Adios Programmed!

With only two days left at my internship at Programmed, I reflect on what I learnt from the experience and reminisce on the best things about my time at the company.

1. No, PR is not like that seen on Sex and The City with Samantha Jones

2. No, PR is not just party planning

3. No, PR is not just spin-doctoring

4. PR is none of these things.

Just kidding. These aren’t really the things I’ve learnt. But definitely are some of the questions I get on a regular basis when I tell people I'm studying PR. I think I'll just start linking that video (as above) to people when they ask me those questions.

Anyways...

Below are some of the things I ACTUALLY learnt from my internship experience that I will take with me into my future in public relations:

• Work efficiently: don’t leave things to the last minute, tackle tasks as they come to you.
• Be organised: stay on top of everything and always know where and when things are so that when you are asked to do something or asked for something you aren’t racking your brain to remember.
• Improve your memory: having a good memory is really important in PR as you are required to be able to recall peoples names, places, ideas etc. on the spot. This was definitely something I need to improve on and my time at Programmed definitely helped to improve my memory.
• Know how to use all forms of social media: prior to my internship I had no clue how to use Twitter or LinkedIn. This is definitely a key knowledge factor in being in PR.
• Multi-task: I am definitely a good multi-tasker, managing three jobs, uni, social life and intern this semester. This internship taught me however, how to multi-task efficiently and effectively as mentioned above.
• Communicate: communication is key in public relations. You should communicate and create relationships with every person you come across (even rude customers), as you never know when you might need their help.

These are just some basic things I learnt and improved on during my time at Programmed. Although they may seem really basic, I believe constantly improving skills in all the above areas is really important when working in public relations.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time at Programmed, it has really been an amazing experience. Being involved in the Fremantle Dockers photo shoot, creating posters and designs for Dockers/Programmed branding, and writing interesting stories for the Programmed intranet have definitely been some of the best times I’ve had during my experience at Programmed. I really believe that this “real-world experience” internship has improved and helped form my public relations skills and knowledge and I will take this with me into my future public relations ventures.

I hope you have all enjoyed reading about my time at Programmed and hope that you too enjoyed the experience as much as I did.

Bye for now!

Becky

Ancient Software = Slow Process

Today I was asked to do a competitor analysis for Programmed. Kate wanted me to focus on Programmed’s competitor’s online presence and in particular noting what social tools they were using and what online content they were creating.

It took me a while to gather all the information but from my research I noticed that Programmed had a far larger online presence, with social media tools, websites and articles far superior to that of their competitors. 

However, one thing that I noted was rather detrimental to the whole searching process was the ability to source this information due to their lagging internet.

The Programmed Burswood office currently houses 60 to 70 staff, all using the one local internet. The company has on-site numerous IT and ICT staff that help with computer problems and technical issues. With this vast range of telecommunications staff catering to only small group of staff, the company’s internet should not be running so slowly. However, the main problem here is that they are still using such an old system – Internet Explorer.

Internet Explorer is rather out-dated in the 21^st Century with the introduction of Google Chrome, Safari, and Firefox. These internet browsers are recognised as being far superior to Internet Explorer. 

Programmed also uses an old version of Microsoft Windows, which too, is disadvantageous to the computers user.

Programmed desperately needs to update their computer technologies in order to keep up with the expansion of computer technologies therefore make computing processes speedier.  The company also needs to look at updating their PCs. I spoke to Kate about this and she agreed completely, telling me that she doesn’t know why we are still using PCs or Internet Explorer.

Programmed may be far ahead of their competitors with websites, a regularly updated intranet, online presence and social tools, but if none of our staff can access the sites, what’s the point?

Adios!

Becky

Fremantle Dockers Photo-shoot

On the 25^th of September, I woke up bright and early to attend a photo shoot for a full page spread in the West Australian in support of Programmed sponsored Fremantle Dockers. I had been told about the photo shoot the night before at around 11pm and so had no idea what to expect.

I arrived at the Programmed Burswood office at around 7am and then went with Communications Officer, Kate Sossi, as well as three other employees to the studio in City Beach.

When we arrived at the shoot we all had our make up and hair done (including the men!) and put on our Programmed and Fremantle Dockers gear.

We were photographed in groups, with my group being the second shot. The studio was sectioned off and so there was no visibility of what was happening with the first group, but we could hear yelling, cheering and rock music.

As the time approached for our shoot we were all a little nervous, however, we were briefed on the idea behind the shoot and were shown images as to what it would look like. We were asked by the photographer to scream and shout as if we “were in a pub watching the grand final and the Dockers just won.”

After numerous shots at different angles and in different positions the photographer was finally happy and it was “a wrap!”

It was a really cool experience to be involved in a photo shoot, especially because it was a full page spread in the West Australian.

Despite the little time, Kate pulled the massive shoot together and got it done overnight. This efficiency just goes to show that as a public relations practitioner, you need to be quick on your feet and very assertive – regardless of what might get thrown at you. This also reinforced what I’ve learnt in my PR units at uni i.e. that public relations practitioners need to be good problem solvers and must not panic when they are thrown in the deep end. It also reinforced that having a contingency plan is a must – e.g. in the case of the photo shoot, if something was to happen to the photographer, who would take the shot that was required by Saturday, or who would be in the shot if someone backed out. All these things need to be considered.  Kate was also really great at helping those being photographed relax and be less nervous as she was just lightening the situation by making jokes and being silly. This also goes to show that you need to be a good people person to be in public relations. This also reinforced what I learnt in my PR units that your communications skills and people skills are of utmost importance as this is really a key part of the job – to communicate.

I have attached the photo (me far left) from the Saturdays West Australian below. Sadly the Fremantle Dockers were not victorious over the weekend, but there’s always next year!

My First Day at Programmed!

Hi I’m Rebecca Melville and my internship is at Programmed. Programmed is not a PR firm and its communications are entirely internal – having a small communications department within their Burswood office with which I placed my internship.

However, though that sounds all well and good, it was not an easy journey to establish this public relations internship placement.

Being the a-grade procrastinator I am, I left finding a placement to very late and after sending many emails and after numerous phone calls I was still being let down. However, when I was just about to lose all hope I received an email from Rachael Cochrane, former Curtin gradate and Group Manager of Communications for Programmed. She asked me to come in for an interview the next day and after the daunting interview I finally placed an internship.

The first day at Programmed was interesting to say the least. After being shown around the office by Kate Sossi, Communications Administrator, I was taken to a luncheon event where Kevin Sheedy would be meeting with Programmed customers and managers.

Prior to the lunch, I had no idea who Kevin Sheedy was, though later I was filled in on the footy legends past.

The event was successful and it seemed that all the attendees had an enjoyable time. Post lunch I was given a few stories to write up for Programmed’s intranet. It was really cool to be thrown straight into to helping with event organisation and story writing. I wasn’t really sure what to expect of my first day at Programmed, but it was really enjoyable and gave me a lot of insight into the real world of public relations.

I was told that I will be taking photos and helping with the promotional stuff for Fremantle Dockers (especially during their successful season) so I’m really looking forward to this.

Will keep you posted on how the rest of my internship goes!