Grateful Monday!

It’s Monday today, and I just thought of something very meaningful and unforgettable while I was interning at Go International Group. Every Monday, we will have a meeting just to recap on the tasks that we have accomplish during the previous week. The things that we discussed could be the ups and downs when working, the challenges that we face when completing a task, and many more. Regardless of the challenges that us colleagues face during the previous week or even the previous week, we are always grateful on what we have learned regardless dealing with external parties or internally among us colleagues.

One of the things that I admire the most about this company is that, whatever mistakes we do, we all help each other out to fix what we have done wrong. It is because we are such a small family, we really have each other’s backs like family members. It’s not all about getting our work done, and that it’s totally on our own plates. We will always try to help one another based on whatever knowledge we have learnt. I feel like, the caring culture is very much build in this company, and I’m so grateful of that. Hence the company’s motto, “Sharing of Insights, Integrity, Love, and Valour” – their motto truly reflects how the people are in the company.

                            

Okay, back to the main point, every week we’ll sit down and have a meeting on Mondays, and during that meeting, we will all share with each other on what we are grateful of, and this is a tradition in the company, they call it “The Grateful Monday”. Every single time when it reaches my turn to share about what I’m grateful of, I will always answer the same old boring thing, which is “I’m grateful of every single thing in life”. I appreciate to have interned with my amazing colleagues, grateful to be given the opportunity to work in the company, grateful that I am learning, I could go on and on, it’s endless. Therefore, I truly appreciate of the littlest things that I am able to learn in life. “The Grateful Monday” tradition is such a wonderful thing!

xx

Till the next post :)

Noor Alina Hazeman

17894494/7E4A3053

Curtin University Sarawak

Companies, clients, organisations & non-profit organisations!

Greetings fellow readers!

Throughout my time of interning at Go International Group, these are some of the companies and non/profit organisations clients that we have worked with. 

                                         

                                                                 Freshly Squeezed Water

My colleagues and I prepared a proposal for the company above to collaborate with Vitev Alkaline Water. The purpose of the powerpoint proposal is to create a corporate video promoting the benefits of alkaline water in our daily lives, and basically to remind the mass public how important water is in our lives. While going through the objective of the corporate video's process, the objective, the target audience, the technical procedures, the concept and idea of the video, it all really reminded me very much of the unit I've enrolled previously, called Corporate Documentary Screenwriting. Therefore, I applied what I've learn from that unit into the proposal.

                                       

                                                                        Heng Hiap Group

This is one interesting company that we've proposed with. A gist of the company : It's a recycle company that could turn plastics or wastes to biodiesel! How cool is that? So the purpose of the proposal that we've done for them is to promote awareness about the benefits of recycle and to promote the company itself. Heng Hiap is located in Johor Bahru, and apparently, they're not quite known in Malaysia. So, we proposed to them to promote themselves through the power of social media, and when we were doing this, the PR unit called Transmedia Storytelling that I've enrolled previous semester came into my mind. I applied all the social media strategies that I've learnt previously into the proposal. FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram you name it!

                                                    

                                                      Second Chance Animal Society 

Second Chance Animal Society is one organisation that I was extra passionate when getting involved in it. It's got to do with dogs, and I love dogs! As mentioned in my first post, that I not only got involved in PR-related work, but also other things such as website development. As for this organisation, we proposed a revamp for their website. I attended the meeting with the clients of the organisation with Nikki. 

                                      

                                                                 SkimGuard

Skimguard is a 24/7 protection against the threat of identity theft and fraudulent credit card transactions. For this, my colleagues and I also proposed an idea and concept to create a short corporate video.

                                          

                                                            The Global Student

Jan Drew, the founder of The Global Student is a friend of Nikki. What we proposed to the organisation is also a revamp for their website. My colleagues and I had a meeting with Jan Drew through skype, and my goodness! That moment really reminded me of when my classmates and I were having a skype meeting in the class on the projector with our client, Mr. Oswald Braken from the Sarawak Forestry working for the Piasau Nature Reserve project for Transmedia Storytelling and PR Planning & Evaluation units! Except that this time, we were having the meeting through the laptop's screen and not the projector. It was indeed memorable!

