Launching a Career in Market Intelligence

Brianna Dunkers-Brown

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Senior Research Analyst, CNN

Class of 2017

BBA in Marketing—Advertising and Integrated Marketing Communications

Member Of: Student Government Association, Beta Gamma Sigma, National Business Honor Society, Future Business Leaders of America

Brianna Dunkers-Brown '17 from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania is a marketing major with a minor in psychology on our New York City campus. Brianna is very involved in student government—she is currently the Executive Vice President of the Student Government Association (SGA). Brianna has been interning at NBCUniversal for two semesters and has this to say about her experience: "The question students go to college to answer is 'What do I want to do with the rest of my life?' My internship at NBC Universal helped me answer that question. I have been searching for that answer for a while so to have this internship be able to answer that for me is tremendous!"

Where are you currently interning? Have you had any other internships previously?

I am currently doing my second internship at NBCUniversal. Last semester (Fall 2015), I was an ad sales client solutions intern. This semester (Spring 2016), I am a market intelligence intern. Previously I was a PR intern at Magic Bullet Media and a social media intern at Keeper of the Brand Marketing Agency.

What have you been working on at your internship? Has it sparked an interest in a career/area of study you hadn't already thought about? Or has it confirmed that you are on the right path?

My responsibilities as a market intelligence intern run the gamut, but for the most part, I create company overviews and one-pagers and work on one-off requests for various departments. Currently, I'm gathering data and doing research on best practices for targeting the LGBTQA market. This requires a specific profile of the LGBTQA consumer and a detailed description of their buying behavior. I always suspected that I would like figuring out why people do what they do, and I thought it would be interesting to apply that knowledge to marketing. However, even with that suspicion, I enjoy this work much more than I could've imagined. This discovery has been huge for me as a career in market intelligence is the path that I have decided to take after graduation next year.

I always suspected that I would like figuring out why people do what they do, and I thought it would be interesting to apply that knowledge to marketing. However, even with that suspicion, I enjoy this work much more than I could've imagined. This discovery has been huge for me as a career in market intelligence is the path that I have decided to take after graduation next year.

Do you believe your internship experience has helped to prepare you for your future?

Yes I do. My supervisor does a great job of giving me autonomy and letting me have control over the projects she assigns me while subtly guiding me throughout the process. This way, when I finish a project, I feel a sense of accomplishment because I know I did the work, but I also learned a lot about the right way to put together analyst reports, company overviews, one-pagers, etc. This type of mentorship has prepared me for my career because I have work to show future employers. It has also taught me a lot of hard skills that are useful for a career in research. I am familiar with over 10 new research databases and I know how to access the information and compile it in a way that tells a compelling story for the client.

Any advice for other Lubin students looking for internships?

My advice to Lubin students looking for internships is to not count yourself out of any opportunity. If you feel a bit under-qualified for a position, apply anyway. They may just take a chance on you based on your past experiences and your ability to sell yourself during the interview. Internships with steep learning curves such as these are usually quite challenging but have the potential to be incredibly rewarding. Pay attention to what your supervisors respond well to and do more of that. At your internship your primary goal is to impress the people you work for, so take their feedback seriously and show them that you're getting better every day. Put your game-face on and don't let 'em see you sweat. Have the attitude that you will succeed and you'll be surprised with how often you actually do. When you do this you'll earn the respect of your supervisors and peers.