The Drawing Board - Planning our Event!

 

The Drawing Board – Planning our event

 

Exciting times ahead! We are planning an event!

My internship at Channel 9 Perth has seen a lot of meetings and pitches but now we are putting our ideas and plans into action, creating an event! At Channel 9 everyone at the Perth offices have accepted me as a new addition to staff, never have I felt uncomfortable or unequal. This is why at the many meetings and brainstorming sessions we have had I am given opportunity to contribute ideas and add value, making this event doubly exciting for me!

The event in question is apart of a larger event called ‘Kids Wonderland’, which Channel 9 have partnered with Perth City to sponsor, the overall event is a 9 day carnival for kids and their families, with expected attendance of over 45,000 people! Channel 9’s involvement also includes running our own kids attraction to engage with the community but also to raise awareness of the launch for ‘The Voice 2016’. To start off with we brainstormed ideas, it was interesting to note that the head of marketing at Channel 9 still used white-boards all around his office to create idea maps, even with great technology available sometimes the simplest things are the best way to go. Criteria for this event was that we needed to make it a draw card for audiences at the event, fun for kids and of course Voice related. After a few different suggestions and working out the pros and cons we settled on creating a karaoke event for kids! We have plans to recreate the Voice stage and have cardboard cutouts of the famous judges for photos as well!

After deciding what we wanted to do for the event we then had to figure out what materials we would need, how much we wanted to spend and how we could best utilise the space we were allocated. To sort through this we sketched a rough version of the area, then we made a list of materials we already had, such as the stage backdrop, lights, tables and television. Then went on the hunt around the station to see what we could find, such as an appropriate sized stage, microphones and other items such as red carpet and bollards. Having then made an inventory of what we already had we started searching for what we needed, such as a karaoke machine and appropriate merchandise to give the kids as well.

Many emails and phone calls were made to get quotes on materials and meetings with merchandise providers were attended to see the most appropriate products to have designed. So now the stage we are at is we have an event, we have equipment, and we have materials in production which I can’t wait to see the final product for! Now all we need is guest appearances! So currently brainstorming some ‘Perthanalities’ who could get up on stage with the kids and make the event extra special, getting the Channel 9 brand out there, whilst creating awareness for the launch of ‘The Voice 2016’!

I can’t wait to share this experience with you all! Watch this space!

- Maddi

The snowball effect

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, WordPress, Myspace, Flickr, Google+, and blogger are just a few examples of social media in today’s society. Social media has revolutionised the way we interact with our colleagues, family and friends.  Communication is key in PR so it’s no wonder that some of the top PR companies have adapted to sociological change.  Social media ensures that the brands message keeps circulating, creating brand exposure and grabbing the attention of key influencers within that circle. Essentially it’s a snowball affect in the form of tweets and re -tweets. The bigger the snowball, the bigger the snowman and the more people that are exposed to your brand.

During my intern I have been working with social media analysts, learning that different clients want different outcomes from using social media, what McDonalds uses social media for is very different to what Finbar use social media for.  This week I was asked to research food bloggers in Perth to invite them to a McWrap activation, A common trending topic it was interesting to see how certain bloggers target specific audiences and palate types, while other bloggers focusing on food types and targeting their content to a certain demographics.  The way you construct your tweets, when you publish it and what you #hashtag inevitably work together to gain likes, re-tweets and interest. This activity was juxtaposed to the next job I was asked to do which was to research blogs in the construction industry.  Although I had an understanding of this industry – due to my previous architecture degree – I was amazed when I came across ordinary mums and homeowner’s blogging about their recent renovations. I think that with the hype surrounding renovations shows such as Reno Rumble and The Block more people are inclined to blog about their experience too. This was juxtaposed to corporate companies who blogged in a more formal manner about construction updates, and design tips.  I found it really interesting to see how social media can be used communicate in different mediums, and once again reaffirmed to me the importance of PR and social media.

 Having an extensive knowledge of social media has helped me utilise this tool to promote campaign messages and communicate between stakeholders. I truly believe that this knowledge of social media and PR is thanks to PR Techniques and Media Relations specifically. I feel that there is a strong presence of social media at my placement, where they even have their own Instagram page where client updates, events and exciting news is posted. And like a snowball again, this gains attention through likes an follows, the snowball grows and becomes a snowman and without knowing it the organisations Instagram page has almost become a platform for promoting themselves as a organisations, where their key messages and qualities are conveyed.

I look forward to hearing about your experiences with social media. 

Thanks

Georgia 

:)