Attending the Very First Agency Tours of the School Year
Have you ever wondered what it would be like doing public relations in the sports industry? How about what working in an integrated communications agency looks like? On Friday, September 22, Grand Valley State University’s Public Relations Student Society of America (GVPRSSA), had its first agency tour of the ‘23-’24 school year.
Exploring the Whitecaps
Our first stop of the day was at West Michigan Whitecaps, a minor league baseball stadium. . As someone who has grown up going to both major and minor league baseball games, it was an amazing opportunity to tour and get a behind-the-scenes look at how PR is utilized in a sports setting.
The first thirty minutes of this tour was hearing from a group of individuals on what it is like to promote the Whitecaps and effectively run the Whitecaps both on and off season. We got to hear from the head graphic designer, director of community relations, and the social media manager. My favorite part of the tour was the stadium tour and getting to know the history of the baseball team while standing in front of home plate and in the dugouts. Since I previously only had experiences with attending a baseball game and sitting in our designated seats, it was cool to get a chance to see the Whitecaps stadium. I especially liked seeing the various suites the staidum has along with where the announcers, press, and journalists sit during the games.
Getting to tour the baseball stadium as well as how they secure sponsorships and partnerships, and promote the team, was a valuable experience.
8THIRTYFOUR
After we finished touring the baseball stadium, we headed over to 8THIRTYFOUR, an integrated communications firm that is women-owned. Being greeted by former Podcast Director and President of GVPRSSA, Emma Nelson, was great to see a familiar face and someone who has experience attending these agency tours. The energy throughout this whole tour was high and I felt welcomed by everyone.
Rather than having the employees talk about their roles and experiences working at this agency and the journey they took to get where they are today, all the employees who joined us wanted to get to know about us. One of the employees asked, “what is your roman empire?” In case you aren’t familiar, the roman empire basically represents what is a topic or idea that you think about repeatedly? This was a way to connect with us and to relate to what’s trending on TikTok.
The tour of the building was amazing and I vividly remember all of us commenting on the interior design and how pretty the workspaces were. Learning the history of how the owner and CEO, Kim Bode, came up with the name 8THIRTYFOUR and how it is based on Kim’s first house. Hearing how a successful agency can start from hardships is really powerful.
8THIRTFOUR was an inspiring tour as not many agencies are women-owned and the employees shared meaningful experiences on the work they do for their clients.
Sign Up For a Future Agency Tour
If you haven’t been on any agency tours yet, I highly recommend attending one or two in the future. Not only does that give you a chance to gain experience on what it is like working in corporate, agencies or different industries, but it also gives you a chance to network with real professionals. Next time, sign up, put on your business casual outfit, and attend the wonderful professional development opportunities that are available.
Madi Reifler is a junior studying Advertising and Public Relations with an emphasis in Public Relations and a minor in Digital Studies. She is the VP of Public Relations for GVPRSSA. Madi currently works part-time as the Digital Marketing Staff Assistant at the Promotions Office in the Office of Student Life. In her free time, Madi loves spending time with her puppy Kingsley, going on walks, attending concerts and hanging out with friends and family.