The Exciting World of Health Care at Weber Shandwick

By Dean’s Intern Claire Holmberg at Weber Shandwick

When I learned that I had been placed on the health care team at Weber Shandwick I was excited, but also knew there would be a learning curve. In the past four weeks, I have learned more about the health care industry than I could have imagined! The largest account that I work on is an association of pharmaceutical companies, an organization that has an strong impact on much of health care policy in the United States.

So far, I’ve had many exciting experiences working on this account, but there is one that caught me off guard and helped me gain more exposure among my coworkers. Throughout the second week of my internship, a coworker revealed to me that I would be presenting media clips at the bi-weekly health care team meeting (a team of over 20 people!). Although I was nervous to present in front of so many people, I found that the experience was an excellent way to introduce myself to everyone on the team, and gain some confidence in presenting at team meetings.

Along with this health care account, Weber Shandwick has given me the opportunity to assist with accounts across all of the departments in the DC office. This includes the digital team and social impact team. Through these projects I have identified an interest in paid media work. Many of Weber’s clients have expressed interest in these types of services, which allow them to gain name recognition through paid promotion. I enjoy this process because it includes organizing a budget for the client, reaching out to vendors to display the ads, and also creating an engaging idea. Overall, I find paid media interesting because it reveals how public relations is evolving and merging with other fields like advertising.