Ever wondered what a media company feels like to work with? Well, I too have always been curious about the Media industry and how these media houses function. While doing my post-graduation from MICA- The Mecca of Marketing, I got to live this opportunity to intern with HT media, one of the biggest & oldest Media companies in India.
Coming from MICA with a creative inclination towards marketing, the internship opened doors for me to explore the creative side while trying my hands on the new and emerging media. What is now called “the new normal” and how the businesses have emerged with the growing and changing mindsets of the consumers is a crucial part that an internship might give you a glimpse of.
With the usual B-school race towards the top-notch FMCG companies, there was a surprise that my destiny had in store. After facing several rejections, I finally got into HT. I realized that companies do a favor for you by not selecting you because everything from the brand name, stipend, etc. goes in vain if you are not a cultural fit for the organization. Such a small thing to understand and the earlier you do, the better for you.
This year we saw an extremely haywire situation from every side amidst pandemic regarding internship program. Nevertheless, apprehensions regarding the onset of starting of internships and the working module was a common feeling among us. However, HT made sure to put all my fears to rest by pro-actively communicating about our commencement dates and that’s when my journey started on 8th June with a smooth onboarding.
The internship started on a high note by a brief introduction with the senior management which entailed a brief about the businesses of HT, the company’s history, its values, organization’s culture, and the pillars it stands for and their expectations from us. Later that week we were assigned our buddies & mentors. I was assigned to the Insights team of HT. My team played a crucial role in providing me a full-fledged experience with their consistent inputs and unconditional support. Even having a digital internship, my mentor ensured that I get holistic learning from the experience by providing weekly interactions on the project updates. I liked how the internship started on a very professional note & on the last day we interns were bid a warm farewell and I really appreciate the gesture.
During the course of my internship, I was exposed to various projects from the Podcasting business, to the benchmarking of the various English news digital platforms. My first project on Podcasts lasted for 8 weeks. It gave me an opportunity to explore the exciting world of podcasts and then finally devise a go-to strategy for the HT SmartCast. The project ingrained a productive habit in me of listening to podcasts daily as a supplement for news wraps. I exposed myself to many Indian and international podcasts across various genres. “Maid in India”, ”Joe Rogan”, “The Quint”, “3 Things”, “The Serial” to name a few. In the remaining weeks, I worked on an in-depth study on the user interface to enhance the digital footprint. I also conducted various qualitative studies to understand and enhance consumer content needs especially at the time of COVID. The project gave me an understanding of consumer insights and changing readership habits across geographies in North Indian states. I was also exposed to many new metrics & analysis models. Driver analysis, funnel conversions, etc. to name a few.
I believe this internship has changed me in many ways. Self-confidence definitely tops the list. I believe what a summer internship does to an MBA student is it lets one explore various arenas, teaches about the corporate nuances, and facilitates a practical understanding from multiple facets of the theoretical learnings. The key learning, I take from this company is to work closely to understand the small nuances that can add up to the bigger picture. HT Media has surely been an amazing journey I will cherish throughout my life.
