Pros
If branding and marketing are your bread and butter, I really believe there’s no better place to kick off or continue your career than BatesMeron. I started with the company about a year and a half ago as a copywriting intern and immediately saw the value in the work I was doing. I was given the opportunity to sit in on discovery meetings, learn the branding process and concept and present my own ideas alongside the rest of the copy team. This idea of working on the same projects as senior employees may seem intimidating, but it was truly the most beneficial experience for my career that I had at any internship. It showed me that the team at BatesMeron didn’t see me as a lower-level employee, but instead saw the value and potential I brought to the team and wanted to give me the opportunity to prove it. Though I often worked on the same projects as other writers, the environment was never competitive. It never felt as though I was pit against them. We all understood that although we were working on individual ideas to pitch to the team internally, we all had the same higher goal: creating the best work possible for the client, regardless of whether it came from your mind or not. We each came to the table ready to show our own work, providing feedback and refining the ideas that we collectively agreed would best serve the clients’ needs. There was never preference given to senior employees or their work, and because of that many of my ideas came to fruition for real clients—something I hadn’t experienced at any other internship. This experience of diving headfirst into a real copywriting position was of course a challenge, but I was given all the guidance and encouragement I could have asked for. By the end of my internship, my writing and my understanding of branding and marketing had grown exponentially. After my internship, I’m happy to say I was hired full-time as a copywriter on staff. Everything I enjoyed about my internship has continued into my career with BatesMeron—the collaborative environment, the fair treatment of staff, the ability to work on a multitude of different projects, from branding to writing sell sheets to creating themes and collateral for various events. It’s a small team, so everyone wears many hats. The office is laid back and you can feel comfortable being yourself, giving honest feedback and pitching ideas. Essentially, if large agencies with consistently late nights, siloed departments, a lack of collaboration and lots of big egos is something you’re looking to get away from, then BatesMeron is the answer.
Cons
Working at a smaller agency means wearing many, many hats. It means staying on top of, understanding and knowing next steps for not only your own work, but your coworkers' work as well. On top of that, there will always be more than one project you are working on, and it's up to you to ensure you're juggling them all most effectively. That being said, a high-paced environment isn't for everyone. You need to be able to seamlessly flip the switch from project to project, from client to client, always giving your all to the one in front of you at any given time. Nights later than 7pm are not common, but they happen, and when they do you need to be ready to hunker down and do the work. In a word, it's demanding. That's why having enthusiasm and creativity are so important at BatesMeron. No matter what you're working on, or how much you're working on, your passion for branding and marketing is what will keep your head above water and your heart in your work.
