First Week In: Tradition vs Modernism

Hello readers,

I have just completed my first week at Via Appia Networking WA- a very fun, vibrant and hip PR firm that specialises in Event Management, Social Media Marketing, Managed Services and Event Networking. Run by two young sassy ladies, Networking WA is all about "who you know" hence the name Networking WA!

Interesting fact- Via Appia is a famous road in Italy built by the Ancient Romans and was referred to as the 'queen of the long roads' which was a key reason how the vast empire was networked and connected.

                                                                  (Via Appia, 1890)

My first day was all admin work, data entry mostly and searching for potential attendee's for some upcoming events. To keep it short, it was boring but I wasn't too disappointed as I was nervous to bits on my first day and hey, I looked up many of Perth's A-list corporate officials and it was good research for me as well.

My second day was similar but with slightly different Intern tasks such as running errands at the Post Office. I'm not complaining as I'm trying to show as much initiative as possible and learn as much as I can during my Internship. My supervisor assured me the run-around tasks were the most monotonous but after working in fast food, hospitality and retail, these mundane tasks seem lovely to me! :)

On my third day, my supervisor asked me to come up with creative marketing ideas for an upcoming event, thinking fairly traditionally the majority of my ideas revolved around sending media releases out to different local papers but my supervisor said Networking WA isn't about traditional PR tactics and introduced me to the idea of 'guerilla marketing'. For anyone who doesn't know, guerilla marketing is an advertising strategy that uses low-cost unconventional means to promote a product or convey an idea including examples such as graffiti, sticker bombing, flash mobs or viral videos which we all know can be very effective from the Kony 2012 campaign.

My superviser gave me an example of a guerilla marketing campaign she ran while working in London which included butt-naked girls, a whole lot of body paint and lots and lots of promotion!

After learning of this exciting new concept, I went home and researched guerilla marketing and here are some interesting promotional ad's I came across:

Fitness First Ad Campaign

Frontline Advertisement

Unicef Ad Campaign

Cesviamo Stop Aids Campaign

Kleenex Ad Campaign

Quit Smoking Campaign

These are only a few examples, there are plenty more out there! I realised that these campaigns would require a budget, so I asked my supervisor and she replied, these targeted campaigns are generally the most effective, for which at this point I would agree with.

This sums up my first week as a nervous but excited PR Intern and I am learning different things everyday.

I hope this is an exciting learning curve for everyone.

Until next time folks,

- Sarah Awan
 Curtin Bentley