“Figure it Out”: Insights from the Intern Queen, Lauren Berger

By Shannon Russell

At ICON, I attended the presentation “Marketing Yourself as a Content Creator” hosted by the Founder and CEO of Intern Queen, Lauren Berger. Berger’s business aims to connect college influencers with businesses to foster innovative collaborations. 

Although I valued the entire presentation, I enjoyed it when Berger discussed how she earned a collaboration with Ford on her “College Ambassador Challenge” campaign idea. This collaboration was a massive success for Ford and Berger, as it won a Shorty Award (which are awards that recognize the most innovative and creative social media campaigns), but it wasn’t easy to pull off.

Berger had an idea for a campaign in which Ford would select influential college students and challenge them to market Ford vehicles creatively. By competing with one another, the students would create innovative user-generated content to increase awareness of the Ford brand.

Figure It Out
But Berger faced a problem: She didn’t work for Ford and had no contacts with the brand. So, how would she put this campaign idea on Ford’s radar? She decided to rely on the motto she inherited from her mother: “Figure it Out!” Berger started connecting with Ford employees on LinkedIn. Through her deep dive on LinkedIn, she found the phone number of a Ford executive. She boldly reached out to him and explained her idea. The executive loved it, so he allowed her to pitch the idea to his team. The team was extremely receptive. 

All was looking up until Berger heard back from Ford a few days later. They said that even though they liked her idea, they would not be moving forward with it due to budget concerns. 

Being Bold 
This piece of the story was very surprising. As a student, I know the value of connections. But, I never realized that sending random LinkedIn requests could result in a conference call with Ford executives. This inspired me to be bold and reach out to people I want to work with, no matter how lofty my aspirations may seem. Although the meeting didn’t initially result in the outcome Berger wanted, she was able to make a valuable connection that she continued to leverage. 

Berger said the initial rejection devastated her, but she continued to push forward and “Figure it Out!”Over the next few years, Berger maintained her connections at Ford by sending “Happy Holiday” messages and general check-ins to keep her name top-of-mind. By doing this, she was called back by Ford three years later to re-pitch the campaign. It was greenlit and was a huge success. 

Often, I worry about bothering people and tend not to reach out as much as I should. But, Berger taught me this is not how the professional world works. If I have a dream or a goal, I have to go for it and be dedicated to its success. In the future, I plan to be more forward when connecting with professionals because I now realize the worst they can say is no (and, as proved by Berger’s story, this can always turn into a yes). 

Overall, by being bold, persistent and figuring it out, Berger made her dreams come true. I now realize that by doing the same, I, or any student, can push the boundaries to support our career. 

ICON allowed me to learn from Berger and hear her story, inspiring me and hundreds of other students. I encourage students to attend ICON in the future to hear stories like Berger’s and learn from a diverse group of professionals to strengthen their network.