Break into the Advertising Industry with the BBH 'Homegrown' Internship
Getting a job in advertising is no easy task – especially when your ambition is to work for one of the world’s top creative agencies with a dreamy London office. The barriers to entry for many industries are high, but the creative world is notoriously so.
Yet, world-leading creative agency BBH have an internship programme that lifts those barriers of finance, professional network and experience to focus on just one thing: talent.
The BBH “Homegrown” programme is a 4-month paid internship running from 6th March - 26th June 2023, giving you an incredible insight into the advertising and ad agency world.
As the ad says: “You’ll learn how to brief, build and manage a campaign. How to develop research, insights and write creative strategies. And how to find directors, photographers and designers to bring campaigns to life. You’ll do all of this through a mix of working on live projects, as well as attending talks & clinics on core skills for your discipline.”
We know that there are so many City Girls across the country who would jump at the chance to do this. So, we went straight to the Co-Head of the programme, award-winning Strategy Director, Ally Waring, to ask her more about it.
Applications are open until Monday 6th February at 11.59pm.
How will Homegrown help aspiring advertisers to break into the industry?
Homegrown is designed to offer experience over exposure. That means tangibly getting involved in day-to-day work & live projects so you can get a real feel for some of the traditional roles in an ad agency. We’ve found that this is quite a unique offer compared to other programmes that really just offer ‘shadowing’ opportunities.
Not to mention that BBH also has a legacy of producing some of the best known ads globally, as well as having a brilliant roster of current clients. 4 months here will be well spent!
There are three stages in applying for Homegrown: a short write-up on the online form, a video interview, and then an assessment day. What makes an applicant stand out in every stage?
We look for a few things. The first few are curiosity & intrigue - we want to see evidence of applicants actively pursuing a deeper truth or meaning in people, culture & brands. The second is a passion for creativity & a genuine interest in advertising: the impact marketing can have on our perception of brands. And finally, we exclusively work with ‘good and nice’ people!
How much research should applicants do beforehand and where should they go to do so?
You don’t need any prior experience to apply but we would encourage applicants to have strong points of view on advertising. Why not practice dissecting a few ads with your mates? Ask questions of the work critically & creatively. Look for ways to improve it!
What's the workplace culture like at BBH?
On the wall when you walk into our office is ‘none of us is as good as all of us’. I think that sums it up perfectly. There’s very few egos, we’re all in it together and ultimately it’s all about the work!
And finally... what excites YOU about the Homegrown Programme?
I’ve always felt like a bit of an outsider in this industry but BBH has welcomed me home. The black sheep might be our agency logo, but it’s a truth about who we are too: this is the place to come if you’d love to work in creativity but as yet, haven’t found a feeling of belonging. We want you & all the things that make you, you!
A few other bits…
We’d love to welcome applicants from both inside & outside London so, we’ve developed a highly competitive starting salary that reflects the rising living costs in the capital. Way above the living wage! We hope it shows how serious we are about supporting & welcoming new talent into the industry.
There are a couple of different ways you can approach the programme: the route we suggest is to choose one discipline (from Account Management, Strategy & Production) and stick with it for 4 months. This gives you a sturdy grounding in one discipline and a tangible skillset you can take away with you. The alternative route is to rotate through each of the disciplines. This might best suit applicants who aren’t yet sure what they want to do. But it will also mean that they’ll be moving around more and therefore might feel they get more exposure than experience. The choice is entirely yours! But you know our vote ;)