During my internship I have been able to take part in an aspect of Public Relations I have always wanted to work in; Events Management. The Arthritis Foundation is holding their annual ball next month, I have been lucky enough to take part in the organisation of the event.
When I started the event venue and band had been booked, but not much else. Over the past couple of weeks, the Ball had been a sideline project for the PR section but now that the event is fast approaching it is demanding more and more of our attention.
Whilst working on the ball I have learnt one very handy communication skill; the art of subtly asking companies for free things. The main source of revenue for the ball is the silent and live auctions that will be held on the night. In order to hold this auction we need to source items from companies and ask them to donate them for free.
This ball is quote an upmarket event. Most of the attendees will be board members (most of which are doctors and accountants) and their circle of friends. This means that the items we need to source for the ball can’t just be random items off the street, that would be embarrassing for the organisation. The items we need to source need to be luxurious and expensive. For example we have already managed to source 3 night accommodation at Cable Beach Resort in Broome and a $1000 necklace for an upmarket jeweller in Perth.
I have been writing letters on behalf of the CEO to send out the sponsors of previous Balls. I found that the tricky part of writing these letter was finding the right tone. We are asking for quite a lot in these letters, so it is essential to come across right. You need to be not too desperate, but not too demanding, you need to be gracious and not greedy. You also need the perfect segway into asking them for a donation. After these letters were complete it was personally signed by the CEO before they were posted out to all of the potential sponsors.
Theory which has come in handy:
I have found that some of the skills I have been taught at Curtin, way back in PR Techniques 220, are finally being used. Although I learnt these skills over 2 years ago they are still very much relevant today. In such a rapidly changing world I have expected that a lot of the theory I have learnt at university to become obsolete with the introduction of new communication platforms ect.
It is nice to know that some things are still the same, like an event running order. No matter how sophisticated you technology is, you will always need to map out exactly how an event will run- to the minute- in order to have real control over the proceedings of the night. Also creating documents such event running order and to-do spreadsheet has helped me really understand the event to the point where I will know it like the back of my hand by the time of the event.
It seems that these PR techniques are an ‘oldie but a goodie’.
It is nice to know that some things are still the same, like an event running order. No matter how sophisticated you technology is, you will always need to map out exactly how an event will run- to the minute- in order to have real control over the proceedings of the night. Also creating documents such event running order and to-do spreadsheet has helped me really understand the event to the point where I will know it like the back of my hand by the time of the event.
It seems that these PR techniques are an ‘oldie but a goodie’.
Thanks for reading guys!
Jacqueline
1 comment:
That sounds like fun! I work for an organisation who run Toybox Charity and we host many corporate events including a ball every year called RQCC which is a corporate boxing event - It is amazing how generous many corporate clients are! good luck with the rest of the event. Lia
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