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

Future Is Coming

I've had a very very VERY busy few weeks with the lead up to Future Music Festival and Good Life Festival coming up at a lightening speed pace. 

I have attended numerous events promoting future music and giving out tickets at these club promotions, I have begun the staffing and accreditation sheets for Future music trying to source all our staff both volunteer and paid and keeping up constant correspondence to make sure I have all their correct details and they know their role. This has been and is a long process, particularly making sure that all the Mellen staff will have the correct accreditation and have the right passes to enter the stages. 

We also recently had a Valentines day Promo where people would win VIP tickets to the festival as a gift from Future Music, this was fun to choose people from Perth as I got to choose a few people I knew who were extremely excited once they got their tickets. 

With all the O-days coming up, we have to have a stall to promote Future at those as well, so we have stalls at ECU, Curtin and UWA coming up. These will be our best promo opportunities to get our primary target market being university students to come to Future. We will also be selling the cheapest tickets at these stalls to entice the market. 

Our Future DJ competition is also coming up where we've had to invite Perth DJs to enter and they get to perform at Parker nightclub for a spot to play at a future stage. 

I've been told that on the day of Future that I will be the local Artist Liaison on the day. I'll have to send each artist to there designated stages and look after there riders ensuring they return back to me with there passes. So I have created my own local acts accreditation sheet to ensure everyone will get the right accreditation. Next week I'll also be making a run sheet so I know where I have to send which specific artist and at what time depending on the set list so everything runs to schedule. 

Next week I'll be in the office all week organising final staffing and accreditation. Sending emails to all my staff making sure they know when and where to arrive and they meet up with the right person. I'll also be meeting the local artist when they come into the office to collect their accreditation so they know what I look like on the day of the Festival. 

It's going to be a week of no sleep and I can't wait!!

Making the switch to marketing and interning from home

Hi guys,

Hope everyone is enjoying their internship, it really is such a great component of Curtin's PR course as it gives us students the opportunity to work in the PR industry, and I can say that I'm so happy that I chose an industry that I find exciting and enjoyable to work in.

So as mentioned previously I work at PR firm Savvy Creations who have just expanded to marketing as well. This leap has been both challenging and rewarding as I am now accumulating more skills and a greater understanding of the communications industry. For my task this week, I have been asked to create a brochure that will feature as part of Savvy Creations' media kit which will offer 3 PR and Marketing package deals for businesses and individuals . A few weeks prior to this, I was asked to research the types of services other marketing firms offered in order to incorporate those to the services we already provide. I found that a lot of marketing these days is based around the internet, whether that be e-marketing through email campaigns, web and logo design, merchandising or market research, many elements of PR transferred over to marketing. This made the task a lot easier as I could get a better understanding on how the two complement each other and which services could be of use to our package deals. With already having gathered the information on what types of marketing and PR services will be on offer for our introductory, intermediary and advanced packages, this will make the task a lot easier and will finish before the next scheduled meeting which will be held in a week's time.

Speaking of meetings, as Savvy Creations is independently run, it currently has no head quarters. This means that our meetings are held on location and us interns work from home. For the past 7 or so months that I have been interning, the meetings are quite structured and have to be to ensure that an efficient work environment is maintained. The meetings are held every 1.5-2 weeks depending on the size of the workload, and are scheduled in the mornings To start off with, we talk about any challenges we have had with the work or any comments regarding it, we go through each of our tasks and either have a printed copy to give to Sandra or e-mail her the work (either way, all work must be emailed to her). After this, Sandra goes over her current projects and clients, giving feedback on the previous week's work and runs us through what needs to be done for the upcoming week. She then allocates work loads. With two interns, me being a PR student and the other who is a Marketing student, our tasks are designated to suit our skills. Sandra runs over the things she would like me to do, discussing the specifics of each tasks which I will ask questions so I can fully grasp what needs to be achieved. This routine is something I have gotten very familiar with over the course of the internship, however, requires lots of communication and mutual understanding as the work is done from home.

Completing the tasks from home is something that I have never experienced before, but it has made balancing uni life and a part time job so much easier. It allows me to complete the work at a time that suits me, but also requires a lot of motivation in order to complete the work on time to a high degree. This is because you don't have to leave the house, dress up in certain attire and behave a certain way when you are in a corporate environment which help to shape performance levels due to expectations. What I have learnt that when working from home, motivation is key and needs to be maintained, which is why I allocate myself certain times when I have to wake up early in order to complete the work and enforce a sense of professionalism.

Working from home, I have learnt a few key things that I would like to pass on to those who may be thinking of starting their own freelance PR business after uni or those who may also be working from home as part of their future internship;

1. Communication is key: It's easy to get immersed in your workload with no-one standing over your shoulder giving you feedback on your work. Make sure you touch base with your mentor often to ensure you are on the right track. Even if you don't have any questions or inquiries, by communicating it builds a greater working relationship dynamic and allows team members to see where you are on a project
2. Maintain professionalism: Even though you are working from home, you are still working in a corporate environment. Try and get out of your pyjamas to do the work, put on the alarm to wake up early to get you in to a routine  (as your clients will most probably have a typical working day from 8am-5pm) and therefore still need to be contactable within those hours
3. Don't slack off: Self-explainable. Its so easy to do when you are in the comfort of your own home but point 1 and 2 sum up how best to avoid this.

