I completed my internship at Corporate Sports Australia who are the event organisers for the Chevron City to Surf for Activ. The City to Surf is WA’s largest sporting community event and includes the 42km Marathon, 21km Half Marathon, 12km Run/Walk, 4km Run/Walk and 4km Wheelchair. I was both nervous and excited to start my placement - especially since this was the first work experience I would be doing in the PR industry.
In 2011, the event had close to 41,000, breaking participant records in the Marathon and Half Marathon field. It is the seventh year that Corporate Sports Australia have been the event organisers, before Activ, the event’s charity partner, organised the event in-house.
To launch the event, and announce that Australia's greatest marathon runner Rob de Castella will again be the event ambassador, the organisers wanted to be creative instead of just using a media release or media announcement and give themselves a chance to interact with their stakeholders on Friday July 6.
Developing a fun and creative idea can be a challenge that many PR professionals may face wih daily, making it not only an interesting and enjoyable experience for their publics but for themselves as well. This was the first time that this was going ahead.
Developing a fun and creative idea can be a challenge that many PR professionals may face wih daily, making it not only an interesting and enjoyable experience for their publics but for themselves as well. This was the first time that this was going ahead.
They came up with a ‘Run with Rob’, a 5km run around Kings Park with event ambassador Rob de Castella. This was promoted through social media sites Facebook and Twitter. The City to Surf Facebook page has over 3,000 ‘likes’ and has almost 800 followers on Twitter.
The launch was also published on PerthNow the morning of the run.
Organisers were expecting around 50-100 people to attend the ‘Run with Rob’ and media partners Channel Nine and The Sunday Times were notified to generate some media coverage that night/weekend.
The turn out was amazing with over 200 people arriving at Kings Park to partake in the ‘Run with Rob’. For something that was only published through social media sites and on a news website it reached enough people to exceed expectations and is a true example of how social media and the online world can benefit organisations and adapt with the public relations industry.
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| Rob de Castella in a Channel Nine media interview |
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| A snap shot of some of the participants waiting for the run to start |
Today, social media is a great opportunity in the ever growing business of public relations. Rather than the classic mode of communication professionals liaising with official news channels, blogs and social networking sites now offer content on organisations and these organisations can distribute their own information without any control from corporate communication professionals or the reliance of the media.
The internet can be seen as a leading edge of what is a major communication revolution. The digital world has changed the way communication is produced and reaches a large audience. With Facebook reaching around 10 million Facebook uses, it is no wonder why so many companies are using it.
Without the use of social media would this launch been as successful as it was? If organisers only chose to send out a media release would the media have picked it up and would the public have taken greater notice?
Looking back on the event, it was evident that social media was an opportunity rather than a threat or weakness to the organisers. It is examples like this that are able to give us a first hand insight into what can be created from a short post on Facebook as long as it is presented in a professional and ethical manner. I do understand, however, the risks that could have arised from using Facebook and Twitter to announce an event which could have gone south with a small number of people attending. But when these risks are taken and have a successful outcome is what makes it all worth while. If they don't produce the expected outcome, many lessons are taken from it.
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| Screenshot of the Facebook post |
Have an experience where social media has worked in your favour at your internship or perhaps the opposite? Please share!
Thanks,
Steph Sbrocco
2 comments:
Hi Steph!
This event is a great example of how effective social media is today. Social media gives people what they want, when they want it and from the comfort of their own home! I think social media has a way of making people feel important and like they are the first to know the news- increasing their interaction with events like this!
My internship has actually experienced the opposite. It is such an amazing competition and has such social and app based content, yet for some reason the social media pages just haven't lifted off! This means that the interaction levels are low and it does affect events held and the people who know about it!
I think both of these examples show us how integral social media is in PR today and how its essential to be where the people are!
Erin.
Hi Steph!
What an amazing success story for social media and public relations!
While I didn't have any experience with clients using social media while at my placement, I was tasked with compiling a social media report for a client outlining how its' competitors use social media platforms. Following on from that, I had to compile some recommendations for the client on how they could best use social media to reach their stakeholders.
This was an informative process for me, as prior to that I hadn't really considered the ways organisations could use social media platforms on an day to day basis. I had always thought about social media in terms of promoting events and things of the like. So this, I felt was a good experience to have. And made me think twice about how social media can benefit organisations.
Perhaps that will be food for thought for others too, contemplating different ways to use social media, other than promotion?
Thanks,
Elizabeth
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