65 Days Later: will my PR journey end here?

So very quickly, internship is coming to an end.

In less than 5 days, it is going to be over.

The journey in Brand Inc. has been great; filled with more challenges than I can ask for. The big question is, would I like to continue doing what I'm doing?

So to answer my question above, I had one very important task to do- think. Think about the things I have done, think about what I did not like and most importantly, think about how much I enjoyed myself during the whole course of my internship.

Here's how my journey has been. I'll point it out by using key words and I'll start with:

Murphy's Law

Something I'm sure many students would have heard their lecturers say; esp PR lecturers.

"Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong!"

And, it happens, at the worst times! From looking for fillers, to getting media gifts ready, anything can really happen.

To welcome the Malaysian media for the Far East Hospitality (FEH) hotel launch, my boss had in mind some gifts we had to prepare for the media. One of the gifts included welcoming them at the airport with artisan water. Since I was the one welcoming them, I had to ensure that I brought along the water with me to the airport. But, to lighten my load and make my trip to the airport comfortable (without having to lug too many items with me), I decided to purchase the 10 bottles of water from the supermarket that's in the airport. We had 3 terminals and out of 3, 2 of it had supermarkets in them, what are the odds of them running out of artisan water right?

WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. They went out of it. From Terminal 2, I called up the NTUC in Terminal 3 and asked if they had any artisan water at all and the lady responded that their stocks for water just arrived and they needed time to key it into their inventory before they could put it on the shelves. I was dumbfounded. In 30 mins, the media were arriving and I needed WATER. Thought in my head? Murphy's law. Thankfully there was a Cheers (convenient store) located at the departure hall of Terminal 2. I had to settle for Evian because at least, there was something! In case you are wondering, Starbucks did not have enough San Pellegrino. By the time they arrived, everything was all good.

Lesson learnt: Because Murphy's Law exists, never ever ever assume. (Even though there are 2 supermarkets!)

Media experience

Yes. Media experience. To be really specific, best media experience. Providing the best media experience. This was something my boss wanted us to ensure took place with the Malaysian media. Aside from welcoming them and showing them around, there was only so much we could do for them physically so, we had to think of how we could do more. Since they were going to be staying in Rendezvous Hotel, it meant that we had to be well aware of what is available in the surroundings so that we can offer as much assistance to them as possible; and it meant being well aware of halal foods within the vicinity. 5 out of 7 media were Muslims, so we had to be more proactive in getting relevant information for them. We scoured the area for halal certified restaurants and cafes, mosques and places of interest. It took us awhile to collate the info on hand. Thankfully, there was a mosque nearby and we could get prayer timings to include in a welcome gift from Brand Inc. A lot of hard work was put in from the time the Malaysian media arrived until their departure. All that was well worth because they sent us an email to tell us how pleased they were and how much they enjoyed themselves throughout the entire trip.

Brainstorming

Never ending sessions, one after another. As the team is really small, more contributions were required from each of us. When I started, I was quite shy with speaking my mind and contributing ideas. But it quickly became a routine I got used to. From brainstorming about concepts to press kit ideas, the sessions are crazy. It can drag from about 30 minutes to 2 hours. The ideas that come out from such sessions are really great. Of course not every session will be a fruitful one but at least there is always the chance that something might just work out from something in that session!

There are definitely a lot of other factors and points that make this internship really enjoyable but these are just some to name! I have enjoyed myself throughout this time and I hope all you readers out there enjoy your internship too!

It has been a great road thus far along with the awesome team in Brand Inc. and from what you have read, I'm pretty sure you know my answer already. Yes. I will continue my path in public relations and I'm sticking with an agency! :)

That is all from me and my internship journey!

Thank you for reading!! :)

Bye!