So I have completed my internship and I can’t help but feel
both excited and sad. Most of all I feel grateful that I got to work in such a
great organization where I have learned so much. There are also some lessons
which I have taken away from my experience which I would love to share.
Firstly, it was lovely to be apart of the small team of five at
the Blue Room. Everyone was friendly and supportive, and I was lucky to be
included in a number of Blue Room traditions, such as Cake Fridays and enjoying
a few rounds of Trivial Pursuit (honestly, what more could you want from
internship!)
I have been able to be involved in a number of great tasks and
initiatives, such as fundraising campaigns, sustainability programs, media
release writing, social media management and event planning. I have also gotten
a taste of the necessary, yet not as fun tasks such as database and CRM
management, media monitoring, brochure distribution and a few other jobs which
I’m sure all interns are familiar with (coffee runs, licking envelopes, all
though I didn’t mind!)
Managing the publicity for a small organisation with a tight
budget has a number of challenges, which is something I have come to learn
first-hand at my internship.
Working at The Blue Room Theatre, a small, independent theatre
in Northbridge, I am constantly amazed at how they are able to achieve such
great coverage and promotional material on a small budget. A lot of our time is
spent brainstorming creative ideas, including a Hawaiian-wedding-themed season
launch (which was a lot of fun to be part of!), then brainstorming ways to pull
this off while spending as little as possible.
Because of this tight budget, both the marketing a public
relations responsibilities are combined within the organisation. Therefore, a
challenge of mine was to differentiate between the two and to determine exactly
how PR can impact an organisation.
The most crucial tasks which I have been involved in, including
media relations, social media management, sponsorship, website development and
event management, can be considered to be PR roles. Furthermore, the success of
the organisation is largely dependent on these tasks being carried out
effectively.
My experience has allowed me to see first hand just how
valuable PR is to The Blue Room, and I would be extremely interested to
discover how this can change in larger organisations, something I hopefully can
find out in my future career.