                                                    

                                          myMERCYrun2016 from Mercy Malaysia

Go International Group has been collaborating with Mercy Malaysia for years now and this is currently their third time collaborating together for the fun run called myMERCYrun. This year's theme is different than the previous years' theme as this one is super hero-related! For this organisation, I helped out with preparing the proposal to propose to Perbadanan Putrajaya (Putrajaya Corporation) to have the run there. Unfortunately, the location we wanted to use in Putrajaya is fully occupied on our preferred date and time as it clashes with other running event. So we had to use an alternative location, which is Padang Merbok, the same location as the fun run was held the previous year. 

                                       

                                                              Attiva Hair Beauty

Attiva Hair Beauty is one of the clients that my colleagues and I proposed an idea to revamp their current website too, benchmarking on successful hair product websites such as Tresme.

                             

                                                Possum Removal by Possum Busters

Possum Removal is an Australian company that specifically offers the service to remove possums from homes. The proposal that my colleagues and I prepared for the company is also a proposal revamping their website. 

In a nutshell, dealing with clients in the real world ain't easy as I thought, it's indeed interesting meeting clients, and working together with my colleagues on brainstorming for ideas! Scroll down for some pictures! :P

SECOND CHANCE ANIMAL SHELTER

Meeting with clients from Second Chance Animal Shelter to propose our ideas of revamping their website

We set the meeting at one of the cafes in Kelana Jaya

MYMERCYRUN 2016

From left, myself, Suhaili from Mercy Malaysia, and Nikki my employer. We were scouting for locations in Putrajaya for the third myMERCYrun event.

Suhaili and Nikki scouting for locations.

The location we went was specifically Taman Wetland (Wetland Park) in Putrajaya.

One of the trails

More trails

Beautiful view 

That's the Putrajaya Mosque, it's one of the beautiful mosque in Malaysia

Hey hey Putrajaya, I was in the car while snapping this and Nikki drove. Putrajaya is such a beautiful place, a must for tourists to visit. What am I doing here? Marketing? Tourism, promoting? LOL! Okay back to PR. Anyway, it's unfortunate that myMERCYrun 2016 won't be held at this location due to the clashing with other running events, but it's alright, Padang Merbok has always been the welcoming place for myMERCYrun!

xx

Cheers

Noor Alina Hazeman

17894494/7E4A3053

Curtin University Sarawak

Writing requires research, and through research, we grow!

AS I'M TYPING THIS, I JUST WANNA LET YA'LL KNOW THAT I MISS INTERNING!

So anyways....

Go International Group is a company which is also growing towards a fitness website called Asia Fitness Today. The website (www.asiafitnesstoday.com) is currently still being developed by their current software technicians. As I came in on the 7th December 2015, my PR task was to write articles anything regarding health and fitness that's to be published on their website. I was given categories of articles that needs to be completed within the time given.

                                        

The articles I wrote we about things such as :

• Healthy food
• Balance meals daily
• Healthy breakfast
• Top 10 healthy food in Malaysia
• The best exercise for pregnant women
• The importance of fitness
• Fitness apparels
• Ways to a healthier lifestyle
• Quick workouts at the office
• The benefits of running
• Warm up & cool down stretches

When I was in the process of writing these articles, I realized that I was actually trying to live a healthier lifestyle at home, and started sharing health and fitness information with my family. LOL! Nikki (my employer), is a fitness enthusiast and an athlete, she is a runner. I am a person who just hates running, but working with Nikki has actually motivated and inspired me to start running. I may not run like an athlete, or as good as my employer, but I do run once in a while in a week! 

What I enjoyed the most when writing these articles is when I'm looking for sources, of course, yes I will go through google to get some ideas and such. But I'll also tend to break the silence in the office by asking my colleagues on their preference of healthy living lifestyle, workouts and what ever that's related to health and fitness. To me, I find that moment fun and meaningful even if it was just 10 minutes. Well, I appreciate moments in general!  

Other than writing articles for Asia Fitness Today, I've also written articles for Running Malaysia Magazine regarding the benefits of running particularly for women. I remembered, when Nikki (my employer), was asking me a favour to draft out an article for six different topics and it was all related to the benefits of women running. 

