Discovering media with Carat!

On Monday the 13th October I woke up at 4:45. That's right. The ungodly hour of 4:45. Why? To get the train into London to spend the day at Carat Media to participate in a 'Discover Media' day. The title of the event was a little vague, and so I was unsure as to what I should expect- but I really was in for a treat!

The day started with a group of us all being introduced to begin with- pretty much none of us knew each other and so we all set about 'networking' and making friends! Thankfully everyone was more than friendly, and as we were all in the same boat, we found it very easy to all get along quickly! Following this, we were lead up inside a very fancy building (and I must admit, I felt I fitted right in!) and the morning began, with talks from members of Carat and Carat's associates- Isobar and iProspect. I personally had never heard of either of these companies, so it was all brand new to me. Furthermore, they spoke about areas of media that I had not even considered as potential career paths, so the talk was very inspiring as well as informative. Isobar and iProspect focus quite intensely on the marketing and advertising side of media- as I am studying business at college, I thought the idea of mixing my creative side with my business brain was quite a useful idea, and is definitely an idea I have decided to consider!

Following the more serious side of media, we were given a motivational talk from 'Mandem On The Wall'- who you may know either from their own YouTube channel or from e4's 'Youngers'. I loved the 'Youngers' series and must admit I was more than a little starstruck! However, I still managed to take in the main point of the lads' talk- 'PEP'. Prepare, Execute, Persevere. The boys said how these three stages had helped them to gain the success that they had. If you don't prepare then you should, as the saying goes, prepare to fail. You must execute your idea's, otherwise you will never see your plan's/dreams become a reality. Finally, you must persevere. Nothing worth having ever came easily, especially in an industry as creative as the media. You must keep on trying, and never give up.
Their final piece of advice, which was given to me personally, is that 'unrealistic' is not a word in your vocabulary. If you want something, do everything in your power to make it happen. Overall, the lad's were so lovely and down-to-earth, and you could tell just how humble they were despite their ongoing success. It was so surreal meeting them after watching them on TV for so long, and I'm so glad this opportunity arose.

After a quick break, it was time to get back to business- we met Nishma Robb, head of marketing at...well, only Google!! I found her very inspiring, as she started out right at the bottom of the media chain, and not doing exactly what she wanted to do either, finally working her way up to a world wide company. This is exactly the kind of career I would like to achieve in future, and I really respected Nishma and all the hard work she has done. She also opened my eyes to what makes a media brief and how to make a successful advertising campaign. There are a lot more aspects to consider than I ever imagined- and I took Business Studies as an A Level! As a special treat for all the guests at the event, we then got to play with Google Glass. This invention is absolutely incredible, and I promise you, you will not even realise how incredible it is until you can try it for yourself. If you ever get the opportunity, grab it! I took a photo with my eyes. I couldn't believe it.

The final part of the day was extremely exciting. We were split into teams (more 'friend making' time!) and given a media brief, which we were then expected to present to the actual heads of the company. To spice things up a little more, it was a competition- with a prize at the end! My group was presenting an advertising campaign for Adidas to Carat Media. Without bigging my team up too much, we had some great ideas, and although we all felt extremely nervous, our presentation went extremely well- the judges and our mentors were so impressed! As an amazing end result...we won!!! We were awarded with Google ChromeCast, a gadget which streams things from your phone to your TV via wifi and one small gadget. It was an amazing result to end a really successful day, and I could not have been happier!

So, after a bit of a rambling post, let me sum up the top tips I learnt from today:

• PEP- Prepare, Execute, Persevere. 
• Networking is important- stay connected with as many people as you can.
• Don't ever give up on your ultimate dream- always remember the bigger picture and aim for it. 
• Be prepared to start from the very bottom and work your way up. 
• You may not always end up on the exact path you believed you would do- sometimes this can be a good/exciting thing! Grab every and any opportunity that you can, regardless! 

I am at a really exciting stage in my life right now- so I hope you don't mind me sharing it with all of you! My biggest thank you of all does go to GoThinkBig- they have supported me and provided me with all my wonderful opportunities so far. They are definitely worth checking out for some worthwhile opportunities and experience! 

Love from, 

Florence Grace 

Have any questions or just want to know more? Get in touch in the comments below, or use one of the links in the sidebars! 

All images my own.