Hi there, I am the new intern at Influence Matters and glad to get in touch with the company’s followers! I’m Lucrezia and I come from Italy, I’m therefore adding up to the multiculturalism that characterizes the agency.

How did I get to know the company? Long story short, I am pursuing my MA’s in Global Business Journalism at Tsinghua University in Beijing, and during the Spring Festival (that I spent in Italy, far from the noise of the fireworks), I started looking for interesting and innovative PR companies to do my internship. I landed on Influence Matters’ website and noticed that the company was also seeking summer interns, so here I am.

What I found most attractive about Influence Matters is the fact that, despite being a startups, it’s already becoming popular among Chinese and overseas tech companies. Furthermore, I collected some information about the Managing Director, Simon Vericel, and found out that he has been in the business for longer than ten years, working for some of the biggest PR agencies worldwide. Where to find a better mentor, was my thought. In addition, Influence Matters lists a number of interesting companies, among its client. An example? The German Mackevision that was in charge of some of the visual effects of the popular (and beloved, at least by me) Game of Thrones!

After merely one and a half weeks of work, I’ve already been introduced to the company’s main business and I’m trying to gain familiarity with the clients Influence Matters works for. During the past week, I’ve taken part to a conference call and learnt how to communicate and cooperate with clients, listening to their needs and requirements, but also proposing creative alternatives and additional marketing strategies. I’ve also had the opportunities to listen to an exclusive interview released to the media, that was organized by Influence Matters for one of its clients and, even though it was in Chinese, I was able to understand the dynamics behind the construct of a company’s reputation.

I’ve had the chance to ask questions related to the world of PR and some more specific ones, to understand how Influence Matters builds trust and awareness toward its clients’ brands among the media. Thanks to Naomi and Tingting, the account executive and account manager of the company, I’ve learnt how to structure and adapt the companies’ core message to the Chinese market, creating content that can interest local media and customers.

Building a career at a startup company can be challenging, given the amount of work concentrated in a few hands, but satisfactory as well. Instead of being just a small portion of the whole big engine, with a limited knowledge of the company’s business, working at a startups transforms you into a factotum, not just an intern, but someone who needs to continuously reinvent him/herself and take upon all sort of tasks. In the near future I will be taking care of the articles posted on the website and I will also have the opportunity to communicate with some clients and media. I hope to develop some expertise in the field of PR, become a better and more efficient communicator and, why not, improve my spoken Chinese.

I have been at Influence Matters for quite a short time, but I haven’t regret the decision a single bit. I hope to keep learning from the company’s experienced team and also to be able to positively contribute to the development of the agency.

Nice to meet you all!

Lucrezia