The Volvo XC90 has a sticker price that starts at $56,000. It's a pretty sweet ride, and Madison Kenney '24 wold know: she spent part of the summer driving the luxury SUV around Mahwah, New Jersey. It was a perk of the internship.
"I drive a Hyundai Elantra, but they sent me home with the biggest vehicle they have! All of the interns got to test drive a car for one week. They want us to get a feel for the product we're helping to market. I took my family around and let them play in the car. I took my dog, too!"
Madison was a strategy media and planning intern for Volvo Car USA at their corporate headquarters in New Jersey (an internship she discovered on LinkedIn). Admittedly, she didn't know much about cars at the start of the summer, but she was intrigued by the opportunity to work in brand strategy.
"I really got to explore the back-end process of marketing. It's not content creation, but we were considering the target audience and the various platforms available to reach our audience."
For example, one potential platform is Spotify. Madison was tasked with listening to 35 different podcasts. Next, she considered which of the podcasts might best align with the Volvo brand, and then presented her findings to her manager.
"Our advertising agency pitched some ideas, but nothing outside the box. I pitched them some things they hadn't considered before. It was well received!"
Madison also produced competitive research on Volvo's top 10 competitors in the electric market, and during her first week of the internship, she attended the launch (above) of the new EX30.
Madison has already heard from Volvo's People Experience department (human resources) that there's a spot for her in the future if she's interested. And she might be. The internship is over, but she can't stop evaluating the competition.
"I was never a car person before, but now whenever I'm driving, I'm pointing out all the different cars. 'Oh, I did research on that one.' I'm sure my family is getting sick of it!"
