Getting Started in Medtech Marketing
My very first project at Cicada was building a landing page for a client’s contest. At first, the task felt intimidating. Opening up the backend of a clients website and being greeted by lines of code I didn’t understand was overwhelming. By breaking the task down into digestible pieces, what seemed complex quickly became approachable.
I leaned on AI to guide me through the process. By asking it to outline the build step-by-step, I was able to turn a daunting project into something approachable. For example, the landing page came together in three clear folds:
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Fold 1
: Two-column layout — contest description on the left, form on the right.
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Fold 2
: Showcase of last year’s winner with an image.
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Fold 3
: A short blurb on how the contest could help new participants.
Completing this project gave me a huge boost of confidence. I realized that learning on the job is less about already knowing and more about knowing how to find answers through AI, teammates, and online resources. That mindset set the tone for the rest of my internship.
Hands-On Campaign Work
Following projects through the entire customer journey gave me a clear view of the bigger marketing picture. I wasn’t just building a single asset; I was creating an email campaign, designing the landing page, writing the thank-you email, and then monitoring how the process performed.
That hands-on experience taught me best practices you can’t learn from a textbook, like placing the call-to-action above the first fold or running A/B tests on color variations. Just as important, it helped me understand the audiences behind the metrics we were reaching and how messaging needed to adapt across channels like email and LinkedIn.
Investing Time Upfront to Save Time Later
One of the biggest lessons I learned was the value of building systems early. Setting up workflows in HubSpot or experimenting with AI tools can feel like a heavy lift at first, but once those processes are in place, the payoff is huge.
Instead of manually sending follow-up emails or tracking leads across spreadsheets, an automated workflow handles it for you. Similarly, figuring out how to prompt properly can save you from spending hours creating design or copy from scratch. That initial investment of effort created more time and space for the parts of marketing that require creativity and strategy.
In the long run, I came to see workflows and AI not as shortcuts, but as work multipliers, allowing my work to be more efficient and effective.
The Power of Collaboration
The people I worked with made the biggest impact on my internship. Whether it was getting feedback, coordinating on multi-channel campaigns, or problem solving with my teammates, collaboration was at the center of almost every project.
Being part of a professional team also showed me the importance of clear communication. Sharing updates, asking questions early, and being open to feedback all made my own work stronger.
This didn’t only apply internally. Marketing requires openly working with clients. Being transparent with where we are on projects, respecting their feedback, and relying on them to supply the tools we need to accomplish our goals was essential for us to succeed.
Key Takeaways from the Internship
- Utilizing AI and automation is crucial to keep up in today’s marketing environment
- Hands-on practice + team feedback is the fastest way to learn
- Be willing to test and adapt your strategies
- Creativity is your greatest asset
Conclusion
My internship at Cicada gave me more than just technical skills. It gave me perspective on what it means to work in marketing within a fast-moving, highly specialized industry like MedTech. I learned how to approach complex projects with confidence, how to lean on AI and automation to work smarter, and how collaboration brings out stronger results than any single effort.
I’m grateful to the Cicada team for the opportunity, mentorship, and trust they gave me throughout this internship. The lessons I gained here will stay with me as I continue to grow my career, and I’m excited to keep building on this foundation in the future.