The final hurdle: A successful event

As an intern at Curtin University, I was fortunate enough to be apart of the annual John Curtin Medals Ceremony for 2015. Wow, was this an amazing experience! Each year the ceremony awards individuals for their outstanding contributions to the community within their chosen field. One of the 2015 recipients was Kaye Brand, the founder of Fibromyalgia Western Australia Inc.

After witnessing the event in its entirety, I could have never anticipated how special and emotionally charged the ceremony was going to be. It was nothing like I had ever experienced before. It was refreshing but also a huge learning curve for me as I plan my future in events management.

The preparation that went into the event was quite stressful and daunting, but after seeing it all come together it was definitely worth it. For the event I was involved in the formation of the slide show, the order of proceedings and the briefing documentation. From this process, I have learnt you can never be too organised or too prepared because in events management something can go wrong in the blink of an eye.

What surprised me the most about this event, was not the set up, the perfect flower arrangement or the catering selection. In fact, it was the minor details that made the event for me. As students we are often too caught up in having the perfect order of proceedings that we forget about the ‘nitty gritty’ elements that make an event so special and memorable for those involved. Personally it was the celebration of cultural diversity and aboriginal history that made the ceremony so memorable for me.

As apart of the formal proceedings the events department incorporated a ‘Welcome to Country’. The ‘Welcome to Country’, usually preformed by Simon Forrest, is an aboriginal blessing that acknowledges the traditional owners of the land in which Curtin Bentley is sited. Not sure what I mean? Check out the link below.

http://about.curtin.edu.au/welcome/traditional-aboriginal-welcome/

I have never seen this in an event before, but it was definitely an eye opener and added a nice touch to the formalities. I’m very thankful that I got to work on such an amazing and unique event. I will take a lot away from this experience as I begin my career in events management. I hope everyone else is enjoying their internship placements as much as me!

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