Lights, Camera, ACTION!

Today marked the day of the big photoshoot. Both myself and another intern Emma have been in charge of the preparation and organization of this shoot. So it safe to say anxiety levels this morning where set on heart attack mode.

The client is launching a new active wear range and therefore needed studio shots for the website as well as the social media pages.

Being a little Aussie girl in the big unfamiliar setting of London proved to be difficult when organizing this shoot. Models, photographers, studio space, makeup artists and hair stylists were all needed for this event to take place.

If I was back in Perth I’d use my networking to be able to contact people, I’d know their work and what to expect. But being here knowing no one it proved difficult to execute what I had planned without having worked with the talent before.  Luckily for me one of the girls I’m living with over here is a model and was able to give me a few handy tips on people who would be able to assist me with this photoshoot. PHEW.

Emma and myself created a running sheet for today including every little task and person that may be involved. Every minute of the day was scheduled specifically in order to complete all our tasks within the studio’s time allowance.

Despite this morning’s anxious nerves, the day ran extremely well! The client SoHot were very pleased with how the day ran and I am completely and utterly relieved! Here’s a few tips I would suggest to anyone running an event similar to this…

 1.   Wear the sneakers. Comfort is key ladies! Those stilettos aren’t going to allow for the running   around that comes with carrying out an event.

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            2. Too organized? NEVER! A detailed running sheet is highly recommended in order to complete every single little task. 

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      3. Speak up. If you have an idea that you think will benefit your client don’t be afraid to share. I did exactly that and suggested a video reel be shot to help customers purchasing decisions and curate original content for social media. They loved the idea and chose to run with it.

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      4.  Did we just become best friends?? Make those contacts ladies and gents. I cannot stress how important it is to make a list of contacts, especially on a global scale. These people can help you in the future. It’s not what you know it’s who you know – I can assure you, from what I have found over here; it most definitely is the case.

Here’s a picture taken on my phone from today’s shoot.

 Do any of you have any tips to add for event running? How has your experiences been in organizing and planning events? Comment below!

Georgia Burmas

MAGENTA: Teamwork On Set

Towards the end of my professional placement at Magenta I was given the opportunity to work on a photo shoot for one of Magenta’s key national clients.  I was extremely excited to get some hands–on experience outside of the office environment and to witness the interaction with the client directly.

The photo shoot was for the client’s Christmas gift guide and took place in a beautiful display home in one of Perth’s most prestigious suburbs.  The team on set consisted of two client representatives, an account co-ordinator from the Magenta PR team, a professional Photographer and myself.  I was able to assist in preparing merchandise for each shot as well as learning effective ways to display products for promotion.  I found it extremely interesting to see the ways in which the Magenta team member interacted with the client representatives in order to achieve the desired end result. 

The function of a PR agency is to deliver effective communications solutions for a client.  Magenta collaborates with clients to deliver creative solutions that meet business objectives. It is always interesting to see how people with artistic temperaments interact with one another.  A Magenta creative, a photographer, and two client representatives working together on set can have contrasting ideas about how they perceive the best way to meet the project objectives.

As a PR agency, the Magenta team is in a position where they must exercise quality control of ideas put forward against their knowledge of Public Relations and the industry. In this way, they can give the client the benefit of the wealth of their experience in the PR Marketing industry. It is a delicate balancing act to guide the client towards a collaboration of not only their ideas but those of the agency’s as well.

For example, half way through the day an additional client representative joined the shoot and presented an idea that unfortunately clashed with the overall design aesthetic of the current shot.  The client representative was a relatively senior member of their company and was determined to proceed with the idea.  The Magenta creative strategically negotiated with the client representative and was able to come to a creative compromise by incorporating the idea into another part of the shoot. 

I was very impressed to see how harmoniously the people on set worked together as a cohesive team.  I also saw the importance of collaborating ideas on set to showcase the objectives of the both the client and the PR agency.

Working on the photo shoot was a wonderful experience where I was able to learn a great deal about teamwork and cooperation in a real world situation.

Jacinta McDonald.

#13958888

Fremantle Dockers Photo-shoot

On the 25^th of September, I woke up bright and early to attend a photo shoot for a full page spread in the West Australian in support of Programmed sponsored Fremantle Dockers. I had been told about the photo shoot the night before at around 11pm and so had no idea what to expect.

I arrived at the Programmed Burswood office at around 7am and then went with Communications Officer, Kate Sossi, as well as three other employees to the studio in City Beach.

When we arrived at the shoot we all had our make up and hair done (including the men!) and put on our Programmed and Fremantle Dockers gear.

