Imagewest, a student-run, revenue-generating, full-service advertising and public relations agency at WKU, will be traveling to England this summer. They will spend four weeks working for Harlaxton Manor in Grantham.
Members of the Imagewest International Team 2013 are: front row (from left) Rachael Fusting, Nicole Coomer, Martha Holmes and Heather Garcia; back row: Matt Love, Alan Schneller, Davide Fellini and Mark Simpson.
Harlaxton Manor is situated in the English countryside about an hour north of London by train. The manor serves as a venue for luxury weddings, concerts and conferences. Built in the 1830s, they host over 30 various events a year. Harlaxton Manor is considered to be one of the top wedding venues in Europe.
“I have never worked abroad or even traveled abroad, so I am anticipating quite a life-changing experience,” said Matt Love, senior designer at Imagewest. “I love all things that are visual from graphic and web design to photography, art and videography. It will be interesting to learn how the Europeans do things and how I can further develop my work.”
Imagewest has been tasked to brand and market Harlaxton Manor as a premier venue for events. The responsibilities of the team include creating a logo and slogan that will help create a strong brand identity. Students will also be developing a website, creating a social media plan and designing other promotional materials to communicate what Harlaxton Manor has to offer.
“We are very excited to welcome Imagewest to Harlaxton Manor and we desperately need their expertise,” said Simon Hawkes, Programs and Events Manager for Harlaxton Manor. “It will be fantastic to collaborate with marketing professionals for four weeks!”
Imagewest has previously made five consecutive trips abroad. The first trip was to Malaysia in the summer of 2008. They visited Spain twice—once to Barcelona and once to Madrid. Then the agency traveled to Paris to work with Global Editors Network (GEN). Imagewest developed goals, strategies and tactics to grow GEN’s membership and increase registration for the NEWS! World Summit 2011 held in Hong Kong. Last summer Imagewest traveled to Florence, Italy, to work with Lorenzo de’ Medici for five weeks where they provided LdM with a digital marketing plan and a promotional video.
“It’s hard to believe that this is our sixth consecutive work trip abroad,” said Heather Garcia, Imagewest’s agency director. “This unique experience will provide students with global business skills and an understanding of diverse cultures which will serve them well in the workplace.”
The internship is an eight-week program from May 28 through July 25. Revenues generated from Imagewest during the semester were used to award scholarships to aid the Imagewest International students. Students participating in the internship are: Nicole Coomer (Bowling Green), Davide Fellini (Siena, Italy), Rachael Fusting (Alexandria), Martha Holmes (Hendersonville, Tenn.), Matt Love (Madisonville) and Alan Schneller (Bowling Green). Group leaders are Imagewest Agency Director Heather Garcia (Franklin) and Faculty Advisor and School of Journalism & Broadcasting Associate Professor in Advertising, Mark Simpson (LeSage, W.Va.).
More: Read more about the Imagewest at Harlaxton Team; check out the Imagewest Facebook page; follow @Imagewest on Twitter.
Contact: Heather Garcia or Nicole Coomer, (270) 745-8915 or imagewest@wku.edu.