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