(How not to do it)

Hope that helps!

Tahlia

Learning about myself

Hi everyone.

If there is one noticeable accomplishment I have felt from completing my internship, it has to be the fact that I am now more aware of myself than ever before. Prior to commencing my work with my in-house PR and marketing team at my chosen company*, I had only ever worked in the retail and hospitality industries. The level of professionalism required in these areas of work is completely different to the level necessary for an intern working in a big office. However, I found it surprisingly easy to adjust my behaviour and mannerisms accordingly. On that note, I found the entire transition into the marketing/PR work field to be quite smooth overall.

I feel as though the way marketing and PR professionals present themselves is greatly inspiring. I have learnt that no matter how much work there is to be done, or how much stress a person might be feeling – acting professional is crucial. Whether it be making phone calls on behalf of the company or writing a 5000 word report, staying confident and calm is always a valuable skill to have.

Although I have only been interning for a short period of time, I believe I have developed new character traits that will prove to be beneficial throughout my career in public relations. For example, I have learnt to act self-assured and confident when talking to new people for the first time. By doing so, a sense of trust is developed and the confidence tends to be reciprocated. This is a lot easier said than done, but nevertheless worth a try. So for this post, the advice I would like to pass on to my peers is to always remain calm and confident when presented with a task– even if you have to fake it til you make it.

One of the struggles I did initially face whilst transitioning into my intern role was knowing when to ask questions. There is a fine line between pestering your busy boss and wanting to learn. Specifically on my first few days in the office, I had a small feeling I was asking too many questions. When I came to the realisation that I probably was, I decided I needed to solve the problems I was experiencing by myself. Although this was stressful and frustrating at first, once I had solved them I felt a good sense of accomplishment.

This week during my internship I also had the opportunity to sit down and talk to the new head of marketing, aka my new boss. Whilst I was quite nervous as she quizzed me about my goals and aims for the future, I found the conversation to be greatly motivating and inspirational. I learnt that my new boss has been working in the PR/marketing field for many years with some of WA’s biggest companies and has been extremely successful throughout her career. Talking with her made me realise that I would like to move up on the career ladder and slowly make my way to a senior position. I know this seems like quite an ambitious goal, but hey an intern can dream!

Enjoy your day and thanks for reading J

- Sarah

* Please note due to a confidentiality agreement I am unable to publish the company’s name

Making the right decision

Hello fellow internship students J

Firstly I feel I have to say the idea of this internship unit really worried me initially. I didn’t have a clue about what to expect. However after a gruelling two week wait, I finally received the phone call I had been waiting for. It was from a company I had recently interviewed with for an intern position. It was with great excitement that I accepted their offer to begin working with them. What happened next was definitely not expected. I received another phone call from a different company telling me I had been chosen for their intern position and they asked if I could start as soon as possible. It was at this point that I realised just how important it is to choose the right company.

After some internal deliberation I came to the conclusion that I had to choose the first company. Unfortunately I am unable to name them in this blog due to a confidentiality agreement. However I will say the reason I chose the company comes down to the fact that their work ethic and values are very similar to my own. From studying a communications degree I have learnt that having good ethical values is crucial for sustaining a fulfilling and successful career in the public relations field.  The company I am now interning with have a list of values which each employee is expected to respect. I find that all of the values which the company follow are equally important in the public relations and marketing industry.

I began my first day of my internship at the beginning of July. My new boss came downstairs to find me standing nervously at the reception desk. I was then given a tour of the two-storey office building and introduced to the marketing and public relations team. At this point I was filled with a mix of excitement and anticipation about what my first undertaking would be. I was given my own work space with a computer and a list of tasks to complete. This included researching and compiling a review of competitors’ services. It felt somewhat fulfilling knowing that I was finally getting to use my PR knowledge and put it into practice.  

During the time I spent in the office I experienced a range of different feelings. Admittedly, I began to feel a little overwhelmed and stressed that I wouldn’t be able to complete the work that was set for me. However, once I had finished I realised just how much I had enjoyed myself and how greatly I appreciated the amazing work environment that I was now a part of. If there is one thing I can share with my peers from this experience it is to stress the importance of choosing a company that reflects your personal morals and values. Believe me, it really does make a difference.

Enjoy your day and thanks for reading J

- Sarah

Events...a powerful marketing tool!

