Hello fellow near-graduates/future associates/colleagues/competition (maybe?)!
My name is Shannon and I have been lucky enough to secure a placement at Westfield with their P.R and Marketing team in their Carousel Centre Management Office!
Quite familiar with the business already having worked there as Concierge for almost a year I could hardly wait to start contributing to some of the campaigns I had previously only been briefly exposed to. I didn't realise just how "brief" this exposure was until I started with the Marketing and PR team back in July.....
The first day as a part of my new team we went to one of the coffee shops in the centre to conduct a WIP (Work in Progress). The WIP outlines almost everything that is going to take place in and around the centre for the next 2-3 months; the budget, who is responsible, where the money is coming from and most importantly WHY are we doing it. I guess to give everyone an insight to why we do specific campaigns it's important to understand the unique environment of Shopping Centre public relations and stakeholder mapping.
As Marketing/ PR you've an obligation to Westfield as the property manager, ultimately everything we do needs to increase (or at least not be to the detriment of) the value of the property. Furthermore you have an obligation to the tenants of the centre that depend on you to drive traffic to the centre. Many of the businesses in the centre don't have any public relations knowledge or marketing expertise. To be honest it was when we were going through the WIP and discussing responsibility to tenants that for the first time I really felt like I had a desirable skill set/ unique knowledge. Furthermore we have an obligation to society to be a good corporate citizen and of course, last but not least you have an obligation to consumers and to fill their every need in an easy, accessible FAST way. In the current retail environment anything else deems you simply irrelevant.
It was my first day to this side of the business and I already was getting an idea of how fast paced PR & Marketing is in the real world. Keeping up with all the stakeholders alone was going to be a mission. I couldn't believe when my Marketing Manager so easily rattled off the store managers by name of over 100 stores..(seriously!) Of course I was over the moon about the opportunity, to which I would give my absolute best, because- as I was to learn, anything less than your best is just not the Westfield Way.
While the company is retail leaders in the US, UK and New Zealand also, their Australian site is linked here for those who want to get a better idea (or maybe even want to have a bit of a shop!) Westfield Australia or to see some of my contributions and Carousel specific events click here: Westfield Carousel.
Blog again soon!
4 comments:
Hi Shannon,
I agree with you about how exciting it is to start contributing to your current employer's public relations department and more specifically, campaigns. I am in the same situation and can relate to the familiarity which definitely makes the transition easier.
It sure would be a challenge to remember all the names of your stakeholders in such a large organisation, and I guess this is something that I am yet to face as my internship is with a boutique agency. I am also in awe of your Marketing Manager in regards to remembering over 100 Store Manager's names - I guess this is a credit to her client relations and positive stakeholder engagement.
Thank you for providing me with an insight into a WIP - this is the first time I've actually come across the term. The retail world of public relations definitely sounds fast paced and I wish you the very best of luck for the rest of your internship.
Warmly,
Rachel Chandler
Thanks for your feedback Rachel. Isn't it funny how we have studied the same degree and ended up in completely different environments!
It has been nice making the transition in an organisation that I already know everyone, it says a lot about company loyalty, would you agree?
Wishing you all the best at your boutique agency.
Kindly,
Shannon
Hi Shan,
I found the things you mentioned in your post really familiar to me seeing as we both work in the retail sector.
I recently had a little bit of an insight myself to the marketing efforts of Bunnings and I could not believe how extensive it was and really how much I didn't know just being on the floor. I imagine this would have been a similar feeling to yours.
I'm looking forward to hearing more from you. It's one thing to apply your PR expertise to an internship but it's another thing to be getting the opportunity to apply it to a company that you already know quite well and you will get to see first hand the effects.
Jamie.
Jamie! Bunnings, wow!
What a great insight, I don't know how I would go about getting my head around there marketing efforts...their product lines are ones I am not too familiar with just quietly!
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