Brand Activation Review

I had a great placement year working on exciting brands. I was given a high level of responsibility from the outset meaning I was able to be close with the detail of brand campaigns. Working on a brand for a full year meant I got to be involved in two sales season, allowing me to see new products for spring and autumn.

I have become extremely close with my team. We usually do whole brand team activities a couple of times a year which is really nice! We have also taken part in some company activities which allows you to interact with people may usually not. A lot of the time recognition is given.

I felt very supported by my managers. They have always helped me when I have struggled with my work or workload and having regular weekly meetings is very helpful to catch up 121 more personally to be able to gain and get feedback which is good! The HR team are also very easy to talk to.

Very busy - the job can be challenging at times but this means it is never boring. Prioritizing workload is an extremely important skill that I have learnt at Mattel and is one that you can't go without in a brand activation role. The reasoning for being busy is that there are lots of fun things to get involved in.

I was given a lot of responsibility at Mattel. I would be in charge of running brand campaigns, speaking with external contacts, planning event days and budgeting. This has provided me skills to hopefully run my own business one day. The responsibility given was quite immediate and therefore felt like once I reached a certain level I couldn't go much further.

Working at Mattel has definitely developed my skills as well as my confidence. It has taught me to work with a range of people, how to communicate on a global level and developed my presentation skills. There is a lot of training available at Mattel which you can get involved in, especially the insights course which will change the way I work at University.

The atmosphere at work, for a high pressured company is actually quite relaxed. The company has quite a causal code of conduct and dress style which makes having a stressful job a little bit more relaxed. People are very friendly at Mattel therefore it is easy to speak to people you don't know very well and make friends.

There was a lot of structure to the internship from the handover notes we are provided at the beginning and taken through during the handover week by someone who has already done our job. There is a lot of training, as well as a intern news letter which goals can be set in and an intern project where your skills can be showcased.

I think the company invested quite a bit of time within our development especially at the beginning. There could be more personal development time however I think that its difficult to find time for this in a busy company. they however do have accelerating performance goals which allow targets to be set and met which gives you something to work towards.

I think there are vacancies that would be open to future interns a few years after placement (when they have gained some more experience), however currently there isn't a position available in the brand team for people to come back into straight after university. I think it would be good to come back to Mattel in the future however.

My intern group have been extremely close this year, I have personally lived with some of the interns and these are friends I believe I will have for life. We have done a couple of activities together outside of work, drinks, meals, visiting theme parks and spend time together at lunch time at work too.

The cost of living in Maidenhead is quite high, meaning a lot of my salary is spent on rent and bills. I still have an adequate amount for socialising and there are good deals to be found - however a lot of these are in the week. However overall the cost of living has been manageable.

Mattel is based in Maidenhead where there isn't much nightlife. However, I live outside of Reading and commute to work and this has quite a good night life at the weekend which lots of bars and restaurants and a few clubs. One recommendation would be the comedy club in Reading above Popworld.

There isn't loads of opportunities to get involved in outside of work, however there is quite a lot going on in the local area e.g. food festivals to visit, fun fairs and outdoor cinemas. There are also a lot of towns near by to Maidenhead so they are nice to visit and usually have activities on.