Hello! My name is Rachel DeLaurenti, and I am a Communication Studies major and English minor in the Class of 2025 at Chapman University. I’m excited to share with you my experience working at Big Hype Marketing, a marketing and PR agency based in Newport Beach! 

I found this internship through my friend, Mikayla, who is an account executive at Big Hype. Mikayla used to work with me at Disneyland, and it was a great experience getting to work with her again, but in a different environment. When she reached out to me and mentioned the internship opportunity, I immediately applied. I had always dreamed of interning at a marketing agency, and she spoke so highly of her team at Big Hype that I knew I needed to seize the opportunity.

For Valentine’s Day, we all wrote haiku about each other and created this video to share on our social media channels

From February 2025 to May 2025, I had the privilege of working with the Big Hype team at their office in Newport Beach. While working in the office, I had the opportunity to shadow Julie Leffler, the president of Big Hype, as well as four other brilliant girls on the team. Mikayla, Jess, Pam, and Lyndsey were all so helpful and encouraging throughout the course of my internship. Something unique about Big Hype is that some of their team members work remotely as well – we had coworkers on Zoom based in Texas and El Salvador. It was great to see how their cultures influenced their experiences working with Big Hype as well. Of course, I can’t forget to give a shoutout to Ziti and Tovi, our furry and loyal office companions! Seeing their little tails wag definitely was a bright spot on harder days, and accentuated Big Hype’s fun and laidback office culture.

My co-worker Jess’s puppy, Ziti Ravioli!

Big Hype’s unconventional atmosphere provided me with a space to ask questions, try new things, and let my creativity shine. My internship duties were both fun and engaging, providing me with valuable hands-on experience in marketing. Throughout my time at the marketing agency, I was tasked with designing engaging and compelling graphics and assisting with unique content shoots for various clients. I also learned a great deal about gathering and analyzing audience data to better strategize for different clients. The most interesting part of working with Big Hype was how versatile their client base is – Big Hype works with businesses of all sizes, from Bundaberg Brewed Drinks to independent lawyers and therapists. 

Learning how to strategize for different clients was fascinating. Julie and I had a great conversation about learning how to best market clients based on the services they provide and their target audience. The information and experience that Julie shared on this topic aligned well with what I had learned in SCC 301, Interviewing and Focus Groups with Professor Brooks. While Big Hype doesn’t specifically use focus groups to learn how to better market to their clients’ demographic, Julie had plenty of strategies that kept her clients relevant and their audiences engaged. It was truly a privilege to learn from her.

My brief moment of fame as Sauna Girl #3! This was for a video we made for our client, Wellevate.

One skill that I gained from designing content for clients during my internship was the art of creating clear and concise messaging. Oftentimes in content creation, you want to use as few words as possible while still maintaining a compelling argument. This helps keep readers engaged with your content and prevents them from feeling overwhelmed by excessive details or jargon. While I have always been a strong writer, I definitely excel in utilizing details. That being said, cutting down on text and learning to create shorter copy was a challenge for me, but it ultimately helped me learn a great deal in the process. Now, I feel as though I am able to write more clearly and concisely than I have in the past. I truly believed that this helped me improve the quality of the work I was turning in, not just at my internship but also in my academic endeavors. 

Overall, I learned a lot through my internship experience at Big Hype, not only about the ins and outs of a marketing agency but also about myself as a young professional. I am extremely grateful for the time I spent at Big Hype Marketing, and I will miss the team so much! If you are considering a career in marketing, digital content creation, or public relations, I highly recommend working with a team like Big Hype. The experience I gained and the lessons I learned are invaluable, and it was extremely helpful to apply everything I had learned in my academic career at Chapman to a real-world experience.