Testing my ideas and putting them into practice!

My first two weeks at Event and Conference CO. has made me feel that this internship has shaped my confidence. Gaining work experience in such a prestigious organisation has further strengthened my creativity skills, communication skills, and research & development skills. Throughout the Public Relations course of study I have gained an understanding that, a public relations graduate should strive for a set of specialized skills. These skills include strong communication skills, strong writing skills, international mindset, creativity, and an understanding of how communications theory and PR informs public relations practice. My goals are to develop all of these specialized skills by the end of my internship, and hopefully become an important asset to their organisation!  

Event and Conference co has been established since 2008, and have been highly successful in organizing over 450 events. Ranging from any event classification such as Gala Balls, Charity balls, Community events, Conferences, Award Ceremonies and the list goes on! 

Here is an image below of one of their events that they styled for a Gala Ball last year! Check out more of their talent @ Event and Conference CO

So far I have been able to test my PR knowledge and apply it to the real world of business! Throughout these past 2 weeks I have been able to work autonomously on several different tasks. I have been lucky enough to be involved with the planning stages of several corporate events such as:

• Blue Light Appeal Launch

• The Perth Tourism Industry Exchange Awards

• Creative workshop

• #INSTAMEET

• Leading the way in WA 

One of my very first task that I was assigned to was to research sponsorship grants in relation to the Blue Light Appeal Launch. I specifically researched sponsorship grants for Healthway and Lotteryest. However there is an in depth discussion and meaningful insights of this task stated within the report section (sponsorship).

Additional insights that I learnt when researching corporate sponsorship for events are:

1. Choosing the correct venue - Collaborate and include the sponsors when sourcing the right venue. Connect with each potential sponsor and ask how you can accommodate their needs. 
2. Identify the venue- As a team we all visited the venue and identified potential areas where banners,logo placement, and signs where a sponsor could advertise. 
3. Choosing the correct sponsors- you need to keep in mind that the potential sponsors' mission statement, organisational values, brand and attitude are align with your organisations long term business goals.There is no importance for both organisations if they do not share the same values. 
4. The proposal - This is written up by the Marketing and Operations Manager, Anna.There is a checklist of questions that she asks herself such as; What can I offer them in return for support? What can be offered and how to pitch our ideas to them the most effective way possible! 

The major highlights that I have been able to explore through these processes are how corporate sponsorship is developed. This has allowed me to think outside of the box and test my researching & development skills. I didn’t realize how much intense work is involved when establishing and maintaining community partnerships.

Previously in the Cross Cultural Communication unit I used sponsorship and event management as one of the major PR communication tactics for our PR communications plan. I researched that sponsorship can be one of the most expensive PR tactics used in an organisation, however if it is managed accurately it can be the most effective way to build community partnering. Significantly I feel there is only so much you can learn about sponsorship and event management within the scope of University.

I found it challenging when I had to research potential sponsors for these various events. Understanding sponsors needs such as their marketing and corporate objectives, how to effectively communicate to them, and measuring our organisations value to the sponsors. I had to work very closely with both my mentors Director, Events and Marketing specialist Rebecca Cole and Event and Operations Manager Anna Barker. Although I work autonomously the organisational environment is very team based, where most decisions are approved by the whole team before any systems are processed.

I have always been a motivated person in life, and I feel ready for any challenge that may be thrown my way! I am so excited to learn more about how Event & Conference Co apply their PR tactics and manage their events. 

Follow me on INSTAGRAM @siobhansmith to gain more of an insight of my work experience placement!

Stay tuned for next time guys!! 

Thank you 

~ Siobhan Smith ~

Final reflection and to a bright future!

I finished my placement! Now... What did I learn?

Firstly I feel a lot more confident in my ability to work in public relations. In particular I found the following areas have drastically improved:

• Professional social media management
• Communication skills (especially on the phone and to other professionals)
• Ability to write 
• Creativity 

But something that I didn't foresee to improve was my ability to identify problems and to create strategic and well thought out recommendations. For example, my placement drastically needs to improve their evaluation procedures. In particular, I recommended that they use tools such as Google Analytics to measure user interactivity with their website and social media platforms (primary Facebook).

Traditionally they would wait to see actual comments to measure how well they have done at an event. But using a free software could really give them a better insight about how to benefit the most from post timing, when users are active and other information.

My placement will also often stick to its strengths and despite desire to engage other stakeholders (e.g. University Students) they only saw a challenge in generating awareness. However, I believe creating a specialised event for University Students such as a quiz night or a collaborative event with local universities would be more effective than simply distributing general flyers or brochures.

