Public Relations Coordinator Co-op at Bose Corporation, Fall 2024
What was your co-op like day-to-day?
“I feel like with PR each day is different. My most consistent task was handling inventory. Bose sends out a ton of products to press with the hope that they’ll write about Bose, so one of my tasks was to handle the excel sheet tracking shipments to press and publicists. Other than that, it was a lot of research and writing. If we had new product launches or colorways, I would do research on industry trends or upcoming partnerships. For holidays, the PR team would do extra pitching to press, so I’d help by researching reporters and, in general, help handling potential press opportunities.”
“One of these projects was for an upcoming partnership with the brand Susan Alexandra, which makes jewelry and beaded bags. My research consisted of how the media covers the brand, what they talk about, previous partnerships that the company has had, and which publications were talking about them in particular. If I was researching for a product launch, there were two different types of reporters that we would reach out to: tech and lifestyle reporters. A partnership like the one with Susan Alexandra would be categorized as lifestyle, and the launch of a soundbar would be on the tech side of things. Reporters want to test out the product’s quality in order to accurately review it.”
What was your favorite part of the co-op? What did you find most interesting?
“My favourite part was the exposure to many different parts of the business and how that relates to PR. My first co-op I was at an agency and I was very bottom of the food chain, mostly doing the less exciting tasks. However, when you do in-house PR, companies usually have an agency contracted, so I spent much less time starting a draft, press release, or building out a media list. My tasks looked more like sitting in on meetings and seeing how PR fits into the company’s strategy. The company occasionally hosts product demos where employees can listen to the next products that are next to be released. Bose had a product demo while I was there, which consisted of several hours of learning about the new colors and products coming out. There were multiple sessions, some with the design team, some with the sales team, some with the engineers.”
What was the most challenging part?
“I went into this co-op genuinely not knowing anything about tech and the tech industry, so I quickly had to catch myself up on the major reporters and news outlets covering the tech industry. I learned the difference between wearable tech and home tech systems. My team was pretty small, which I loved. There were only two other people who’d be in-office in Framingham when I would go in-person. The rest were in different locations globally, so I had to think about time zones a lot which took some adjusting as well.”
How did you decide on this co-op?
“My first co-op was in public relations for Issues Management Group, a mid-size communication agency in Boston. I mainly worked on healthcare, non-profit, and real estate clients. It was cool to get press releases, media lists, and pitching experience. Most of the clients we had were B2B (business to business), so I knew I wanted something in-house when I was looking at a second co-op, and I knew I wanted to do something with a company that was working with consumer products. I wanted to see the other side of things, and this opportunity matched exactly what I was looking for.”
How did your time at Northeastern help prepare you for the role?
“My sophomore year I joined a club called the Student Alumni Ambassadors. SAA works to connect current students to former students, at which I held a position at one point. I helped host an event to connect students with alumni, like networking events. That helped me a lot as a first exposure to a professional environment.”
How did the experience help further your academic and professional goals?
“My first co-op definitely affirmed my decision to get into PR, and pursue a second co-op in the field. At my second one, I got to know my team very well, the majority of whom started their careers working at an agency. My manager, especially, connected me with people with ties to agencies who worked in a million different industries from food to fashion. Getting to talk to all of those different people who work in different types of PR, I think it will help me a lot.”
Do you have any advice for students searching for co-ops?
“My advice would be that all experiences are good experiences. It may not be exactly what you’re looking for and exactly what you want to do. However, being in a professional environment you learn a lot of research skills, writing skills, and speaking skills, and you might be surprised at what you find.”