We were photographed in groups, with my group being the second shot. The studio was sectioned off and so there was no visibility of what was happening with the first group, but we could hear yelling, cheering and rock music.

As the time approached for our shoot we were all a little nervous, however, we were briefed on the idea behind the shoot and were shown images as to what it would look like. We were asked by the photographer to scream and shout as if we “were in a pub watching the grand final and the Dockers just won.”

After numerous shots at different angles and in different positions the photographer was finally happy and it was “a wrap!”

It was a really cool experience to be involved in a photo shoot, especially because it was a full page spread in the West Australian.

Despite the little time, Kate pulled the massive shoot together and got it done overnight. This efficiency just goes to show that as a public relations practitioner, you need to be quick on your feet and very assertive – regardless of what might get thrown at you. This also reinforced what I’ve learnt in my PR units at uni i.e. that public relations practitioners need to be good problem solvers and must not panic when they are thrown in the deep end. It also reinforced that having a contingency plan is a must – e.g. in the case of the photo shoot, if something was to happen to the photographer, who would take the shot that was required by Saturday, or who would be in the shot if someone backed out. All these things need to be considered.  Kate was also really great at helping those being photographed relax and be less nervous as she was just lightening the situation by making jokes and being silly. This also goes to show that you need to be a good people person to be in public relations. This also reinforced what I learnt in my PR units that your communications skills and people skills are of utmost importance as this is really a key part of the job – to communicate.

I have attached the photo (me far left) from the Saturdays West Australian below. Sadly the Fremantle Dockers were not victorious over the weekend, but there’s always next year!

One Controversial Topic - a Journalist's Dream and a PR Intern's Nightmare!

I started my official internship with The Freeform Foundry the week just past and what an exciting week it was. Being a current employee I found the transition into the public relations department seamless and comfortable – knowing familiar faces truly made it a lot easier! There isn’t a quiet day at The Freeform and this week surely proved this. My day-to-day responsibilities drastically changed from my usual Account Coordination role to that of a Public Relations Consultant, from writing press releases to organising events – there was never a dull moment. 

In today's first blog post I would love to share my experience of dealing with the media and one of our clients, amid the drastic changes made by the Federal Labor Government to the Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT). I won’t bore you as I know this isn’t a riveting topic – however I’d like to briefly explain what FBT is and how these changes will affect the industry and in particular one of our clients, a fleet leasing company. 

Kevin Rudd announced approximately a month ago that he is planning on terminating the carbon tax by implementing an emissions trading scheme. Part of the plan to fund this is by abolishing the Statutory Formula for FBT on cars, hence FBT may no longer be calculated based on 20% of the FBT value of the car, but now on the Operating Method, based on actual business use. 

Our client, who is predominantly known for Novated Leasing now faces the challenge of requiring leaseholders to monitor their work related kilometres, by keeping a logbook for up to 12 weeks to monitor business usage. They also face the burden of diminished benefits for their customers. 

This drastic change has caused many fleet leasing companies to announce major redundancies, however our client’s main objective was to inform the public that this was not the path that they would be taking. My first task in my internship role was to write a media release aimed at communicating this objective and coordinating a company photo shoot to be used within the publication.

This drastic change has caused many fleet leasing companies to announce major redundancies, however our client’s main objective was to inform the public that this was not the path that they would be taking. My first task in my internship role was to write a media release aimed at communicating this objective and coordinating a company photo shoot to be used within the publication.



To top off this experience I also had the pleasure of interviewing Member for Swan, Steve Irons who showed his support and reaffirmed the Government’s promise to oppose Labor’s FBT reform.



The process of writing this media release was very eye opening. I was given a draft handwritten article from the Managing Director and was instructed to use this as a guideline, but to source my own supporting information.  Once I read the draft alarm bells triggered and I was remembering back to my PR Media and Technique classes. The article read very one-sided and emotional, I could already see the media and journalists ripping this to shreds. I had to re-write this media release to still express our client's view of not relinquishing whilst keeping a levelled two-sided approach to the situation.

On the other hand, I still wanted to express these emotions and the fight of our client so I then decided to write two articles, one to be used as the official media release and another as a 'latest news' article on the client's website, linked to Facebook and Twitter.  This experience made me realise how much I drew from my university's teaching of public relations – the multitude of practice media releases really did pay off! It is truly an exciting feeling to know that these will be published in renowned media outlets and already I believe that I have put many of my public relations skills into practice and even to test! 

All in all, I learnt a lot from this first task and am really looking forward to the next! Watch this space for more insight into my internship at The Freeform! 

Rachel Chandler