Published: Aug 6, 2009
The best thing The University of Tampa did for Brittny Quinn was to get
her to think outside the box. The big, yellow, spongy box.
The
advertising and public relations major is interning with Nickelodeon’s
press department, and this summer she worked tirelessly on celebrations
for SpongeBob SquarePants’ 10th anniversary.
Quinn hit the
streets of Manhattan with 49 other interns, handing out tons of
SpongeBob merchandise, sent out press kits, and created a quiz about the
president’s favorite cartoon. She even led a team for a live event at
the “Today” show, and pitched the story to local news stations and
newspapers in Des Moines, IA, the hometown of SpongeBob’s biggest fan,
who has more than 30 SpongeBob tattoos.
“I’m so glad I got be a part of this event,” Quinn says.
Not
only has Quinn worked with SpongeBob, she has worked for Viacom’s other
networks, including MTV. The music network has already begun planning
for its Video Music Awards, which will air Sept. 13.
“MTV has put together an ‘intern army,’” she says. “This year the VMAs will be taking over New York.”
Quinn
has gone to marketing strategy workshops and is helping to publicize
the performers, which so far include Taylor Swift and British rockers
Muse.
Quinn also has helped keep track of media coverage of recent events, such as the buzz-generating MTV Movie Awards in May.
“Everyone was talking about the Bruno/Eminem event the next day,” she says.
But
in her department, they were more concerned with coverage of the
Nickelodeon tween stars, like Miranda Cosgrove (“iCarly”), Keke Palmer
(“True Jackson, VP”) and Victoria Justice (Lola Martinez from “Zoey
101”).
While she hasn’t worked directly with these starlets,
Quinn has made a pitch for Nick News with Linda Ellerbee and has gone to
two tapings of the live show “It’s On with Alexa Chung,” MTV’s new talk
show.
“It’s really interesting to watch the actual production
process, and the show is live so it makes it very exciting,” Quinn says.
“All the classes I have taken at UT for the advertising and
P.R. major require you to be creative and think outside the box, and I
have had to apply these skills this summer. From writing press releases
to making pitches I have used all the lessons learned from my professors
at UT.”
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