United Airlines
Global Sponsorships Intern
Internship description
During the summer of 2024, I had the opportunity to work as a Global Sponsorships Intern for United Airlines. In collaboration with United’s National Football League partners, I bridged United’s strategic goals with the football team’s platforms, optimizing our advertising efforts in digital spaces. I proposed a recontact and surveying model to better understand customer perceptions post-interaction, leveraging data to develop targeted, number-driven processes. These projects aimed to enhance brand recognition in United’s hub markets and re-target customers to boost sales. Although these initiatives are ongoing, my foundational work was instrumental in setting them in motion. Moreover, participating in multiple professional development sessions enriched my understanding of the airline industry and honed my ability to propose strategic initiatives rooted in data trends and consumer insights.
The sky is the limit (literally)
In addition to my projects, I pursued other internal opportunities to gain new experiences and see how other parts of the corporate communications department function.
Served as an extra in a United x Chicago Bears photo shoot
Tiktok and Reels Promotional content
Travel blog for internal employee comms
Attended Speaker sessions & did 20+ informational interviews
NFL Digital Assets
My ultimate goal was to propose a method for merging United's mission with the way that the company advertises on NFL websites for sponsored teams. Something I learned through this process is that huge companies involve many people who work on a single project, all of who have different goals and needs. When I worked to propose a way to both optimize and standardize how United shows up on our NFL digital assets, I worked with not only the teams but also various internal stakeholders. This experience taught me both the importance of effective communication between important stakeholders, but also how to think about long and short-term impact of a proposal.
Recontact form
Activations are a major way that United's connects with individuals in-person to encourage them to use United.
Prior to my work on this project, there was very little follow-up with connections from in-person events. The follow-up that everyone received after signing up for United was generalized rather than specific to the event. My work connected internal stakeholders to develop a recontact method that can be standardized across all activations.
Corp Comm Intern Project
All of the corporate communications interns came up with an innovating marketing campaign to engage Gen Z. The team I worked with focused on incorporating a strategic partnership with the NCAA's March Madness tournament. This experience helped me understand other intern's roles and saw how to make a (mock) long-term comprehensive media plan.
Uniting the world
A benefit of working at United was that I had the opportunity to travel the world. For work, I had the opportunity to visit Denver. Outside of work, I visited Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Brazil, Japan, Pittsburgh, and more. I am incredibly grateful for both my professional experience and the ability to experience new cultures and learn how to navigate new places. Traveling is a personal interest but it also helps me think about contexts beyond mine, leading to more diverse ways of thinking and working through projects.