How to build internship projects that help future talent and current teams

I recently had the privilege of hosting another martech intern, which was a marvelous experience. Bringing an intern on board requires commitment and planning, especially when designing projects that create real value for both the organization and the intern.

One of the best opportunities is to assign work that falls into the important but not urgent quadrant of the Eisenhower Matrix — critical tasks that often get pushed aside in the rush of daily priorities. While the rest of the team stays focused on time-sensitive work, an intern can quietly build the foundation for future success.

Collaboration is key during project planning. By engaging colleagues early, you’ll uncover valuable insights and ideas that make each project more impactful — for the intern, the team and the organization.

Martech inventory/state of the stack

Martech documentation is vital but takes focus to develop and maintain. This is where an intern can genuinely help.

Whether documentation already exists or not, the intern will need to engage marketing stakeholders to understand the platforms they use. They’ll gather key details:

• How much the platform costs.
• How it meets its use-case objectives.
• Who uses it.
• How it integrates with other tools.
• Other critical information.

This documentation helps determine whether a platform earns its place in the stack, identifies areas of overlap and guides renew-or-retire decisions. It also helps martech practitioners identify stakeholder needs before they even realize them.

For the intern, this project provides rich exposure to different marketing teams and their technology ecosystems. It offers a unique opportunity to understand how various platforms work together to achieve organizational goals.

Dig deeper: 7 strategies for getting the most from your martech stack

Competitor martech inventory

Understanding what your competitors have in their martech stacks can deliver significant value, and an intern can take ownership of this research. This type of analysis can help your organization:

• Spot competitor platforms: Useful when stakeholders request new or alternative solutions; competitor tools can become part of your shortlist during research and procurement.
• Identify missing categories: Seeing competitors use platforms in categories you don’t yet have may reveal opportunities worth exploring.
• Learn from public insights: Competitors often share their platform experiences in case studies, webinars or conference presentations, offering lessons for adapting.
• Strengthen vendor conversations: Knowing what others in your space use helps you ask sharper, more industry-specific questions when engaging with platform vendors or partners.

And don’t limit this research to direct competitors. If you have a checkout process, for example, studying leaders like Amazon can spark ideas you might not find elsewhere.

This project develops valuable research and critical-thinking skills for interns while giving them a unique window into how technology strategy shapes competitive positioning.

Helpful research resources include:

• BuiltWith and similar tech-tracking tools.
• Source code or terms and conditions pages.
• Subscription management links in marketing emails.
• Platform-specific job postings.
• Vendor and partner case studies, press releases or blogs. (Just verify that the information is current.)

Martech platform competitor analysis 

Another valuable type of competitive research is examining the competitors of your martech platforms. Understanding what else is available in each platform category ensures your team stays informed and avoids tunnel vision.

This is especially important when your power users specialize in a single vendor ecosystem. There’s nothing wrong with specialization, but it can create blind spots if you’re not actively tracking developments across the broader category.

This type of research can:

• Validate platform decisions: If a prominent competitor uses a specific platform, there’s probably a reason. How are they using it, and should you consider switching or adding it to your stack?
• Reveal enhancement opportunities: Some tools boost the performance of others. What are you missing out on if a competitor uses one of these enhancers?
• Support procurement and stakeholder requests: When a team asks for a new platform or questions an existing one, this research helps quickly build a shortlist during an RFI or RFP process.

Helpful research resources include:

• G2 and Capterra for reviews and comparisons.
• Ironforge for specialized insights.
• Gartner or IDC (if your organization has access) for analyst perspectives.
• CabinetM’s Stack Insights shows anonymized, aggregated data about what other companies using platforms like Salesforce Marketing Cloud or Marketo also have in their stacks.

Interns are particularly well-suited for this work. Without institutional memory or loyalty to existing platforms, they can evaluate competing solutions with fresh, unbiased eyes — often surfacing ideas that more entrenched team members might miss.

Dig deeper: Why most martech RFPs fail and how to get vendor selection right

Integrating interns into daily operations

Many of these projects focus on tasks that martech practitioners often can’t prioritize due to more pressing demands. For interns, though, they provide a valuable opportunity to learn how different business stakeholders use technology in their work.

Another approach is to integrate the intern into a team’s daily operations. This offers a realistic view of a martech career and helps them understand how strategic decisions and tactical execution intersect.

Both approaches have advantages and drawbacks. A hybrid model — balancing special projects with day-to-day exposure — often provides the most well-rounded experience.

Aligning with your company’s internship program

When preparing projects for your intern, align with what the broader organization has planned. Some companies run structured internship programs that include:

• Planned activities.
• Executive meet-and-greets.
• Group projects.
• Even service initiatives. 

It’s important to factor in these commitments when setting the intern’s workload so they can fully engage with their projects and the larger program.

Investing in future martech talent

Hosting an intern is one of the most rewarding ways to help foster the next generation of marketing technology professionals. With thoughtful preparation and attention, internships can deliver lasting benefits to both the organization and the intern.

Sometimes, an intern will grow into a valuable full-time team member, making the investment of time and planning well worth it.

Dig deeper: 3 ways to retain marketing talent — and why it’s important to do so