In The Beginning
When I first heard the news that I had been chosen to be part of Portland Advertising Federation’s COLABORATORY program, I was incredibly eager and excited to participate, knowing I would be working at some of Portland most innovative advertising and digital marketing agencies.

Little did I know just how clueless advertising students like myself (even from a supposedly on-trend journalism school like the University of Oregon) can be when it comes to the digital marketing world.

My first day I was bombarded with terms I’d only seen when doing research on Anvil. SEO, SEM, PPC, B2B, CMO – “what ARE all these acronyms and why I am I just now hearing them?” I wondered.

You mean I won’t be fetching coffee?!
Despite my being a bit behind on the terminology, the Anvil team put me straight to work. I wasn’t cleaning out the office fridge or going on Starbucks runs (though several of us did enjoy taking advantage of 7/11’s Free Slurpee Day). Instead, over the past three weeks I have stayed busy turning raw research into strategic insights and recommendations, creating presentation decks for future client meetings, building links, editing copy, and sitting in on what Anvil calls “Big Picture Meetings”.  And yes, along the way I learned what all those scary acronyms meant.

The Nitty Gritty
Big Picture Meetings, or “BP” as it’s called when announced throughout the open-layout office space just before everyone gathers in the custom-designed meeting room, is a concept I will definitely take with me when I leave Anvil.  Happening once a week, BP is a time for the team to come together, share articles and insights into industry trends, and basically take the pulse of new developments in digital marketing. It’s an open, collaborative time where everyone is expected to bring something to the table. In essence a smart, ever-evolving practice more agencies should adopt.

Wrapping Up
As I say goodbye to Anvil I want to thank the entire team for being so welcoming, helpful and supportive. Especially big thanks to Kent, Mike, and Niki for choosing me to come aboard. Though I didn’t know what I was getting into at first, I’ve witnessed that Anvil Media is the real deal. They are a growing team of smart, caring individuals who work hard to serve their clients.  It has been a pleasure to learn from them.

Madison McCallum, @madilarue