Working in a Television City

Matt, Advertising Operations Intern, Los Angeles, CA

Having worked in Finance for my entire six-year career prior to returning to school to study for my MBA, I knew that my summer internship at CBS Interactive would be a completely new and different experience.  This summer, I put Wall Street in the rearview mirror and am working as an Advertising Operations Intern for CBS Interactive’s mobile division.  Interning at CBS Mobile has been a positive learning experience in an office setting that is uniquely Hollywood.

CBS Mobile’s offices are located in the CBS Television City Studio in Los Angeles, directly above the studios where many of television’s most famous and longest running programs are filmed, including Young and the Restless and the Price is Right.  Each morning I make my way through hoards of potential Price is Right contestants lined-up and dressed to impress Drew Carey in an effort to land a new car or Jet-Skis.  While walking the halls of Television City, it is not uncommon to bump into celebrity guests for the Late Show with Craig Ferguson.  I previously worked in an office where the biggest celebrity we ever saw was Vikram Pandit, so for me, such novelty encounters are, at the very least, amusing.

Amazing game shows and celebrity encounters set aside, working in Mobile has been a great experience.  The group here is knowledgeable, efficient and focused on delivering a complete portfolio of mobile entertainment solutions.  From mobile optimized web sites to iPhone and Android applications, CBS Mobile is delivering innovative mobile products for all CBS Interactive properties, including Sports, TV.com, and CNET.  It has been great to be work in the mobile space, at the forefront of the newest entertainment battleground.

As an Advertising Operations Intern, I feel that I have been able to immediately add value to the CBS Mobile group.  The role has largely been a project-based role and I have enjoyed the work.  I have had the opportunity to contribute to a wide array of interesting projects, including re-focusing best practices for new product launches, creating mapping solutions for project timelines, modeling cost projections for a contract renewal, creating a budgeting and tracking system for new advertising campaigns and formulating social media marketing strategies for new product launches.

This fall, I will return to USC Marshall with a new understanding of how

interactive media firms are competing in the mobile space.  CBS Mobile has provided me with an invaluable experience and an excellent summer job.