One of the topics were about the physiological differences between men and women. For this, the research I found was simply amazing, the information I found out about the differences between men and women's body truly brought me back to high school, in science class, just more in depth. It made me understand that the physiological differences between men and women actually affects the running performance and it is a disadvantage for women due to their menstrual cycle that they have to go through every month. I've understood better that throughout our (us women) menstrual cycle, there is a certain phase that is more suitable to run. Since we have at least four different phases which includes phases of menstrual, follicular, ovulation and luteal. The best phase to begin train and running is during our follicular phase! Okay that's enough, won't want this post to suddenly be a science topic! LOL

The other topic that I want to highlight on is about Pregnancy & Running and also Menopause & Running. When I did the research on Pregnancy & Running, it totally changes my perspective if I ever see a pregnant women running. I never thought running would actually be beneficial for pregnant women. It has always been in my head that it would be dangerous for pregnant women to be running! It brings lots of benefit to women who're pregnant actually, it improves their sleep quality, lessen their back pain and a lot more. But of course, it's only advisable to run at a certain period during their pregnancy. Whereas for Menopause & Running, is also another fact that interest me when writing the article. It implies that it's always good to run even though you've gone through menopausal stages. I never though running could bring such benefit! And now I know! 

Running Malaysia approved the idea of publishing the benefits for women to run in their magazine. Although there are six topics, I didn't manage to complete all of them, as there was not enough time, though I have done research for the topics. 

Besides that, I've also written executive summaries for a proposal which involves Borneo Innovation and Campus Party. Not to forget that I have also written an application letter to Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) to extend the time of the Street Fighter 5's launching.

Besides writing all the above, when I came in to work with Go International Group, keep each of my colleagues updated by writing the minutes of meeting every week. Sometimes, I feel like I'm the secretary of the company! LOL

All in all, writing requires research, and through research, we grow! Learn, grow, inspire. Till the next post! x

Cheers

Noor Alina Hazeman

17894494/7E4A3053

Curtin University Sarawak

Internship life of Alina

Hello everyone!

Let me introduce myself, my name is Alina, and I'm currently studying in Curtin Sarawak's campus, and I am a final year student here. I decided not to upload a photo of just me alone, because I feel that, that would be.. Awkward..

So here's a photo of me and my team last semester during Transmedia Storytelling! It was taken after the Crisis Simulation exercise. From left we have Melanie (the most front), Roy, Ajeng, Sufrina, June, me Alina yes the most excited-looking one, and Stevenson behind me.

My placement of internship was with Go International Group. I applied for at least 33 different companies, but only 6 of them called me for interview. Long story cut short, I chose Go International Group to intern with in the end. The process of going through job interviews was indeed an interesting experience!

Company : Go International Group 

Duration of internship : 7th December 2015 until 19th February 2016 (2.5 months)

Yes, I was done with my internship on the 19th February, and I did not update a single thing in here about my life of interning? Oh my dear me! Such a typical procrastinating student I am. But hey, I am actually excited to share with all of you about my internship life, although I'm done interning. Although I have not been updating my PR Internship blog, let me assure you all that I jot down my daily routine and activities while I was at work. 

My life of interning has been an amazing experience, I have learned more than what I should. Not just in terms of PR-related, but it was beyond that. I am truly grateful to be a part of the Go International Group family even though it was just for a duration of 2.5 months with them. 

Go International Group is a small company who deals with big projects with big companies. They are not a pure Public Relations agency/company. This company handles beyond that. They deal with :

1. Public Relations

        2. Creative Technology

                  3. Marketing Communication

                  4. Brand Activation & Events

   5. Digital Activation

           6. Creative Design Studio

Let me sum up on what I have done throughout my internship. 

• Writing articles
• PR & Marketing strategy proposal for clients 
• Website revamp & rebuild
• Writing media releases
• Graphic designing 
• Minor event management 

I will go into detail on what I have worked on according to each category above in my upcoming blog posts :)

Moving on, throughout my interview journey with various companies, for some good reason, I felt welcomed the most with Go International Group. My boss (Jasmine), was just so kind and friendly. Before going for interview, I was actually prepared at least 5 days earlier. I was nervous, I actually went on google to look for the top interview questions that employer would ask. I really thought everything was going to be formal. But I was wrong! Everything was just so chilled and informal, and just so relaxed! There was no questions like "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" asked by the employers of interviews that I went through. When I went for the interviews, I brought my laptop, my portfolio, and another file where I include my name cards, and resume. Throughout all the companies that I went for interviews, I felt the most comfortable with Jasmine (my employer), because we were really chatting with each other, and the interview went on for almost an hour! 

