Gabelli School senior completes Benjamin Moore internship

Areas of Study , Marketing Stories | Sep 10, 2012 | Nicole Gesualdo

If you bought any paint this summer — or if you end up buying any in the near future — your purchasing decisions may be shaped by the work of a Gabelli School senior.

Joanna Lynn (GSB ’13) spent the last few months as a marketing coordinator intern at the New Jersey headquarters of paint brand Benjamin Moore. The experience gave Joanna the chance to learn not only about appealing to the needs of consumers, but also about a company that many of us encounter every day — in retail outlets, in advertisements and on the wall.

Joanna said the work was unique because Benjamin Moore paints and finishes are sold primarily through independently owned retailers in the United States and Canada, such as neighborhood hardware stores and Benjamin Moore-branded storefronts. By contrast, competitors such as Behr and Glidden are available in big-box home-improvement outlets such as Home Depot and Lowe’s. Joanna’s responsibilities included working with the marketing materials that Benjamin Moore offers to its individual retailers and contractors, including the ones used in Canada for the French-speaking market. This added a cross-cultural aspect to the internship and brought into play the global outlook that the Gabelli School prepares students to have. “It was great seeing how the material changes in different countries,” Joanna said.

“I saw firsthand how marketing promotions are brought to realization,” she added. “Everything from creating the national TV and print ads to letting our retailers know about the upcoming campaigns was interesting to see in person, and not just to read about in textbooks.” She saw that her classroom knowledge — especially skills she learned with marketing professor Al Greco — could be seamlessly applied to selling actual products.

Congratulations to Joanna on completing a cool, valuable and off-the-beaten-path internship!