A Brew With Work Experience Student: Sophia

A week at STM can involve a little bit of everything, and for our latest work experience student, Sophia, that meant getting stuck into agency life from day one.

From developing her own skincare brand and tackling creative briefs for Costa and St Pierre, to sitting in on pre-production meetings and learning how our teams work together behind the scenes, it’s safe to say she packed plenty into her time with us.

We caught up with Sophia over a brew to hear about her week at STM, her favourite moments and what she’s learned along the way, as well as where she hopes the future might take her.

Let’s kick things off, tell us a bit about yourself and where you are studying.

My name is Sophia, and I am currently in my first year of sixth form at Canon Slade studying English literature, film studies and PE. In my free time I love to play netball, spend time with my friends and going to the cinema.

What subject are you studying? What made you want to study that subject in the first place?

When I was first deciding what A levels to choose after I completed my GCSEs, I immediately knew that English literature was going to be a subject I wanted to pursue. I have always found that in English there is no right or wrong answer and I think that is one of my favourite parts about it. I love that you can immerse yourself into a creative world where you can explore everyone’s different perspectives. Throughout school I have always loved sport and so I think choosing PE has really made me understand the much wider aspects of it which I find very interesting. Although I find all my subjects interesting my personal favourite subject has got to be Film studies. I love the way you can dive into the deeper meanings of a film through analysing things as small as a shot type or a hand movement.

What have you been up to during your work experience placement week?

The week has been amazing for really understanding and getting a true experience of the work life here at STM AGENCY I began my week with an introduction to the agency from Kate which really helped me to understand each team within the agency and from there jumping straight into designing my own skincare brand using mood boards, playing around with different fonts, putting together some buzzwords to really emphasise the goal of the brand and more.

I also spoke to Bailey who spoke to me about apprentices and his experiences of doing an apprenticeship within the agency which answered many of my questions about the topic. I didn’t really have much prior knowledge about what apprenticeships entail but after learning more about it I am excited to possibly go down this path in the future.

I sat in a meeting with Holly and Emily and saw an insight into the pre-production process and what goes into planning what each shot are going to look like. I worked on a Costa brief, designing mood boards, headlines and more for the new summer range as well as working on a St Pierre brief which was my favourite one as I really enjoyed making the hero ad concept as the result. 

On the client services side, I got to talk to Emily who was super nice and explained the relationship between the client and the agency perfectly. I got to really get an insight on how the client services team coordinate with creative, strategy and production teams, manage communication, solve problems and make sure the final work meets the client’s expectations. Jordan showed me the creative side of the agency, and I was fortunate enough to get to see his recent work on Aer Lingus. 

Overall, I have had such an amazing and busy week that has given me hands-on experience on the work life here at STM AGENCY through spending time with each team and diving deeper into the different contributions that they make.

Favourite part of the week so far

As an A level English literature student, making campaign headlines throughout different briefs was so fun and enjoyable and I think this might have been one of my favourite parts of the week alongside making mood boards. I have always loved making mood boards as it allows you to combine all your ideas into one.

What area of the agency are you enjoying the most? Creative, digital, strategy, client work - or something else?

I have enjoyed the creative side of the agency the most. Seeing how ideas develop from an initial concept into a finished campaign has been really interesting, and I have loved learning how creativity and collaboration come together to produce work that is both engaging and effective. It has given me a real insight into how impactful strong creative ideas can be.

Biggest “ohhh, so that’s how it works” moment

Throughout my work experience, I have had countless “ohhh, so that’s how it works” moments particularly from seeing the level of precision and attention to detail. I found it so interesting to see how things move from team to team. I think when you are looking at the product as a member of society you don’t quite take in the hard work and dedication that goes into the behind the scenes and I think that is what I found so amazing about my experience. Although I have loved every part of my week, I think these two things are my favourite parts.

One thing you’ll take away from your week at STM

There are so many things that I will take away from my week, but I think being able to ask questions about different things and broaden my knowledge even if that means stepping out of my comfort zone. I am excited to take these skills and apply them throughout my future.

Looking ahead - If you could fast-forward a few years, what would you love to be doing?

When I think about my future, I have always had two very different career paths in mind. One is to complete my A levels with grades AAB and secure a degree apprenticeship in business marketing. After spending this week on work experience, I have become far more interested in this career. Seeing how creative ideas are developed into successful campaigns, while also understanding the amount of planning, teamwork and attention to detail involved, has made me realise how exciting and rewarding the industry can be.

My other aspiration is to again complete my A levels with grades AAB before studying abroad to become a commercial airline pilot. Although these two career paths are very different, they both genuinely excite me and are careers that I can see myself enjoying in the future.