Despite my eagerness to contribute towards innovative change I can understand their hesitation to take my suggestions onboard. I am after all just an intern. However, I really do hope that they put aside their resistance to change and implement my recommendations. However, I feel that this experience regardless of the outcome has given me an opportunity to communicate to future employers that I have demonstrated an interest in innovation and strive for better public relations practice. I may help to improve their competitive advantage!

Has anyone else struggled to have their opinions truly recognised due to their position as an unpaid intern? Please comment below

Good luck in the future with all your ambitions!

Jared

Jack of all trades

3 October 2014

I’m fast learning that it pays to up skill yourself! The more proficient photographer, photo editor, and stylist you are, the more likely you are to have articles published.

Meet Joan, an amazing 105-year-old woman, whom I had the pleasure of meeting and photographing for an online and local reporter, neither of whom could send their own photographer to cover the story. If I couldn’t send them photos and set up a telephone interview, the story would not be covered. I therefore had to coordinate the photocall and telephone interview for this story that resulted in it being published online. This story can be viewed at Aged Care Online.

Transferable skills

There is definitely such a thing as transferable skills. I am so fortunate to have previously studied and worked in various organisations over the years. The administration skills I’ve picked up have been invaluable, as have my photography skills. Having said that, I am yet to complete a photography course. But after my brief experience in the world of public relations, I’ve decided that this is a necessary skill to possess. I’m also looking into an advanced photo-editing and design short course – these skills are never wasted, in fact they are a massive advantage, especially in a boutique agency. I’ve learnt that my transferable skills are an asset.

My previously-mentioned promotion was largely attributed to the fact that I made a series of small changes to the day-to-day operations of the business, that resulted in time saved, which in consultancy, equals money saved. These changes were small yet necessary. My previous jobs have all incorporated elements of office management, and it was this previous experience/skill set that helped me recognised the need for the changes to be made and allowed me to make suggestions for improvement. Fortunately, my director recognised that there was a need for change and loved my suggestions for improvement, resulting in these changes being immediately implemented.

What I’ve learnt

Everything that I can do to develop my transferable skills and up skill myself is important. These skills will always provide me with an advantage in industry, especially when interviewing for jobs. A multi-skilled candidate is always a stand out, a more valuable addition to a team.

The art of triple checking

9 September 2014

I had to learn the hard way that the client can let you down.

Over the course of my internship I have started to take on a lot more client work for one of our biggest clients. However, the relationship is set up such that, the internal marketing team works with us, their consultancy, to come up with and organise stories that might be of interest to the media. The problem with this is that we often rely on them to play the ‘middle man’ and sometimes details are mistranslated or forgotten.

I’m fast learning that direct contact with the parties immediately involved in the media opportunity is necessary, especially when I’m responsible for liaising with the media regarding where and when media opportunities are occurring.

I was responsible for organising a photocall for an ice bucket challenge that our client was doing in memory of a resident who had passed away from ALS. I managed to secure a few local reporters who were interested in covering this story and part of my role was to coordinate the timing of their arrival, so that their photographers could capture pre, during and post event images. One day prior to the event I made email contact with the team leader organising the challenge at the site and confirmed the time and location that the challenge would take place. I then relayed this information to the reporters via email that afternoon, securing a time for them to attend the event the following day. I really thought I’d covered all bases to make sure this photocall ran smoothly.

However, this was not the case. There was a last minute change to the timing of the event – it was brought forward by an hour. Therefore the reporters arrived after the challenge had taken place, resulting in the photographer missing the photo opportunity and the reporter missing an interview opportunity.

Successful Outcome 

Fortunately, the story was still published. I received a call from the journalist who attended, informing me that the event had taken place earlier than advised and that they had missed the photo opportunity. Luckily I had a good relationship with the journalist and when I explained what had happened, they understood. To make it up to them, I managed to track down some images that had been taken at the centre and arranged for a telephone interview, so the story still ran.

What I learnt 

My first mistake was assuming that nothing would change from one day to the next and my second, was not triple checking everything the morning of the event.

Additionally, I learnt that although it’s in the best interest of our client to accommodate the media, the parties involved, for this particular client, are usually based in centres around Western Australia, not in head office, so they don’t understand the protocol when it comes to the changing of event timings, nor the value of not wasting a reporter’s time. I learnt that clients require explicit instructions – the process and consequences of not following this process need to be clearly explained to them, preferably by phone, rather than by email.

Finally, I learnt that relationship development is the most important aspect of public relations – with both the media and with clients. This is also best done in person or via telephone – emails are less personal.