Wow, what an eventful couple of weeks it has been in the build up to another STM showcase, this time featuring Shenton Park’s Peachy Store and the hottest new fashion label, Bruug. Wednesday the 31^st of April was an extremely busy day, involving lots of running around picking up samples from all over Perth to be featured in the runway show. Shoes needed to be sourced, also taped so they don’t get scuffed or marked, the car had to be packed, sound and lighting sorted, along with the usual one hundred and one other last minute tasks!

The Peachy and Bruug STM showcase was held at the stunning Beluga restaurant located in Claremont, which provided a modern, sophisticated yet edgy setting…perfect for the showcase! The runway show featured looks styled by Bec and Jules, owners of the boutique fashion store along with a showcase of Bruug’s latest collection. Olivia Donaldson, winner of The Face Australia also made an appearance in the show, heres a link to some images taken by Adam Nalapraya of the girls back stage.

http://www.ilikesyou.com.au/albums/in-bruug-we-trust

My task for the night was to manage the guest list at the door, this involved greeting guests and checking of names. Not to mention meeting some of Perth’s well-known bloggers, stylist, and social personalities. Once all the guests arrived, there were several seats that needed to be filled, I got the lucky job of filling one in a prime position where I got to sit back and enjoy the show.

The following day I had to return the samples back to the Peachy Store, where upon my arrival I was shocked to see such busy store. I overheard customers asking about garments that featured in the runway show. It was surprising to see how the event attracted so much business for the store. After discussing with my supervisors I found out the store made..…lets say ALOT of sales that day!

This week I was lucky enough to experience first hand how such an event can help market a brand or store and rapidly increase business. Looking forward to what next week brings!

Experiencing the other side of the RAC office.

Even though the RAC office is no stranger in terms of atmosphere as I work there on a casual basis, my first day still gave me the nerves; I was really excited.

Danielle and Chloe who both work for the Roadside Assistance division greeted me at 8:30am at the Joondalup office. Danielle is a Product and Marketing manager, and Chloe is a Marketing assistant. I sat on John’s desk, the Executive Motoring and Marketing Manager who accepted my internship, logged on and received files from Danielle. These files were to familiarize and prepare myself for my first meeting. Danielle had me read two marketing plans; One was the 2013 marketing plan, and the second was the final draft for 2014. These were in the form of PowerPoint slides, and each consisted of approximately 140 pages. The meeting only had myself, Danielle and Chloe. It went on for two hours, and it gave me the insight on how Roadside Assistance was going in terms of performance, and what plans the team had for the next financial year.

After the meeting, I was given my first project by Chloe. The RAC 10 years ago had installed patrolman meeting point signs at shopping centre, universities and hospitals to assist the process of finding where the member is at these places. However, as the RAC had undergone a rebrand, and because they no longer utilize the signs as they found it much more sufficient to meet members at their cars. My job was to find both the email and telephone details of these places. The folder consisted just over 100 shopping centres, hospitals and universities with the signs locations. By the end of the day I had all the information needed typed up on the excel spread sheet ready for me to get in contact with. Chloe and I typed up an email explaining what we wished for them to do and why. The places I was not able to get an email for were going to be contacted via telephone at a later date.  Funny enough, my first reply was from a gentleman who was quite direct in terms of if they were going to remove the signs it would be at our (RAC) expense. At this point, I knew this task was going to be interesting. -Watch this space.

Upon my second day, I was still as nervous as the first day as I was still getting my head around everything, however, the difference being I was slightly more prepared as I had an insight of how the department functions. My second project handed to me was by Anna, Marketing assistant for Driving and Auto service centres. This project is called the ‘Competitors analysis’ as it consisted of finding information about seven close competitors to the RAC Auto service centre: Number of locations, services, complimentary services and website notes to say the least. The second part of the project was to get in contact with these competitors, three suburbs from each company, and ask for quotes in regards to three vehicles - I found his quite fun. The quotes are then put into an excel spread sheet, similar to ones used for previous competitor analysis’s. The third step is to get an average price for each company. This is the step I am currently on and I could already note that the results are quite interesting. The final step for the competitor analysis is to write out a report, this will highlight key attractions that maybe used by the RAC.

In between these two ongoing projects, I was given small tasks to do in case I wanted a break from them for a tad. These included: Organising the storage room where flyers are kept, looking through pictures on getty.com for the use of a free2go campaign and organising envelopes containing Auto service Vouchers.

I then was invited to the Marketing teams monthly team meeting, this was a tad daunting as I had only met a select number of the team prior to it. The meeting was quite interesting, lasted two hours as it covered several topics such as health and safety, issues they had, progress in projects and a guest speaker from the branding team joined to introduce and explain the new campaign they have implemented. We did a small activity where we were handed a blank sheet of paper, had to close our eyes and get instructions. At the end of the instructions what we should have had was a paper aeroplane, what I had was anything but that. We then had a competition on who was able to throw theirs the furthest. This was really enjoyable as there were laughs and I got a feel of everybody’s personality. At that point, I knew I was going to enjoy my internship with them. 

In a nut shell, these two days were full on, but surely something I was looking forward to experiencing.

Nuha.