Mallory Brannon, a senior from Atlanta majoring in public relations, recently completed an advertising internship with Delta Air Lines, Inc. this summer. Below, Brannon shares a behind-the-scenes look at some of the projects she worked on, including two new commercials, "Up" and "NY Anthem." "When Delta brought me on board to assist in planning their commercials, I honestly had no idea what I was in store for. So where do you begin when you need to plan a commercial?" Brannon said. "First things first, you have to figure out where you're going to film. We filmed two commercials, one national and one for New York. Given that the first commercial is aired in only in those specific New York markets, we selected LaGuardia airport for our first spot. Unlike our national spot, this one didn't take place entirely inside the airport because of the nature of the story line."
"For the second national spot we selected the Atlanta airport since that's where Delta is headquartered and also because the construction of the new international terminal was just completed," Brannon said. "Using the freshly renovated terminal at LGA and the new space in ATL gave us a new, great-looking canvas to film. After a location was selected, our ad agency (Weiden + Kennedy) sent out a call for directors. After the agency selects a director, they then began to collaborate as a team to develop story boards and begin pitching ideas to Delta." Brannon shared some of her responsibilities during the commercial process. "Through their collaboration and Deltas input, storyboards are developed. This process continues until literally the last week before filming," she said. "My job was to coordinate with Delta contacts, location managers and security at both respective airports making sure expectations were set and that all appropriate authorities were aware and fully informed of what our team wanted to accomplish." The filming process was not always easy in such a busy atmosphere, Brannon said. "The customer and their flying experience always comes first and that just can't be interfered with. It's very much a give and take from all sides and that's just something that you have to understand when you're attempting to film in the busiest airport in the world." Many thanks to Mallory for sharing an inside look to her internship. Below are the final cuts of the two commercials, "Up" and "NY Anthem":
Mallory Brannon, a senior from Atlanta majoring in public relations, is a U.S. advertising intern for Delta Air Lines, Inc. this summer. What are your responsibilities? My main responsibility has been planning the production of two TV commercials for Delta as well as various other projects. Since parts of the TV spots are filmed within secure parts of the airport, it has required not only coordinating with key Delta employees, but also The Department of Aviation, the FAA, TSA and of course our production company and ad agency. I’ve also maintained an active role in coordinating with our ad agency, Wieden + Kennedy, to make sure all advertising such as our digital, out-of-home and print are on schedule and submitted by deadline. What valuable information or skills have you learned thus far at your internship?I came into my internship with a broad textbook level understanding of how a marketing department functions. I’m leaving with solid knowledge and firsthand experience of that now. Attending meetings everyday within the department and acting as a liaison between Delta and Wieden + Kennedy has helped me see how projects come together and our advertising really takes shape. Planning a commercial is probably one of the hardest things you could ever be given the task of doing. Months of time are poured into what you see in that short 60-second spot. During production things change in a split second and you don’t have the option of not being prepared to solve the problems that arise. I’ve learned the value of being overly prepared, gained the ability to plan extensively, sharpened my communication skills and can operate smoothly under pressure. The last day on set during our most previous shoot, I was told by the director and his production manager that if I could handle planning that shoot, I can plan anything. It had been a long, problematic past couple of days, but hearing them tell me that was so validating. It made all the stress and hard work completely worth it. What part of your Grady experience (classes, professors, etc.) has been helpful in your internship? My education at Grady gave me a great foundation to build on but more than anything my personal interests have served me well. This internship has been great because it not only incorporates advertising and PR, but something else I really love - aviation. Previously working for an airline allowed me to gain knowledge of airport and airline operations, which was especially useful in our logistical planning. I got more excited than most people consider normal any day I knew we would be working with airplanes. My passion for aviation has definitely made me want to work harder and put my best foot forward. I can’t say I’ve been bummed out about going to work a single day during this summer and I consider myself lucky to say that. What has been the best part of your internship experience? Definitely working with so many truly talented people. I’ve had the opportunity to pick the brains of people at the top of many different industries. Everyone from our creative directors at Wieden +Kennedy to the director of our commercials has been a pleasure to work with. My colleagues at Delta have gone out of their way to cater to my interests and help me gain experience in those areas. When I had questions about how the marketing budget is allocated, my boss made time to go to lunch with me so we could talk about it. I’m thankful I’ve had the opportunity to spend time with people who were willing to invest their time in me. Flying to New York to film one of our spots wasn’t too shabby, either! What are your career goals? I’d like to work in advertising and PR in the hospitality and travel industry. I’m attracted to hotels, restaurants and airlines. I love traveling and what better way to incorporate that into my life than work. Aside from work, my first priority after graduation is to log my last flight hours to finish my private pilot’s license.
