“I was attracted to intern at THG due to their extensive early career network and numerous opportunities for interns, which is rare in such a large company.” 

Satisfying her creative flair, Isabel joined our Marketing Internship programme in London, applying her academic skills to the fast-paced world of marketing. She has so far gained hands-on experience in both the Affiliate and Influencer team and is an active member of our Early Careers Ambassador Network. Discover how her internship has provided her the opportunity to work directly with major partnerships and play a key role in one of Cult Beauty’s Christmas campaigns. 

My name is Issy (Isabel), and I am a 20-year-old Marketing Intern at Cult Beauty for my Year in Industry at University. My internship started mid-July and includes six months in Performance Marketing (three months with the Affiliate Team and three months with the Influencer Team) and six months in Brand Marketing (three months with the Social Media Team and three months with the Brand Marketing Team). I am in my third year studying Fashion Marketing at the University of Leeds, where I am actively involved in the Inclusion, Diversity, and Equality Committee as a Representative for the School of Design. My career goal is to work in Brand Marketing for a creative industry, leading brand partnerships or campaigns. I was attracted to intern at THG due to their extensive early career network and numerous opportunities for interns, which is rare in such a large company. 

During my three months with the Affiliate Team, I learned key skills for working with various publisher types like Cashback and Editorial. I recruited and managed my own partner WeDonate, an affiliate partner who provide exclusive discounts to those who have donated blood, whilst working with other publishers who I have previously used myself. I also collaborated with our Awin team, managing our publisher network account. Some of my key highlights include our Q4 planning day, publisher day at Awin offices, managing WeDonate, and tracking advent exposure. I gained skills in using Awin's platform, Superset, Tableau, auditing, writing Design & Copy Briefs, and creating newsletters. 

Currently, in my second month with the Influencer Team, I have shadowed all Influencer Marketing Executives, gaining experience in influencer gifting, partnerships, campaigns, and events. I recruited and managed my own influencer and two influencers for Black Friday, learning to write contracts, creative briefs, and conduct social media research. For example, I identified influencers to gift Glow Recipe products as part of a brand partnership.

The biggest project I've worked on is the PLAY Campaign, Cult’s Christmas activation. My task was to find and recruit influencers and match them to personas for fun and unique content. This involves writing creative briefs, contracts, content briefs, approving content, sending products, and allocating personas. This project has been enjoyable and rewarding, seeing content and creative concepts come to life. My biggest challenge was my initial rotation plan. As a creative person, I felt the Affiliate Team didn't fulfill my passion for creativity. After discussing with my supervisor, I changed my rotations to include two Brand Marketing teams, providing a well-rounded experience in both Performance and Brand Marketing. 

Marketing's collaborative nature allowed me to work with other teams, such as Copy and Design during my time with the Affiliate Team, and PR and Retail Media with the Influencer Team. I recently joined the THG London Ambassador Network, which has involved planning our office social events, such as our office Christmas Event! Brand training sessions, such as Jo Loves, Benefit, and Hermes, have been great opportunities to engage with employees across Cult. 

My advice for students wanting to work at THG is to be confident and speak up, even if you feel shy—fake it till you make it! Always offer to help and never say no to opportunities. THG is a big company, so experience everything you can and get to know as many people as possible—get your name out there!