Go International Group's office is located in Kuala Lumpur. The office is in a town house, it's really cute. When I started working with them, I only met Jasmine and Nikki (both are my bosses), and 2 other employees by the name of Yudishtra & Shafeeq. I was the one and only intern then. As I have mentioned, it is a small company. :)

But it was only the first week that I got to spend some time with Jasmine in the office. She had to leave the following week to Sydney to expand Go International Group, and she will be in Sydney until April. And so it was only Nikki, Shafeeq, Yudishtra and myself left in the office. 

From left : Yudishtra, Jasmine, Nikki, me Alina, & Shafeeq

I rock 'n' roll like my tummy roll!

Okay that was random. No not really random, because there is a tummy roll in this photo and I own it so I rock. Excuuuuuuuse my lame-ness, people. And also, please excuse Shafeeq's awkward pose, because he had to bend his knees a little to be in this photo. He's too tall, and his head was actually cropped out from the photo if he doesn't bend his knees. This photo was taken on Jasmine's last day with us in the office. She was leaving to Sydney that night itself. 

- 31st December 2015 -

It was Yudishtra's last day with the company and I was actually sad! :( He really helped me a lot throughout my internship. He was the one who guided me most of the time, and I am really thankful for that. Then it was only Shafeeq, Nikki & myself left in the office. So Nikki decided to have a photo with all of us in it.

From left : Yudishtra, Mr. Lawrence (Jasmine's dad, he comes to the office regularly to help out with data researches), Nikki and myself

QUICK UPDATES!

- 4th January 2016 -

The new interns came in! There were 2 of them, Alvin & Thina. 

- 12th January 2016 - 

Another new intern came in, Belle! So now, there's Shafeeq, Nikki, Alvin, Thina, Belle and myself. Now the office is getting more merrier with more people! :D 

- 26th January 2016 - 

We all reunited with Yudishtra during lunch! 

From left : Alvin, Belle, Shafeeq (at the back), Thina, and me! And Yudishtra the most front!

Just a heads up that my blog posts will be from the recent activities that I have done throughout my internship to the oldest updates ever since I started interning. More updates coming up soon! x

Noor Alina Hazeman

17894494/7E4A3053

Curtin University Sarawak

Public Relations Internship Helps Me on Path to Public Relations Career

Hi everyone! This is my last blog post for Public Relations Internship 393. In my last blog post I am going to summarize the lessons gained from my internship at Edelman Kuala Lumpur. 

In the first week of my internship, I did an induction programme which introduced me to public relations practices, the company, rules and regulations of the company, and ethical practices at the workplace. 

After two weeks of my internship, I started to do media monitoring every morning once I arrived at the office. I had to update my supervisor regarding news related to the clients that the consumer team is working for. I like doing media monitoring because it could enhance my interests in reading newspaper and widen my knowledge on current issues. 

Besides, I also learned how to calculate PR value. The formula used to calculate the PR value of an article is as follows:

Article’s Height x Article’s Width (columns) x  Casual Rate + Color Cost = Advertising Value Equivalents (AVEs)

AVEs x 3 = PR value

I used a book called Media Planning Guide Malaysia 2013 while calculating the PR value of an article. The columns, casual rate, and colour rate are derived from this book.

On the other hand, I also learned how to calculate the blog and Tweeter level. In order to calculate the blog level, we use a tool called BlogLevel. We use TweetLevel to calculate the Twitter level.

For more information about BlogLevel, please visit: http://bloglevel.edelman.com/

For more information about TweetLevel, please visit: http://tweetlevel.edelman.com/

I also came across a news monitoring company called News & Ads Monitoring Agency (nama) which offers complete coverage of top media outlets in Malaysia. My company is engaged with this agency in order to get the latest news updates of our clients.

