is enough to keep me happy. I’ve always been a knowledge junkie and advertising allows me to stay curious, even about the things that don’t necessarily interest me! Traveling on the job wouldn’t be too shabby either..

Are you considering another internship, or looking for jobs now? What are your next steps?

As someone who’s still in school, it’s awfully satisfying to say that I’m fully pleased with where I currently am. I hope to stay with Mindgruve till I graduate and maybe even after (if they’ll have me). Eventually, I’d love to move to New York since everyone knows it’s the epicenter of advertising, but that would entail me giving up my huge room for a shoebox and I’m not ready to give that up just yet!

What is your favorite ad of all time?

Unfortunately, my childhood was deprived of advertisements due to a lack of cable, but one that currently sticks out is the explosive (no pun intended) KFC ad campaign that replaced fire entirely with fried chicken! If you’re looking for some deep, meaningful message in this campaign, I don’t think you’ll find one but sometimes, simplicity is key! 


About Mindgruve

We are a global, independent marketing agency comprised of strategists, creatives, marketers, data scientists and engineers from around the world driven by one common purpose — create groundbreaking work that helps brands drive business growth.

Our process is agile and iterative delivering one-to-one consumer engagement at scale. We work in small teams of experts solving big challenges in open collaboration with our clients.

Learn more at http://www.mindgruve.com