Brand and Content Strategy Externship

Step into the role of a junior brand strategist in this Brand and Content Strategy Externship, a four-week program designed in collaboration with Sapphire Studios and TikTok’s Head of Agency. Externs will learn to shape a brand’s personality across Instagram — crafting a unique brand voice, designing social content systems, analyzing virality patterns, and pitching final campaign concepts to real clients.

What makes this externship truly special? One of your mentors is Tara Pettus, Head of Agency at TikTok and former strategic leader at Apple and Meta. Tara’s deep experience leading revenue and partnerships for the world’s biggest platforms brings a level of insight and industry access rarely available to early-career talent. This is your chance to build agency-level creative systems and present your work to one of the most accomplished leaders in tech and media.

Project Output

Deliver a client-ready pitch deck that showcases your Instagram designs, campaign strategy, and brand voice systems:

  1. Discover How Brands Build Trust Online: Map personas, define archetypes, and design mood boards to visualize All Basics Uniform’s voice.
  2. Shape the Brand’s Instagram Personality: Create a visual identity system with Canva templates, grids, highlight packs, and caption frameworks.
  3. Figure Out What Makes Content Go Viral: Compare Instagram and TikTok algorithms, track analytics, and reflect on growth insights.
  4. Plan a Creative Social Media Campaign: Design a cross-platform campaign plan with content calendars, KPIs, and iteration strategies for Instagram and TikTok.
  5. Pitch Your Brand Playbook: Synthesize all work into a client-ready deck and present your Brand Voice & Content Playbook with Instagram + TikTok assets.

Skills You'll Gain

  • Defined and documented a brand voice using persona mapping, archetypes, and tone-of-voice sliders.
  • Designed Instagram content systems with Canva templates, caption frameworks, grids, and highlight packs.
  • Scripted and edited TikTok sample videos using trend adoption, hooks, and storytelling structures.
  • Applied brand voice consistently across Instagram and TikTok to ensure cross-platform identity.
  • Analyzed algorithm mechanics and performance data from TikTok Creative Center and Instagram Insights.
  • Built a professional Brand Voice & Content Playbook and pitched it to a brand panel in client-ready format.

Your Schedule

6 weeks

  • Project 1: Create Visual Mood Board & Mini Brand Kit
  • Project 2: Design TikTok Strategy and Content
  • Project 3: Expand Your Strategy to Other Social Media Platforms
  • Project 4: Pitch Your Full Brand Playbook

Meet Your Host

Tara Pettus

Head of Agency, TikTok

Tara Pettus is a seasoned sales and partnerships executive overseeing over $2B in revenue for growth-stage companies across the tech and venture capital sectors. She has held key leadership roles at Apple, Meta, and TikTok, where she consistently built high-impact partnerships and scaled strategic sales programs. At Apple, Tara served as Head of Partnerships, cultivating relationships with major clients and accelerating growth. At Meta, she led the LA Disruptors and Venture Capital teams and partnered with Alvin Bowles to launch Meta’s externship program, creating pathways for diverse students in tech. She currently serves as Head of Agency at TikTok, developing innovative go-to-market initiatives for agency partners.

Personally, she serves as an advisor to growth stage companies and is very active in the community through AAPI organizations (Goldhouse, orphanages and schools in Asia, and more) to promote diversity in the community.