Dara Collins

Day 3: Alexa, play “Nice For What”

Alexa, play “Nice For What” by Drake.

Everyone, literally everyone, that our group has encountered on this trip has treated us so kindly. Every interaction with locals, specifically with the individuals at our media visits, has been pleasant and positive.

When we arrived at Battenhall’s office, cookies and water awaited us on the conference table. At Burson Cohn & Wolfe, coffee, water, juice, sodas, tea and biscuits were wheeled into the conference room as we took our seats. The snacky things were a kind addition to the already generous information the media professionals were sharing with us during our visits.

I think everyone wants to work at Battenhall after our visit, including myself.

The individuals who met with us, including the founder, Drew Benvie, spoke so passionately of the agency and of their work, it was hard to not share their interest for the topics they discussed.

Aside from the award winning projects Battenhall has produced, the agency has great perks that make it even more appealing: unlimited holiday, working from home, a larger technology budget and the freedom to be incredibly creative.

We went to BCW after a quick lunch near Battenhall’s office, and as a journalism student instead of PR & Advertising like most students on this trip, I found the exercise of making a brief come to life pretty challenging but still fun and practical.

In the same breath, it’s very comforting to hear many of the people we’ve been speaking to came from varying media disciplines and wound up in their current profession, public relations in the cases of the two media visits. It’s a confidence booster to know that while many people immediately associate journalism with news writing, it can become something so much more broad, and I am very excited to see where my future path leads.