Employment-Based Internship! A Report on the Tanaka Consultation Session!

Hello! I’m Tanaka, and I participated in SUNNY SIDE UP’s “employment-based internship”!

During this internship, I spent two months working in the office, experiencing the work at SUNNY SIDE UP. My duties ranged from media research of newspapers, television, and magazines, assisting with PR events, to basic administrative tasks such as answering phone calls.

“Please read the newspapers and share anything interesting with your seniors!”
This was the first assignment I received when the internship began.
SUNNY SIDE UP receives 19 different newspapers every day.I had hardly ever read newspapers before, but once I started, it turned out to be surprisingly interesting! They’re packed with cutting-edge information about new products and trends, and my image of “newspapers = stuffy” completely changed.

What I kept in mind was “picking up news that’s as relevant to me as possible.” My seniors mentioned they wanted to know what kinds of articles university students are interested in, so I looked for articles about food, events, and other topics that could become conversation starters with friends. I was very happy when my seniors commented on the articles I shared!

What left a particularly strong impression was when I submitted an article about “KidZania opening in Nagoya,” and a senior in charge of facilities in Nagoya commented, “There are other developments happening in Nagoya too.” It broadened my perspective beyond just the article to “Nagoya’s development” in general, which was very educational.

Then, at the end of April, I worked on the “final project” as a culmination of the two months.
The theme of the final project was “to think of ways to get television coverage for projects that SUNNY SIDE UP is actually involved in.”

The first thing I did was solicit projects to work on for the assignment!
I put considerable effort into the email text and layout to make it eye-catching.
From the projects that were submitted, I selected several and developed PR strategies for them.

First, I needed to gain knowledge about the products and services to be promoted! So I studied extensively using materials provided by my seniors. Who are the competitors? What are the challenges? The more I thought about it, the deeper it became…
I was continuously amazed and impressed by the depth of my seniors’ knowledge!

After studying the projects, I searched for programs that would be suitable while imagining how I wanted them to appear on television. However, I struggled to come up with catchy angles.
Working alone and mulling things over, I couldn’t make much progress.

At that point, a senior reached out to me and taught me many keys to creating proposals, such as how to view past broadcast program data. There are limits to what you can think of alone, but
when you listen to others’ opinions, you find unexpected ideas and tools.
“Consult when you’re stuck”—it’s obvious, but I truly felt the importance of this, and from then on, I made a conscious effort to actively ask my seniors for input.

Finally, presentation day arrived!
Many seniors came to the presentation! I was happy, but also nervous… (laughs)

I was conscious of conveying what I had learned over the two months, why I developed this proposal, and
what the rationale was, presenting specific examples and figures.

One of the projects I presented was for a certain international variety store, and for this store, I deliberately developed a late-night program proposal. This was because the theme was suggesting picnic and party goods, so I narrowed the target audience to university students.

This brand’s products are colorful, cute, and “Instagram-worthy,” making them very
popular among university students. So I proposed introducing university students using this store’s products for a picnic on a late-night program popular with students.The reason I chose a late-night program was also because I thought university students have more opportunities to watch television at night than in the morning or afternoon!
My seniors responded with “That’s true!” and I was happy that the university student perspective
could serve as a hint for their PR work!

In addition to this, I proposed plans for two other projects and somehow finished the presentation—what a relief!

At the end, my seniors gave me feedback saying “That was an interesting presentation,” and I was glad I worked hard alongside them for these two months!!

When the internship began, I was nervous just being in the office. However, thanks to the seniors around me who spoke to me in a friendly manner, my nervousness gradually eased.
They also took me to event sites and media companies such as publishers, and I was excited every time we went out. (laughs)

Being able to see the PR field up close was truly a valuable experience.
I am filled with gratitude to my seniors for allowing me to spend such a meaningful time.

Thank you very much!