Grady InternViews: Ryan Langner

This is part of a series where we ask Grady College students to describe their internship experience.  

Ryan Langner is a fourth-year advertising student working with Apple as a Partner Development Intern. Read on as he provides insight into what this internship looks like.

Briefly describe your internship and its associated responsibilities.

I am a Partner Development Intern for Apple Search Ads, which is Apple’s advertising platform that enables mobile apps to promote themselves on the App Store. My responsibilities include supporting a Client Partner who collaborates day-to-day with 80-120 mobile app clients to manage campaigns, enhance visibility, and drive downloads on the App Store. These apps span categories such as food and drink, shopping, health and fitness, finance, technology, sports betting, travel, and more. This role involves direct interaction with Apple’s wide-ranging clientele, giving me diverse experience in the world of digital ad sales.

What opportunities did you have during your internship?

Although I work with many apps at Apple, one client shines the brightest. I collaborated with the founder of an app focused on helping people with alcoholic tendencies be more mindful of their drinking habits. I assisted an Apple Client Partner with launching a successful campaign for this app, including using a multi-placement strategy that helped this app achieve significant growth in impression share. During my internship, I collaborate mostly with marketing professionals employed directly by an app, or I work with agencies hired by an app to manage campaigns. Having the opportunity to work directly with the founder of an app gave me a new perspective on pitching successful ideas or strategies to clients – and it’s just plain cool to hear stories from a founder who coded and programmed everything from scratch!

What skills and knowledge have you gained from your internship?

Most people forget that advertising isn’t all about the creative – sales comprises a monumental piece of this industry. Growing my sales skills and knowledge has been instrumental in making this internship so impactful for me. Apple utilizes the Challenger Sales Methodology, a B2B sales technique that uses thought-provoking insights, disruptive challenges, and meaningful opportunities to educate prospects. Mastering this methodology has completely transformed my ad sales experience – I truly see a difference in how I can frame conversations strategically to meet the client where we need them!

What is one piece of work you are proud of creating in this role?

In addition to my day-to-day work tending to client needs, I have been able to complete an internal project to help my team. There was a need for sales leaders on my team to deeper understand the unique seasonal trends for different app categories. For example, it’s easy to assume that shopping apps would be downloaded more often during the holiday season in November and December, but the team wanted me to do research to uncover missed opportunities throughout the year. Therefore, my team could be better equipped to inform clients when to increase or decrease spend. Through platforms like Statista, Comscore, Tableau, and more, I mined for data and compiled insights into Keynotes dedicated to each app category. These presentations can now be used on calls with clients to educate them on the important times of the year for their apps.

How have you balanced this internship with college?

Thankfully, this internship runs from May to August, so work has not impacted school for me. However, I am a member of Talking Dog agency back in Athens, in addition to working a part-time job at Dukes Clothier – so I am no stranger to the work-life balance dilemma! My best piece of advice to balance work while being in college is to plan out your free time. As college students, we have sporadic free time, and it can be easy to lounge away when time is not necessarily of the essence. However, once I started blocking off time on my calendar devoted to specific activities like studying, applying for internships, running errands, etc., then I found myself less stressed and less forgetful.

What challenges have you overcome in this role?

From a personality perspective, I am a specialist, not a generalist (many personality quizzes have told me this!). As a result, working with ambiguity can be difficult for me if I don’t have a clear path forward. My internal project performing seasonal research was difficult at first because it was completely up to me how my deliverables looked. I felt scared not knowing what my manager and team might think of my initial drafts, yet I was relieved when they expressed delight at my product. Overcoming this challenge helped me realize the importance of being a self-starter – if I hadn’t pushed myself outside of my comfort zone, then I would have stalled and failed at this project.

How has the Grady curriculum you’ve taken prepared you for this internship?

ADPR 3120 (Media Strategy and Activation) prepared me for this internship beyond a shadow of a doubt. The buzzwords and acronyms that I learned in this course, in addition to the concept of strategically planning campaigns for clients, made this course as close to the “real deal” as possible. It may seem like you’ll never hear “ROAS” outside of your advertising classes, yet you’d be surprised by how often this term is brought up in my calls at work!

Who is one Grady Professor who has inspired you?

Dr. Glenna Read. Although I have already complimented her course (ADPR 3120), her desire to help us succeed in our careers is honorable. Throughout my time in Dr. Read’s class, she brought in a host of advertising professionals in many different fields – including one professional who bloomed my interest in sales. It was incredibly valuable to hear from graduates of the Grady curriculum who have pursued such a wide range of roles after graduation. I cannot thank Dr. Read enough for equipping her students with real-world takeaways to drive our own careers of interest.

What advice would you give to someone looking to apply to similar internships?

Make sure to tailor your resume to fit the specific company or internship you are applying to! Do your research to identify the company’s core values or technical requirements they seek in candidates. By establishing a clear connection between yourself, your resume, and the company or role, you significantly increase your chances of getting a callback. For instance, when applying to Apple, I ensured that my resume highlighted key values such as education and privacy that are important to the company.

How has this internship influenced your future career?

This internship has not only introduced me to Apple but also to the broader tech industry, an area I hadn’t previously considered for my career. I believe pursuing your passions and aligning them with your daily work is crucial, yet it’s also important to embrace risks. Venturing into the tech industry was certainly a step outside my comfort zone, but it has revealed to me the industry’s immense potential for growth and expanded my options for future employers.

How Did you find out about this internship?

These days, many companies refrain from posting job opportunities on platforms like LinkedIn or Indeed, or even on their own career websites, due to the overwhelming volume of applications they receive. Over a year ago, I created a profile on Apple’s career site and uploaded my resume. In January, I was pleasantly surprised to receive an unexpected email from an Apple recruiter who had found my resume internally and asked if I would like to interview for an internship opening. This delightful turn of events ultimately resulted in me securing the job. If you have a desired company in mind, create a profile on their career site and attach your resume so they can find you!

Edited by: Shannon Lorusso, sel67411@uga.edu