Public Relations and Marketing Internship
Gard Communications is a full-service creative, digital, and public relations agency based in Portland, Oregon, with deep roots in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Since 1979, the agency has specialized in crafting stories and campaigns that resonate with audiences, influence public perception, and build lasting trust. Their client partnerships include leaders such as Portland State University, OMSI, Moda Center, Comcast, Burgerville, and the Oregon State Department of Justice.
This internship ran for 10 weeks, from October through the end of December. During my time at Gard Communications, I had the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects. Everything from supporting small nonprofit initiatives to contributing to campaigns for major corporations.
Featured Projects:
Oregon Bottle Drop social media content calendar: I was responsible for developing a social media content calendar for two Oregon-based companies. The calendar was structured on a Friday–Thursday schedule. Each day featured dedicated sections for post topics, draft captions, and tagged accounts. The layout was designed to be clean, simple, and replicable, spanning four pages per month, allowing for seamless monthly updates by copying, pasting, and refining content.
Better Care Oregon Social media content calendar: Created a Friday–Thursday content calendar with sections for topics, captions, and tagged accounts, providing an organized, replicable system to guide monthly social media planning.
Meeting summaries: Following each account management meeting, as well as regular team meetings, I was responsible for drafting clear and concise meeting notes. These notes captured key points, action items, and important reminders, serving both as a resource for those who attended and as a recap for anyone who was unable to join.
USCellular press release: Early in my internship, one of the associates offered to walk me through the full process of crafting an effective press release. Over several hours, I learned the key elements of professional press release writing. From structure and tone to what to include, what to avoid, and how to ensure clarity and impact. As part of this training, I collaborated on a U.S. Cellular press release, where I was tasked with reviewing, editing, and adding original contributions to the draft.
Internal Projects:
Comcast Analysis: One of my first assignments involved analyzing Comcast’s public perception. This required actively monitoring social media platforms, researching industry coverage, and observing online conversations to better understand how audiences were engaging with the brand.
Media Relations Mapping: One of my responsibilities included identifying and connecting with reporters who had not yet been in contact with our team, particularly those covering emerging hotspots in Washington. To do this, I used Muck Rack to conduct in-depth searches for journalists based on their beats, recent articles, affiliations, and geographic relevance. I built out and refined media lists that categorized reporters by coverage area, influence, and potential alignment with our priorities.
Radio Station Outreach: I researched and compiled a comprehensive list of over 50 radio stations within the area, gathering key contact information and advertising details. The final deliverable was an organized document designed to support outreach and media buying opportunities.
ODOT Transportation Safety: Updated the ODOT Transportation Safety deck by refreshing all years, dates, ad examples, engagement metrics, and KPIs to ensure accuracy and alignment with current performance.
Section 8 summary: One of my final assignments involved reviewing and condensing a 172-page federal policy document. “The Section 8 Renewal Policy Guidebook: Guidance for the Renewal of Project-Based Section 8 HAP Contracts.”
