GETTING
GOING
Like any other day at Go
Communications, I begin my days skimming through my daily newspaper- The Edge
Financial Daily and Malay Mail. It has become apparent that this seems to be
the crux of the intern’s responsibility. One thing that I have observed is a)
the mass waste of paper from creating templates and b) the process seems to be
quite inefficient and consuming. Considering this, it has become apparent just
how anal and demanding particular clients can be. Particular clients would even
demand all clippings (press, competition and industry) before lunch at 12pm,
mostly these were larger clients, in which we were clipping perhaps an average
of 20 or more clippings a day.
Through this practice it
has proven to me what an influential role media plays in public relations in
shaping and forming our roles on a daily basis. It has also brought to light
how patience is a virtue, and one must comply with client needs and demands.
FIRCROFT AND TANJUNG OFFSHORE JOINT VENTURE
In the past week, my team,
Vertical, has been working towards the joint venture signing between Fircroft
and Tanjung Offshore Sdn Bhd. The purpose of the event was to publicise
Fircroft’s expansion into South East Asia, through an official signing ceremony
between Fircroft CEO Johnathon Johnson and Tanjung Managing Director, Datuk
Harzani Azmi.
Fircroft is a world
leader in technical recruitment services of the highest quality and standard-
providing specialised skilled workers to the industry. Tanjung Offshore is a
service provider for the oil and gas industry. They provide customised engineered
equipment packages, drilling & platform services, project management of
contracts, spares and parts for equipment and other related services.
Essentially the JV allows Fircroft a liscenece to operate in Malaysia.
PRECEDING THE EVENT
In the process of leading
up to the event, team Vertical initiated several conference calls with the
clients. Upon observation it became apparent that dealing and juggling between
the two entities could cause some difficulties in confirming information. It
definitely showed a sense of perhaps how blaze the attitude of the Malaysian
company was and how vital the JV was for Fircroft operations in Malayasia.
Prior
to the event on the 4th June, two weeks out from the event it was
announced in the press that shares of ‘TanjungOffshore suspended’. In
brief, it was speculated that Tanjung Offshore were to acquire equity shares in
Bourbon Offshore in a reverse takeover.
For further information on the outcome please visit:
Unfortunately this was not
information that was not disclosed between Tanjung Ofshore and Go
Communications, nor did they inform their JV Fircroft. Ultimately, this could
be forseen as damaging relationships and trust between the two parties
(Fircroft and Tanjung). It also was based on quite a bit of here-say, in no way
was the media managed effectively in this situation. Tanjung Offshore in no way
had come out to make a official statement or press release to comment on the
speculative rumours and how it would effect their company share value and position
in the market. Furthermore, it could be seen that this could damage the success
of the JV event between Fircroft and Tanjung Offshore, as key messages may get
lost in the swirl of the media frenzy.
Timing is key to the
running events, and everything is planned and prepared well in advance. In the
lead up I was required to produce a running sheet, I was super nervous about
this as at this stage I really had no details on the event and didn’t feel all
that familiar with the client or event. But, I gave it my best shot, and was
even surprised by my own abilities. I believe having previous experience in
events and a keen eye for detail really helped me in completing this task.
Completing this task
taught me:
a) To be more confident
in my own abilities
b) Always ask relevant
questions
c) Logically think and
plan the who, what, where, why and how
d) Always spell check
Having handed it over to
my supervisor I was surprised when I got it back for review that very few
changes were made to the running sheet. This made me ecstatic, pat on the back!
Media invites were sent
out the Friday prior to the event, Wednesday 18th June 2014.
Something that became apparent from other teams, is that you never really want
to send out media invites to far in advance as they get lost in the noise of
other events and daily news. Hence, becoming wasted time, resources and effort,
causing the team to do even more running about in securing media attendance.
Media calls are the bane
of my existence at Go Communications! I have now noticed just how ocker I
perhaps do sound, and how the Australian language slang is so apparent when
abroad.
Patience is a virtue,
especially granted in the situation of media calls, when you are trying to
follow up whether or not an editor or reporter has received your invite.
Getting past reception was already a task in itself when most receptionists I
could not understand or they could not understand me.
Lessons learnt:
1. Pronunciation and
articulation is essential for mutual understanding.
2. Know which desk and
whom you want to talk to.
3. Know which e-mail it
was sent to and perhaps gain further details on other writers or editors it
could be forwarded to.
4. Have a pitch prepared
– editors don’t have time for you, you are meaningless in the scale of things.
Sell the event to them and have all details ready.
ONE DAY TO GO!
With one day to go before
the event the manic and stress begins on finer details. Meeting with the client
was a key process, ensuring the client on the PR Plan that included a run
sheet, a Q&A Document and a speech and finer details. At this stage meeting
with the client at the Grand Hyatt in the centre of Kuala Lumper, was a
definite highlight, checkout the view below!
Having the opportunity to
sit on this meeting showed me just how fast and busy the business world is, and
how little time they make for you. I also learnt that have a guest or guests of
honor are key for events in Malaysia, they love a good name drop and gave the
companies an opportunity to officiate the JV. We also went over guest lists and
who were the key people to be attending. And never forget the finer details, at
this point neither company had organized a media backdrop which would include
importantly company branding, this would be a downfall as any picture published
would not have any recognisable company logo.
IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
Media calls, media calls
and more media calls, pretty sure by this stage I had no nails yet. We had
promised our client a minimum of at least 12 media to attend, but as a team
were really aiming for 20. It became apparent how tedious the process actually
is as we spent from 4 pm onwards-harassing newspaper. But, realistically no
editor or news desk assigns tasks from about 6:30 onwards, so it was a long
night ahead.
Much of my evening was
spent also tying maroon ribbon around the aluminum cases that held a branded
flash light, these were gifts for media and guests. I had around 100 to tie and
boy was that a gigantic task, luckily my fellow interns offered to stay back
and help me tie them and we powered on through. Had they not I think I would
have been at the office till the morning!
It was rather exciting
that I got to take the first media call that said they were accepting our
invitation, from there this really got the ball rolling. However, I was in the
office till 9.45pm confirming all media, by the end of the night we had
confirmed 20 media pax.
Knowing that I had to be
in Kuala Lumpur by 9am the following day and after the long day I had today,
really did guarantee a good nights sleep for me.
Felicity
16183049
