Amanda Paola, an Assistant Media Planner at Tierney, became interested in public relations and communications back in high school when she took her first marketing class. After a few internships and firsthand agency experience, she knew agency life was for her because of the “energy and creativity that flows within this industry.” At Tierney, she also loves wearing different hats and later seeing her work come to life on various platforms such as television, websites and billboards. See below my Q&A with Amanda about Tierney, agency life and tips to maintain work-life balance.
While there is never a “typical day” in PR, what are some routine tasks you do as the assistant media planner?
Every day is definitely different. Typically my daily tasks include: reaching out to vendors for pricing and spec information, conducting research on key target segments that we are looking to reach, evaluating sponsorship opportunities presented to my clients, and laying out actual plans based on timing and appropriate media outlets.
What is your favorite part about working at Tierney?
I absolutely love the teams of people I work with as well as the clients we do work for. Within an agency you are constantly working across departments and with different personalities; however we are able to collaborate and put out great work. They are also some of the most awesome people ever, I actually want to come into work and hang out with these people. Fortunately for me, my clients are mostly based within the Philadelphia area. So it feels exceptionally cool when you work on a specific campaign and get to see the creative you’ve placed in the market.
What do you look for in an intern?
We’ve had some pretty amazing interns in the time that I’ve been at Tierney. I think what I look for most is someone who is willing to jump in and learn something new. Media planning isn’t something that most people have a prior knowledge of or interest in before their internships. So when an intern comes in and tries to soak up the most from their experience, that’s great.
What tasks do you rely on interns for?
Media interns do a lot of different things. Most mimic the tasks that I do as an assistant planner. These can be: clearing media billing, reaching out to vendors for additional information, laying out media plans, researching some new tactic or a specific target segment, sitting in on client statuses. We teach them how to use the research tools that we utilize when creating plans.
What is your favorite form of social media personally and why?
I really like Instagram and Pinterest. I guess I like the visual elements. People generally post positive things on these platforms. I find Facebook and twitter have become peoples’ soap boxes. I don’t particularly want to hear your thoughts on politics and current events. Give me photos of your bomb dinner and adorable puppy!
How have you worked to maintain a work life balance “in the real world”?
I try to make it a point to leave the office at a decent time each night. Sometimes I feel guilty about it, but for my own personal wellbeing, I need to go home and go for a run and relax so I can come back to the office the next day refreshed and ready to work.
What are some of your hobbies outside of PR?
I like to exercise and do yoga. I’ve taken up running since I graduated college- I do half marathons and other distance races as motivation to workout harder. I enjoy traveling, I was recently in Miami.
What’s your dream job?
I really love event and wedding planning. I’m also into charity work. So I guess some sort of combination of those would be great.
This blog post was written by PRowl Secretary, Shaun Luberski. You can connect with her on LinkedIn here and follow her on Twitter here.
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