A day in the life at OneAgency: from university to agency life

Hi, I'm Charlie, and over the past two weeks, I have undertaken a placement at OneAgency's Norwich office. Read on to see how I've taken my skills from the classroom, and adapted them to the world of content, client services and more…

Learning beyond the campus

I’m currently studying Politics and Literature at the University of East Anglia here in Norwich. This work experience is the practical component of a second year module I'm taking called the Humanities Placement module. The module aims to enhance students' knowledge and theory surrounding the workplace, in weekly seminars.?

Once we complete our placements, we return to the classroom to reflect upon our time in our roles. This reflection will culminate in the creation of our final assessment, an extended reflective piece – very useful for when we eventually seek graduate employment opportunities.

Over the course of my two weeks, I have had the opportunity to take a glimpse into ‘agency life’ and support the talented specialists on live projects they are working on. For a range of clients in various sectors ranging from construction and civils to healthcare and education.?

What OneAgency is all about

Onto a bit about OneAgency! It’s an integrated full service marketing agency,? driven by 50+ in-house specialists, spanning a range of departments. The agency is comprised of client services, content, creative, digital marketing and social, and development. Each department has its specialisms but everyone is a master at research, time management, organisation, analytical thinking and creative problem solving.?

The agency's aims are to deliver a range of clever, imaginative communications, services and advice to clients on how they can raise the awareness of their brand - and elevate their market presence. As well as any other gaps that need filling in their business, all while tailoring a team to suit the needs of the client's budget and time.

My journey through OneAgency

My day typically starts with my commute to OneAgency, around a twenty minute bus ride from UEA campus to the office, where I am greeted by a bunch of friendly faces on the content and client services floor. But the day doesn't truly begin, of course, without a mug of tea – a daily staple of many in the agency.?

During my time, I’ve been given a range of tasks that vary day-to-day. The majority of my placement has been based in the content and client services floor. Ellen Lawrence-Cave , head of content, gave me the chance to explore the different departments and facilitated a variety of meetings and walkthroughs with the various specialists in the different departments.?

I’ve had the opportunity to perform desk research, such as auditing a client's case studies, as well as performing an analysis of brand competitors to support the specialists in creating a strategy for the client. I also had the chance to present my competitor analysis for a client, where I dissected the offerings, tone of voice and products of each of the client's competitors. This was a highlight over my two weeks.?

There were typically up to two meetings I attended each day, and these were a great learning tool for seeing specialists from across departments in action, which I really enjoyed. During my time in digital marketing and social, I was taken through everything SEO and analytics by Laura Easter and her team. I had the opportunity to assist in the publishing of a case study to OneAgency's website, using the WordPress CMS. Another software I got to play with was SurferSEO. I was tasked with drafting SEO blogs that compete with top market players and competitors in Google Search rankings.

One big thank you

Over the past two weeks, I have had the opportunity to learn and grow so much, and this is thanks to the various experts that I have worked alongside. The team at OneAgency is so warm and supportive, despite my educational background not being in marketing. I haven't felt hindered once by this, which is down to the level of expertise and professionalism of everyone in the agency.?

I am so grateful for my time here, and would like to thank everyone who I worked with. I’m looking forward to taking away the skills I've learnt, such as strategic thinking, copywriting, auditing, and social and web analysis, into future employment opportunities. In addition to developing my pre-existing skills, like research and time management.?

Going forward, I’m pleased to say, my time at OneAgency has inspired me to continue down the route of pursuing agency life after my degree. If someone out there is considering work experience, I cannot stress how valuable it is, even if it’s only two weeks. If you have a background in the humanities, working for an agency is a great career avenue to explore.

- Written by Charles Richardson