Internship Productions LLC Selects UniKeep LLC for New Reality Project “Internship ‘04”: Features College Students Working for Office Products Company

Columbus, Ohio – Internship Productions LLC announced today the selection of award winning office and organizational products company UniKeep, as the host company for the its pilot project “Internship ’04.” The selection process for approximately 12 student interns is already underway.

The concept of the project is to follow the progress and process as UniKeep and its student interns tackle the real life challenge to build awareness with a new product that has had limited exposure. The Interns’ level of achievement of various milestones will result in rewards; failure will result in corrective action, change of assignment or other business appropriate responses.

The internship will offer an incredible opportunity for students and new graduates to do a variety of tasks, and to meet and interact with various business leaders and decision makers, in a strongly mentored and aggressive atmosphere. In an unprecedented twist to the routine internship, each of those selected for media production will also be documenting all aspects of this adventure using video and digital cameras. Approximately 2,000 hours of video will be condensed into a program for simultaneous web broadcasts and eventual video release in targeted markets.

The assignment will start with a learning and strategy development phase at UniKeep company headquarters in Columbus where the team will learn the product and the marketing issues. Following this, the team will conduct fieldwork for several weeks in New York City, implementing their strategy and facing the real-world challenge of meeting business objectives. The interns will have the task of generating as much “buzz” about the UniKeep product as possible. They will have $500,000 of product to swap for exposure, give-a-ways, or co-op as their main tool. The team will wrap up back in Columbus, finalizing their deals and summarizing the accomplishments.

The team will be guided during Internship ‘04 by experienced entrepreneur Ross Youngs CEO and Managing Member of UniKeep, LLC. In addition to running UniKeep, Youngs’ job will be to direct, hold accountable, correct, improve, and support other traditional duties performed by the Interns. Youngs took over the day-to-day operations of UniKeep, LLC in September of 2003. As an experienced businessman, Youngs has previously led a company to the Inc. 500 for five years in a row. The SBA named him National Business Person of the Year in 1998. Youngs has multiple patents worldwide and is the inventor of the UniKeep product line.

“ This is a fabulous opportunity for the student interns and for UniKeep,” says Youngs. “I think student interns can accomplish some amazing and creative things. We had begun a search for summer interns to conduct aggressive outreach complimenting our established sales efforts. This opportunity seemed like the perfect fit. I’m a firm believer in awareness driving demand, and increased awareness is exactly what UniKeep needs right now. I think we can learn from the interns’ fresh perspective and UniKeep is able to offer them a wide open opportunity to test their skills in the competitive, real world.”

Advisors and guest advisors for the team will come from other businesses or academia with real world credentials and successes. During weekly reviews, participating advisors will review the results and actions of the Interns and provide guidance, calling the shots as they see them for additional perspective. Youngs will then be advised as to what actions he could or should take in order to improve the performance of the interns. Guest Advisors will generally have specific fields of expertise. Internship Productions is currently accepting nominations for advisors.

Internship Productions LLC was formed to capitalize on the trend of business reality television with the unique concept that the entire experience could be both educational and entertaining for the participants as well as the audience. The format, allowing the interns themselves to create a web-based forum for information and feedback, will offer a new level of audience participation. Video documentation will allow for review and coaching, not only within the current team, but also for classroom or broader audiences. Each summer, Internship Productions will select a new host company and a new team of interns for the unique experience.

Applications are currently being accepted online at www.internship04.com for both business/marketing positions and for interactive media positions. Interns must be 21 years of age by June 30, 2004. All interns will be full time temporary employees. Interviews for accepted applicants will be held between late April and May, and interns are expected to begin work at UniKeep in Columbus on between May 17 and June 21 depending on academic schedules.

In 2002, UniKeep introduced an innovative and patented new technology to create a unique replacement for the ordinary three ring binder. The multifunctional, curbside recyclable, 100% polypropylene UniKeep View Case Binder(TM) has received numerous accolades in many consumer and trade publications. The unique snap-close feature keeps everything protected inside a stackable, archival-safe case. UniKeep products are currently available from office supply dealers nationwide and at www.unikeep.com

Want to learn more?

For more information on participating in Internship ‘04 visit the web site at www.internship04.com.

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