A few weeks ago, Keurig Dr. Pepper launched an advertising campaign for its new line of McDonald’s McCafe at-home coffee pods. To help promote three new Latin America-inspired coffee flavors, they dropped a promotional video featuring reggaeton star Lunay—the artist behind the single “Soltera.”
In the video, Lunay sips coffee inside a recording studio, clinking mugs to “cheers” with a producer.
What you can’t see on-screen is Kogod School Business undergraduate student Verónica Del Carpio Olivier. Behind the cameras, she played a vital role in the shoot as part of a summer internship with Nue Agency, the company behind the campaign.
“Because I was the only person on the team that spoke Spanish, I was able to draft almost the entirety of the script,” said Del Carpio Olivier, a senior in Kogod’s BS in Business and Entertainment program.
“They really gave me a lot of responsibility,” she remarked.
How did Del Carpio Olivier land such a uniquely hands-on role? She credits a timely guest visit by Nue founder and CEO Jesse Kirshbaum (who, as it happens, has since joined the Kogod adjunct faculty).
After hearing Kirshbaum speak last fall about his company’s role as a “creative music agency for a new era,” Del Carpio Olivier figured it couldn’t hurt to follow up.
Fast forward a few months, and the rising senior met artists, spoke with record label executives, and weighed in on brand campaigns for Nue’s clients.
“I did a lot of research on up-and-coming artists and brand deals that were coming in for the company,” she said. “Just that they were willing to give me a seat at the table was so valuable.”
Flying to Miami to assist in the commercial shoot for Keurig and McCafe’s collaboration with Nue proved to be the pinnacle of her experience. Sure, the experience allowed for some in-person collaboration during an otherwise remote internship. But it also gave Del Carpio Olivier a chance to lend her insight to the project and her bilingual skills as an international student from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Her work proved integral to a campaign Kirshbaum already describes as “wildly successful” while also underscoring the value, he says, of supplementing coursework with true, hands-on experience.
“We’re a boutique shop, so you really get your hands dirty,” Kirshbaum said. “No day is the same, and you can have a real impact through a summer internship.”
It’s especially important for students like Del Carpio Olivier in Kogod’s Business and Entertainment program—97 percent hold at least one internship before graduating. After all, forging relationships and building a professional network is essential to any career.