Chris Raine
Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Business student
Generation Y is known for thinking outside box. And for one young USC student, a novel approach has scored him a job where unconventional methods are not only encouraged, but instrumental in delivering results.
Chris Raine, who is in his final year of a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Business, says his internship with youth marketing agency Fresh came about when the agency’s managing director visited the USC campus.
“One early Tuesday morning Adam Penberthy (Fresh Director) came up to speak as a guest lecturer for Communication Campaign Planning,” Chris says.
“By about slide four, I knew that I just had to work for an organisation like Fresh. At the end of the lecture I ran down to Adam on his way out and got up in his face and said ‘how can I come work for you?’.
“He was a little bit taken aback and I still remember the look on his face. Now that I work there, I can see that is exactly the kind of thing a person who works at Fresh would do.”
After a semester-long internship, in which he worked on the ‘One Punch Can Kill’ youth awareness campaign, Chris joined the ranks of Fresh as an Account Manager. He says initial client meetings are done a little differently at Fresh—often involving an impromptu DJ session on a vinyl turntable!
“Once we’ve got to the business of ‘getting down’, we get down to business,” Chris says.
“Throughout the process, we don’t hoard our ideas. Creativity is universal and you get back what you put out ten-fold.
“At Fresh, we have a huge amount of research on the best methods and processes to engage people of a Gen Y mindset but, in reality, the possibilities are endless in their application and always unique to the client. Our mission is to find out what is going to make their clients or customers smile.”
Chris says USC offers a life experience that is so much more than lectures and tutorials.
“I would definitely recommend USC, not singularly on what is offered academically, but more on what you can make of your time here,” he says.
“Over the past four years, I have received everything from a high distinction to a fail (for a core course in first year, no less!), I have organised and compered at the Student Guild parties, flown down to Melbourne to compete for the USC business club, and had more Café J coffees than I can count…”
While Chris came to the USC campus knowing only a couple of his fellow students, it didn’t take him long to feel at home.
“Over the years I have built and maintained relationships with so many students and teachers that the walk between classes is always a half-hour conversation—and I love it that way,” he says.
Chris is now excited about his future at Fresh, and the agency’s potential for global expansion.
“I can definitely see myself growing along with the company for some time—not very Gen Y, I know!”