A day in the office with emails, meetings and karaoke

A day in the office with emails, meetings and karaoke…

A typical day in the Channel 9 offices is never like the day before, they all start out the same with emails to check and reply to, meetings to attend and KPI’s to discuss, but no two days ever take the same course or structure and it is this unknown excitement I enjoy the most.

This week we were preparing for a community awareness activation that we will be running in the city at the end of the week. The activation, which is the first of four, is to create more awareness and in turn a greater viewership for The Voice, a Channel 9 reality show. For the activation we will be setting up a Voice branded marquee with a television and Ps4 set up inside with Sing Star; the idea is to encourage people to come have a sing, battle their friends and potentially have the chance to win the Ps4 at the end of the day!

In order for this kind of event to run smoothly there is a lot of coordinating that has to go into place, weeks in advance, such as booking the space in the CBD to put up a marquee, organising related signage and also talent as some of the Perth Voice contestants will be in attendance. In order to ensure all of our equipment is working perfectly it was absolutely vital that we also set the Ps4 up in the office and have various battles throughout the day, drawing the attention of different departments around the station, with everyone having a go. This was not only fun and entertaining but also demonstrated to me how important it is to be a part of a company that appreciates the friendliness of staff and values the cohesion socialising in the office creates, as long as work is still getting completed of course.

This particular office day also showed me what it was like when a planned event goes wrong, due to things beyond your control. On this occasion a competition was run through Channel 9 but supplied by a third party who is holding the event. The particular company has altered the dates of the event twice with little notice to Channel 9 and therefore competition winners. This became a bit of a headache due to having to rearrange all attendees, ensuring they were informed and that they could attend on the revised date. Unfortunately these changes were beyond Channel 9’s control, yet to the competition winners it is understandable it does not reflect well on the brand with constant changes, seemingly disorganised.

The best way to handle this, although quite time consuming is to ensure that all competition winners were contacted by phone, rather than just a mass email, adding care and a more human touch, softening the disappointment of another date setback. There was also the preparedness of an alternative, so if the winners then could not attend the revised date the department made sure to have tickets on hand to another show or event as a way of compensation and apology. I think this really helped turn a bad situation around without creating a negative image in the minds of those involved. Hopefully the event doesn’t get moved for the third time and all winners can enjoy the day!

Essentially every day seems to be different, buzzing with the possibility of what will happen next! With so many things on the go 24/7 Channel 9 never stops, allowing for the marketing and PR department to be a place of new ideas, communication and now the new karaoke bar (minus the alcohol) in town!

Stay tuned!

- Maddi