For more information about nama, please visit: http://www.namaasia.com/

Moreover, I helped my team in doing monthly news reports for our clients. I did monthly reports for UNIQLO and Danone Dumex. For UNIQLO, I was required to compile monthly news reports regarding the company in order to evaluate the total stories covered by different media and to determine the total PR value generated throughout the month. For Danone Dumex it is different. I was required to compile monthly reports regarding the company itself and its competitors. PR monthly reports are important because they evaluate our clients media coverage and determine the total PR value of the news stories regarding our clients and their competitors. The report must be submitted to my supervisor at the end of the month for a review. 

It was interesting to learn how to calculate PR value and do monthly news reports for our clients. As a PR practitioner, it is important to know how to prepare monthly reports for clients. Different clients demand for different things. Some clients they require us to prepare weekly reports while some they require monthly reports.

Every once or twice a month, my company will have online meetings with the leaders and staffs from different offices around the world. It was a good opportunity for me to experience how the leaders and employees interact and exchange thoughts among themselves.

As mentioned in my earlier blog post, I have learned how to make media calls and do media drops to different media outlets. I also went to our clients’ events with the team. All of these allowed me to learn how a Public Relations practitioner should do to interact and build relationships with the media. It also improved my interaction skills. 

Working in this big company was really a real life challenging experience for me. The company is too fast pace and working hours are not predictable. Most of the time I had to work overtime. It was my first time working overtime and it was a challenge for me. I had to be able to manage my time wisely and strategically. However, this challenge could instill my discipline and train me to be more patient.

I have learned about the importance of culture in multinational companies in PR International unit in university. My company consists of employees from different cultures. I found it interesting but challenging to communicate and build relationships with colleagues from different cultures. During my internship, I have gained knowledge on how to detect and deal with relevant cultural differences. I also learned how to adapt to different cultures for more effective personal and business interactions. 

Another knowledge that I have gained is that the success of a project relies on the team. Therefore, it is very important to be friend with one another, share experiences, exchange ideas, and work on the projects together. During my internship, I took part in brainstorming sessions with my team. From the brainstorming sessions, I have learned how to improve my communication skills and level of adaptability. I also became more confident in offering ideas and not to be shy in asking questions as well as develop creative thinking skills.

After this three-month internship at Edelman Kuala Lumpur, I have gained robust experience and found my passion in public relations. I have gained relevant, hands-on-experience, confidence, and professionalism. The internship also encouraged me to see each challenge as a prospect for learning and not allowing my mistakes to diminish my confidence. I have also learned about the importance of being pro-active in the workplace.

It was a real eye opening experience to do my internship with this public relations firm. It was the most memorable experience in my life. There are always ups and downs during an internship, but those are part of learning process. 

It is understood that internships do not promise full time jobs. However, internships are very advantageous as they help you to have a better understanding of who you are, your strengths, your weaknesses where you need to improve and the type of management styles that are suitable for you. Internships also help you to learn on multiple levels and lead you down a certain career path and they are meant to give students transferable skills, knowledge and larger professional networks. 

Last but not the least, I would like to thank Curtin University for giving Public Relations students a chance to do internships. It is really a good opportunity for students to learn and improve. I was so lucky to have the opportunity to do my internship at the world's top PR firm. I hope what I have shared with you can encourage you to do internships. Trust me, after internships you will improve yourself in different areas.

Thank you for reading and giving comments. Good luck to all of you and be strong whenever you face any challenges in your internship. 

Dorine Lau

Curtin University Sarawak

16341436/ 7E2A9744

Great Experience in Doing Media Calls

I believe most of you have heard of doing follow-up calls or media call-downs to the media. For those who did follow-up calls before, did you really enjoy doing it? 

For me, I enjoyed doing it, but I found it quite challenging. I was asked to do the follow-up calls on the second week of my internship. It was my first time doing media call-downs. I made more than 20 phone calls to media outlets for the first time. Before I started my first media call to the media, I prepared a short script to pitch the story to the media. In the beginning, I was quite nervous and I was afraid that I might be interrupting the editors.  

