My name is Jonny Flieder, and I’m a rising junior. This summer, I’m working with Engagious, a marketing firm which specializes in message-testing and message refinement for major trade associations, advocacy groups, think tanks, and corporations. Engagious combines research, science, psychology, and storytelling to refine messaging using dial-testing, interviews, and focus groups.
So far, I have taken on a few different responsibilities. For our current client, I perform dial-test analysis in preparation for focus groups. In other words, I go through the scripts that we prepared for the sessions and mark down and interpret participants’ reactions to the messages via their dial tests. During the actual focus groups, I typically listen in and take notes. I find it interesting to observe how people react to various types of messaging. Revising and refining our scripts is a long process, but I notice how our messaging improves with each new focus group.
Engagious also runs the Swing Voter Project, where we run focus groups with Trump to Biden swing voters in key swing states. In this realm, I’ve been researching ways to monetize content from Swing Voter Project focus groups. I took an affiliate marketing course to learn more about the process and benefits of earning passive income for your business, which turned out to be very helpful and taught me a lot about the world of marketing and paid advertising. This past week, I’ve started drafting an op-ed piece regarding some interesting findings from our Swing Voter Project. Since these focus groups take place every month, we can look at broad trends that develop over the course of months, and even years, among our swing voters. This piece in particular interprets President Biden’s approval ratings using helpful insights from our focus groups.
This experience has given me an inside look into how a small business runs. Our team consists of only three full-time employees—Rich, Cindy, and Matt—who are awesome. Since the company is fully remote, I do all of my work from home, which certainly has its benefits. Working for a small business allows me to build especially strong relationships with the group, and I have even been able to grab lunch with Rich, the president and founder of Engagious (as well as my boss), several times. In July, I am joining him on a trip to Washington, D.C., to participate in several meetings. I am excited to see how things run on Capitol Hill!
For other students looking to secure a summer internship, I would advise that you start early and make the most of the Haverford alumni network. Especially as a rising junior, it can be hard to find summer opportunities, and making connections is a huge help. To that end, don’t be afraid to reach out to the Career Center if you don’t know where to start. They offer many helpful resources, and I would specifically suggest that you set up an appointment with them to review your resume. Every company is going to ask for your resume, so make sure it looks good! Lastly, I would suggest you apply for one of the Haverford-funded internships—they are a great opportunity to gain valuable work experience and delve into any of your interests.
Although I’m only a few weeks in, I am excited to see what the rest of the summer has to offer. Working at Engagious has truly been a positive experience so far, one that will prepare me for a future in business. I am thankful for the CCPA and the Whitehead Internship Program for a great summer!
