Brian wanted a challenge, to distance himself from the tulip-adorned comfort of home and give his brain some space to soar.. One month in, the realities of life as a foreign intern in Cape Town has shown its true colours.

Living abroad Apparently Cape Town was intimidating at first. Before travelling here, Brian’s research warned him all about dangerous South Africa, how careful he should be wherever he goes (a bit like pedestrians in Dutch cycling lanes). In his first dormitory-based living quarters, he struggled to make friends. His explorations were solo in those first lonely weeks, visiting sites like Cape Point, V&A Waterfront, Bo Kaap, etc. But Brian always looks on the bright side of life.

So he moved into student housing with 9 other interns – 1 American and the rest Dutch. Poor American (his words, not mine).. Evenings and weekends are more fun now with 10 pin bowling, township tours, paintball, hiking trips, mad house parties, clubbing.. I want your life, Brian.

 

It’s very sad that this side of Cape Town basically vanishes behind its reputation of a dangerous city. You do have to be careful…but you’re able to do loads of fun things in & around the city.

That’s why the world needs forward-thinking people like Brain to fly the flag of authentic experience. Nothing like a local immersion to teach travellers the truth about a destination, hey?

 

Working at Wetu The first few weeks were all about sizing each other up, how company and intern could best benefit each other. Brain’s tasks have progressively become more varied and challenging, with free reign on how to fulfil his tasks. The ability of youth to adapt to tech, figure out better ways to do things, is exciting to observe – we recommend you invest in the same for your team!

Brain’s perspectives as business student, millennial and traveller are valuable and often consulted on a number of issues. He has cast fresh eyes on our social media strategy to suggest improvements; he’s now analysing data to understand how our clients are using our tools. He comes equipped with top notch research skills and works at the speed of ice cream melting on hot pannenkoeken.🍛

I think this gives the work a perfect balance between easy & hard tasks, which makes the job interesting throughout.

Lessons learnt about marketing to the trade For one thing, Brian is discovering that marketing is much bigger than just coming up with Facebook ads!

  • The key to B2B marketing is to accurately identify the brands we’re talking to, so as to personalise how we address them. Penguins and octopuses may both swim the ocean and share a survival instinct, but they don’t speak the same language. ➡
  • Marketing primes the lead, then passes it to Sales or Customer Relations to develop. Success depends on figuring out what content to communicate, with whom, and how often.
  • In business, as in nature, timing is vital.

 

It doesn’t end there. Relationship maintenance and support are ongoing. It’s exactly the same as travel marketing, isn’t it? The pretty, glossy, empathetic client-facing stuff is what sells brands but behind the scenes, Brian sees a more sobering spectre at work. 

Marketing can be less glamorous & interesting than people might think – there’s a lot of hard ‘preparatory’ work that goes into it..

So well-timed marketing with tasty content is a key component in the business puzzle? You’re getting the picture, Brian.. Maybe that’s how you know: all that’s needed to sell us your country brand, is for you to wave around some stroopwafels and we’re sold.🌷

* Click here if you’re interested in a Wetu internship or other vacancies*

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