by Emily Tran
My name is Emily Tran and this past summer I was a marketing intern at Aragon Research. I am a rising senior at Pepperdine University and my hope this summer was to leverage my marketing skills and dive into the technology industry. My time at Aragon has exceeded my expectations and has given me a strong foundation in using various applications and knowledge of the changing perspectives on technology.
My responsibilities included defining new terms, social media content creation, website improvements, increasing client engagement, and helping plan internal company events. Aragon has fostered a great learning environment, where I have the autonomy to work on a board range of tasks but also have been provided guidance and feedback on my projects when learning how to navigate new platforms. In this blog, I’ve detailed some of my highlights from the past 6 weeks at Aragon Research.
Exposure To New Applications
One of my biggest takeaways from this internship was the ability it gave me to understand and work with so many new applications. Before this summer, I was familiar with several Adobe applications and design tools from past experiences; however, I was shocked to find out the number of tools Aragon’s marketing team used on a daily basis. When I first arrived, the team made sure I was equipped with the right video learning material and resources before throwing me into different projects.
After only a couple of weeks, the team left me feeling capable and confident with using WordPress and being able to apply this skill in and out of the office. Something I was not aware of before coming here was the importance of SEO—search engine optimization. Besides the aesthetic appeal, I did not realize all the different factors that played into having a strong website. I’ve come to learn the value of paying attention to the small details such as, paying attention to image size, renaming a file before attaching it, adding in tailored keywords to descriptions, and more.
WordPress was the opening gate to a plethora of applications I have now been accustomed to and one of the many being Piktochart. Piktochart is one of the websites I use to create visual content to add for Aragon customers that want a quick synopsis of a research note or trending terms (e.g. infographics, posters, presentations). I had dabbled in Piktochart before but my team challenged me to create graphics faster and with more detail to not only aesthetics but content integration as well. I’m excited to say that I feel more competent in creating and developing visuals for research and advertisements.
Alongside Piktochart, I was exposed to Animoto, Sprout Social, and Act-On which are all great places to focus in on visual planning and communication. Animoto was useful in creating and editing short videos to attach to social media and the website as a glance at more dense material. Sprout Social was the social media content planner that allowed me to schedule and plan postings on Aragon’s different accounts and prevented me from repeating information that had already been communicated earlier that day. Similar to Sprout Social, Act-On was a platform I used to send out email campaigns and cater the design to the company’s color and style. These are only a few of the applications I used on a weekly basis that gave me insight into becoming a better marketer and designer.
Wealth Of New Information
While I gained a number of transferable skills online, I think what I found most interesting was the information and research I read over the course of my internship. For a company with a small number of analysts, Aragon has a mass of research to learn from. From current events to tech acquisitions to new terms being defined, I learned more about technology than I expected to from a marketing internship. I was surprised to discover how often Aragon publishes new information and the latest trends before they have been publicly categorized.
After reading and designing infographics based on research notes, blogs, and various special reports, I have developed a stronger sense for the technology market and the patterns found in successful enterprises. I think one of the most rewarding projects I worked on was the eBook on Enterprise Architecture. Never before had I heard of the term—enterprise architecture—or seen advisory firms take notice of its importance. It was extremely helpful understanding how to build an enterprise with a full functioning structure, and it is the knowledge that I will be able to apply to any organization I’m apart of. I realized that the concept of business versus IT was being fostered in this digital age and a problem that was more relevant than ever.
This internship gave me the platform to not only find a vast amount of information but write about it as well. Throughout my internship, the other intern and I published weekly glossary terms that gave brief descriptions of how it was applicable to new tech markets and why enterprises should be paying attention. It was intriguing for me to learn more about how different positions in an organization would be impacted by new advances and need to integrate or reconstruct their current system.
Fun Workplace & Team
The knowledge and experience I gained at Aragon have been irreplaceable, but what will be most memorable about my time here was the fun and supportive atmosphere. It was so refreshing to see a team that worked and knew each other so closely. Every Monday morning, the whole team would gather to communicate their individual goals for the week so that everyone was aware of the various projects even if they weren’t on the same team. I thought this rundown was always done efficiently and kept everyone very accountable.
Another aspect that struck me that was unique to Aragon Research was their willingness to assist different teams and collaborate to optimize results. Analysts, sales, marketing, and operations all worked alongside one another in preparation for webinars, press releases, events, and more. Even though everyone was very diligent in completing their responsibilities, I thought it was always nice to see that the office cracked jokes and made working a fun time for everyone. This was definitely something that I was very appreciative of and proved to me the value of relationships within your team.
In terms of relationship and team building, Aragon did an amazing job of welcoming me and the other intern right away. I was touched by the amount of time and effort they put into planning lunches and making sure we felt a part of the family. I think the company did a great job at planning offsite team building events that fostered a competitive yet supportive environment. Whether or not I worked closely with everyone on the team, I definitely don’t think my experience would be the same without these people.
Bottom Line
Professionally, I thought Aragon Research was solely a consulting firm that helped tech companies with internal problems. I have come to learn that this company is grounded in research, and can advise all kinds of companies across industries in achieving a higher level of enterprise success. Aragon Research has an extremely knowledgeable team and I believe they have done a great job in teaching and mentoring me. Before coming to Aragon, I did not know too much about the tech industry and had limited skills in speaking the lingo or designing content. As the summer comes to an end, I feel more equipped in navigating through different projects from research to design and everything in between. I’m thankful for all that Aragon has done to contribute and expand my skillset; moreover, I’m grateful to all the time and effort my mentors put into making this a positive and memorable experience.