Bright Sparks in Action: An Intern’s Journey Inside Clarion

Remember back in May when we lit the fuse on something special? We launched Clarion's inaugural Bright Sparks Competition, a future-focused initiative designed to ignite the next generation of PR talent. It's all part of our mission: to produce clever work and nurture clever people. And we've had the absolute pleasure of hosting one of our brilliant Bright Sparks winners, the wonderful Kiara Whyte, as an intern over the past few weeks.

We caught up with Kiara last month, and she gave us the inside scoop on intern life at Clarion:

"This opportunity hasn't just strengthened my skills; it's made me even more excited to graduate with my marketing degree and step into the PR industry with confidence. I'm thrilled to head back to university more knowledgeable about PR and marketing and eager to share these insights with my peers. 

“It's been an incredible experience learning behind-the-scenes on some major PR and Influencer marketing initiatives for some the UK’s leading brands and seeing firsthand the time, thought, and effort that go into meticulously curating campaigns, plus so much more. One of my favourite parts of the internship was diving into influencer research for an upcoming project for a huge FMCG brand – it gave me a real insight into how a creative strategy truly comes to life!"

"Bright Sparks" initially sparked from some dynamic brainstorming sessions with our very own Gen Z panel. We asked them: "How do we attract the PR superstars of tomorrow?" Their resounding feedback? Nothing beats real, hands-on experience. So, we set o ut to create a challenge that wasn't just valuable but also injected some serious fun and reached the broadest young audience possible. And just like that, the Bright Sparks Creative Challenge was born – a vibrant pathway for fresh talent to shine!

We're incredibly proud of Kiara's journey with us, and we're already looking forward to welcoming our other brilliant winner, Mia Anifowoshie, who is set to join us next year. The future of PR is bright, and we're thrilled to be nurturing its next generation. Watch. This. Space. For the introduction of next year’s Bright Sparks Creative Challenge.