Sometimes I made more than 50 phone calls to media outlets and it was extremely fun because I got to speak to them and build relationship with the media. After several times calling the media, some of them remembered me. 

However, doing follow-up calls to the media can be challenging. Sometimes it was hard for me to reach the editors or reporters as they might have gone out for their assignments. I also received different responses from them. Some of them might not be interested to carry the story while some of them might just hang up the phone even though I have not finished asking them. Those responses put me in a dilemma whether I should continue to follow up or not. I was advised not to follow up the next day, otherwise it would annoy them. From what I have learnt in PR Media Relations 250, a PR practitioner needs to build good relationships with the media because we need them to carry our clients' stories. Hence, it is crucial to remember not to annoy the media, especially when they are busy or when they are on deadlines. Therefore, I followed up with the media three days after the last call and spoke nicely and politely to them. Luckily it worked.

I had to make sure that I called the targeted media at the right time and looked for the right editor or journalist from the right department. During the media calls, the first thing that I usually did was to introduce myself and my organization. Then asked the media if they managed to receive the email or media release. If they told me they did not receive any email or media release from my organization, I had to resend them the media release and follow up with them. If they said they received it, I had to ask them if they would be interested to carry the story. Lastly, I asked if they needed any more information or photos.

When sending out an email or media release to the media, I had to make sure the name of the editor is spelled correctly. I also had to ensure that media release sent out was the right one and completely attached with photos if required. 

Here I have some useful tips for doing follow-up calls to the media.

• Target the right media to carry your story.
• Know well your target media and the editors or journalists.
• Know the right time to call the media.
• Prepare script and understand the story so that you are more prepared to respond towards the editor's or journalist's questions. 
• Always introduce yourself and your organization and sounds polite.
• Be patient. Some of the editors or journalists might hang up your call, but remember they are busy. 

It was a great experience for me. I learned how to be more patient when dealing with the busy editors or journalists. Do not be fearful of doing follow-up calls to the media. It is a great opportunity for us to learn how to build good communication skills and learn not to be shy to talk to the media in phone calls. 

Dorine Lau

16341436/ 7E2A9744

Curtin University Sarawak

The Good Spirit of Sharing and Caring for the Community

In concluding the month long Chinese New Year celebrations, one of Edelman Kuala Lumpur’s clients, Pavilion KL hosted a Fortune Meets Love Chap Goh Mei Charity event. As a part of its ongoing efforts to raise funds for the unfortunate and provide a platform for the community to engage in a worthy charity like this, Pavilion KL gave opportunities for shoppers, business partners and tenants to adopt the Fortune Horses.

All the funds raised will be donated to needy charity organizations across Malaysia. These include Tiratana Welfare Society Malaysia, Rumah Seri Kenangan Kedah, Tiam Yam Toh Teng Old Folk's Home, Caring Old Folks Home and Beringin Park Old Folk's Home. Pavilion KL's retailers pledged RM1,688 for a pair of horses while shoppers donated a minimum of RM100 per horse. 

Before the event, there were several important things that my colleagues and I needed to do. The first thing was to send out the invitations to the targeted media. I looked for the contact details of the targeted media. My colleague sent invitations to the targeted media via emails. A day after the invitations were sent out, I was in charge of making media call downs to ensure that they managed to receive the invitations. Apart from sending invitations through emails, my colleagues and I also did media drops to the targeted media. It was my first time experiencing media drops and it was fun a interesting! A day before the media visits, I made media call downs to inform them about the media visits.

We visited the targeted media and dropped off the paper mache horses together with the invitation cards for the targeted editors. It is important to provide correct information and be polite to the media. From what I have observed, doing media drops are more effective than just sending out invitations through emails and making calls to the media. This is because they feel more of our sincerities and they feel appreciated. This is also a good way to build relationships with the media.

Two days before the event, I made media call downs to get RSVP to the event. Making call downs to get their RSVP was quite challenging because some of them were only able to give their confirmation a night before the event while some were only able to give their confirmation a few hours before the event.

On the day of the event at Pavilion KL, two of my colleagues and I were in charge of the media registration booth. We greeted the media and bloggers who came to the event. After they registered themselves, we gave them the media kits and goody bags. It is also very significant to practice the right etiquette while giving them the media kits and goody bags. We should always smile and be well-mannered.

