Creative Strategy Intern, Smartly.io
This internship is paid at $20 per hour and will be approximately 30 hours per week between June 2nd and August 7th of 2026.
AI-powered advertising platform
Be an early applicant
AI-powered advertising platform
501-1000 employees
Be an early applicant
This internship is paid at $20 per hour and will be approximately 30 hours per week between June 2nd and August 7th of 2026.
501-1000 employees
Company mission
To unify the full funnel of marketing and break silos between advertisers, marketers, and creatives.
Role
Who you are
- Do you know what’s about to blow up on TikTok before it hits your FYP? Can you spot the next big thing brewing in niche Reddit communities or emerging from underground creator collectives?
- If you live for that moment when you catch a cultural shift before anyone else does, we want you on our team
- A full-time rising Junior, Senior, or recent graduate from an accredited 4-year college or university
- Pursuing a degree in Technology, Marketing, Communications, Design, Media Studies, or a related field
- Highly motivated and eager to learn more about media, cultural relevance, and strategic positioning
- An ambitious self-starter who is not afraid to try new things
- Interested in working in a fast-paced, high-growth environment
- Legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship
What the job involves
- As a Creative Strategy Intern at Smartly, you’ll be our eyes and ears in the cultural zeitgeist—hunting down pre-trends, decoding what Gen Z is really talking about, and turning those insights into strategic gold for Fortune 500 brands and their creative and social strategies
- This isn’t about following trends
- This is about predicting them, understanding them, and helping our team build creative offerings, packages, and narratives around them
- Join our team of 800+ Smartlies and turn your cultural obsession into real business impact
- As a Creative Strategy Intern at Smartly, you’ll collaborate closely with our Creative Technologists and Global Creative Services team
- Your mission? To turn trend-forward insights into strategic narratives for some of the biggest advertisers globally—keeping them ahead of the cultural curve across social media platforms
- You’ll dive deep into social trends and create compelling presentations to help brands predict and capitalize on what’s next
- Research and analyze emerging social media trends across platforms like TikTok, Meta, Instagram, Pinterest, Snap, Reddit, and beyond
- Deliver vertical- and platform-specific reports to keep customers up to date on what’s trending now—and what’s coming next
- Create visually compelling, insight-driven presentations
- Develop industry-specific narratives and creative frameworks tailored to different business verticals
- Support the creation of scalable 1:many materials that help multiple brands stay trend-forward
- Present findings or shadow key meetings with Smartly customers
- Conduct creative audits and identify actionable best practices to elevate brand performance
- Curate inspiration and standout examples to fuel creative strategy and spark new ideas
- Partner with Creative leaders to build and develop compelling presentations and creative positioning
Our take
Smartly.io helps advertisers automate their campaigns across the largest media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest. After seeing quick success following Facebook’s 2012 IPO, the company now works with over 700 brands including eBay, Uber, Ralph Lauren, Under Armour and TechStyle.
Its suite of tools automatically creates ads and videos from product images - handling budget allocation and audience targeting, as well as analysing where and when to purchase advertising. Consequently, Smartly.io has positioned itself to play a leading role in a market where brand and performance work are converging.
Smartly.io sold a majority stake to Providence Equity Partners in 2019 in a move to further its presence in the US. The company has since gone on to make several acquisitions of its own with Viralspace.ai and Ad-Lib.io. Smartly.io's ability to adapt to evolving advertising trends supports its continued growth, and its introduction of AI-powered intelligence across its platform shows it is keeping up with technology trends too.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Funding (1 round)
Apr 2015
$3m
SERIES A
Total funding: $3m
Company benefits
- Generous healthcare packages and mental health services
- Career development opportunities, bonus programs and annual performance reviews
- Hybrid working model, with the option to work abroad for up to 30 days
- Company equity options program
- Paid holidays, OOO time and family leaves
Company HQ
Kluuvi, Helsinki
Leadership
Tuomo Riekki
(Co-founder, Board Member & Advisor)Initially served as CPO of the company. Also the founder of Focal and Zero, and previously founded DealMachine and Metrify.io.
Kristo Ovaska
(Co-founder & Board Member)Founder and CEO at Taito.ai. Initially served as CEO of the company. Previously founded Metrify.io, Startup Sauna, and Funrank.
Laura Desmond
(CEO)Also Founder and CEO at Eagle Vista Partners, and Operating Partner at Providence Equity Partners, as well as being a Board Member at Adobe and DoubleVerify. Former CEO of Starcom.
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