Fortune Meets Love Chap Goh Mei at Pavilion KL ended successfully with the energetic and lively drums and lion dance performances. 

After the event, I did the event debrief with my colleagues. I learned that it is crucial to do an event debrief after every event. From the event debrief we are able to understand the highlights and lowlights of the event. After understanding the lowlights of one event, PR practitioners are able to improve in different ways in order to make the next event better.

In PR Corporate 360 I have learned that it is very important for a company to build strong reputation because reputation is an important asset that maintains any corporation’s sustainability. The charity event was part of Pavilion KL's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program. In short, Pavilion KL is not only contributing to its society but also helping itself in maintaining good reputation.

I am very grateful to have this opportunity to attend the event as I gained a great and memorable experience from it. 

Dorine Lau

16341436/ 7E2A9744

Curtin University Sarawak

Dove Media and Blogger Engagement

I am so excited to share my experience during my Public Relations internship at Edelman Kuala Lumpur. It has been great to work with the consumer team. After two weeks of joining the team, I was given the opportunity to attend one of our clients' event. On 17 December 2013, Dove introduced its new Intense Repair range at Botanical Garden in Bangsar Village II. This new Dove Intense Repair range seeks to empower women to enjoy the freedom to carry out their daily hair routines without worrying about the damage they cause because Dove Intense Repair range will take care of the hair at a cellular level. Therefore, Dove hosted an intimate engagement with several selected lifestyle and beauty media and bloggers in order to launch this revolutionary product. 

The day before I went to the event, I was advised to wear the right attire that matches Dove's theme. It is important for Public Relations practitioners to dress appropriately when attending clients' events. I was also suggested on how to interact correctly and effectively with our clients and the media during the effect. As professional Public Relations practitioners, we should always bear in mind that it is very crucial to maintain our image at a tip-top condition at any event.

The event consisted of two sessions. Media engagement took place in the afternoon from 3PM to 5.30PM while blogger engagement took place from 6.30PM until 9PM. During the event, I was in charge of the media registration booth. My colleagues and I reached the venue one hour earlier to prepare ourselves. I prepared the media kits and slotted the printed press releases into the media kits. The press releases were printed in three languages: English, Malay and Chinese. 

At the registration booth, I had to ensure that every member of the media and bloggers who came registered themselves and provide their details. It was my first time greeting the media and bloggers as well as distributing media kits and goody bags to them. As what I have learned in Public Relations Media Relations 250, it is important to prepare media kits to the media. Media kits are distributed in order to give succinct information members of the media. 

I have gained several lessons from this participation. As a Public Relations practitioner, we should never fail to greet the attendees politely and warmly upon their arrival at the event. Another important tip that we should never forget is to exchange our business cards with them. The best time to start the journey to a lasting relationship with the media and bloggers is when we are introducing each other for the first time. Therefore, exchanging business cards with them provide prospects with a way to contact each other. This is also vital in case we are unable to read or understand their handwriting in the registration booklets. At this point, their business cards will be useful for us as reference. 

Before each session ended, the media and bloggers were invited to have tea break. It was the greatest opportunity for me to learn how to bond relationships with the media and bloggers. It was interesting to see how my team lead and supervisors communicate with them.

Here are some important tips that I have learned throughout the event.

Dos

• Do sound passionate about your business and show great enthusiastic spirit.
• Do smile and make eye contact.
• Do watch your pace of speaking, especially with non-native English speakers.
• Do give feedback and acknowledge someone speaking to you with small gestures like a nod of affirmation.

Don'ts

• Do not say anything that you don't want to see in print, or hear on broadcast at any time.
• Never mention the competitors by their name.
• Do not make any comment on competitors.
• Do not be occupied with your cell phone during an event. You should devote your full attention to the event, not the phone.
• Do not be late.

Overall, it was tiring but worth it because I have gained several useful experiences from this event. The experiences acquired from this event were useful to improve my communication skills and understanding on the right ways to communicate and build relationships with the media and bloggers.

I feel so grateful and lucky to be given the chance to follow my team to the event. 

Dorine Lau
16341436/ 7E2A9744
Curtin University Sarawak