Saying Goodbye to my Invaluable Experience in London!

My internship has quickly come to an end at Chivas Brothers in London and it is very hard to believe I won’t be working with the team in PR again. After working every day for four weeks straight, I feel so comfortable and involved with the team. I learned so much, made some great contacts and have had heaps of laughs working in the office.  I am definitely sad to be leaving London and Chivas Brothers but I will certainly be back to visit! The PR team which is made up of 10 people, including roles such as; the head of PR, international PR managers and internal communications manager were all so welcoming and I had so much fun with them every day!

Here is a photo of most of the team and myself in the middle on my last day at the office, I’m going to miss them all lots!

Over my time at Chivas Brothers it has allowed me to reflect on what I want to do in the future, I absolutely loved working and observing the in-house side to PR but I also am much more open to the idea of trying PR consultancy. This is because I was lucky enough to sit in at meetings with different PR consultancies that were pitching ideas to Chivas Brothers and I loved the creativity and idea of being a part of a consultancy which work with a range of different clients.

I have also realised that there are certainly some pros and cons about working at such a large global company. I personally loved the excitement and really enjoyed the global aspect of every decision made; it allowed me to understand better what the lecturers say at uni about being conscious of other country cultures when doing any PR or marketing in order to succeed. However there were some areas in which I think working for a smaller organisation could be better. Here are some of my thoughts about the pros and cons of doing my internship in a large global organisation:

The pros:

• I get to see how big budgets are used
• I am starting to understand the process of ensuring all strategies need to be suited to every market around the world, or need to be adjusted slightly for certain markets in order to succeed globally
• It is challenging me to think more creatively and strategically in order to fit into an international company
• I am aware that it is such a great opportunity for future reference and a once in a life-time experience
• Great team work and very exciting to have so many different PR roles in the one team

The cons:

• There are times when I feel everyone is too busy and I’m in the way a bit by asking questions
• I feel like you can’t really put your own ideas into action as easily, there needs to be a lot of discussion and generally has to be suitable on an international basis 
• A lot of employees which can be overwhelming 

As a whole, I enjoyed working in this big company; however, I would definitely like to experience working in a smaller company to truly be able to compare them both and determine which one suits my style the best.
The work I completed over my time at Chivas Brothers allowed me to recognise my area of strength and weakness. This was made evident to me through not only the feedback from my supervisor but also from  the way in which I handled each task, i.e. the amount of time it took me to complete and the amount of help I had to seek to finish it.

I found that my biggest strength which has been formed over my uni degree would be my ability to write in a professional manner. I was given a number of tasks which required me to write professionally as they were documents which would be read across all Chivas Brothers offices worldwide.  This included an article I wrote in the internal ‘Salute’ magazine, emails I sent to all staff members with the weeks press coverage and creation of two different PowerPoint presentations on Chivas Regal and Royal Salute (two major whisky brands) which are to be used for future clients. I found that I was able to effectively use the theory and practice from my university degree in a practical work setting.

The area in which I struggled the most and have identified as my biggest weakness is thinking on a global scale. There were many meetings which I attended that required everyone to put forward ideas for a global campaign; one for example was regarding the Chivas Regal whisky brand, I did give some input, however I struggled to think internationally and about different cultures. I think this type of information will develop over time, as you learn the markets in which the company targets when you work there on a regular basis.

Overall, this internship has been an amazing and invaluable experience. I have learnt that you must always give 110% to every task you are given, ask questions and to enjoy what you are doing. The one thing that I noticed at Chivas Brothers is that although there are 3 levels and different departments within the building, everyone knows each other and always seemed to be enjoying their work- I never saw a dull face. I think this aspect of 'enjoying work' is the most important lesson learnt of all, because work becomes such a huge part of your life (as I have experienced, working everyday for 4 weeks straight) and you have to be passionate about what you are doing in order to succeed!

On my last day, I was taken out for lunch at a nearby English Pub and was given a beautiful card and present. I also gave my supervisor a present and card and gave the rest of the team a card with some cookies to share!

Here are some of the yummy cookies I bought in for the team on my last day! If you ever go to London try some of Millie’s Cookies, there delicious!

Although this work experience has come to an end, I am now looking forward to finding more work experience in order to expand my knowledge and I am so excited for what the future holds. The past 20 days has made me realise how much I love the Marketing and Public Relations industry and I cannot be more excited to finish this chapter in my life and put my skills learnt at university into action in the real work environment.

Thank you for reading my blog and all the best to everyone!

Gemma O’Hart.

What a Success - Article Published!

Festival De Cannes is an annual event, were all film stars come together and celebrate the world of film and present awards. The work placement I am at in London is called, Chivas Brothers and Chivas Regal is the top selling whisky brand around the world and is their major brand. Chivas Regal sponsors this Film Festival and has done for three consecutive years now. They also sponsor FilmAid which is a global not-for-profit organisation that entertains and teacher’s children through the use of film. This event took place in May, however as I started my internship in June, I was unable to attend the event but was asked by the internal communications manager at Chivas Brothers to write an article about the success of the event. I also was asked to help evaluate the event by getting feedback from the celebrities that Chivas Regal invited and took care of during the event by providing them with the red carpet experience.  For more information on Festival De Cannes take a look at this link: http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en.html.

Here is another link: http://www.chivasbrothers.com/newsroom/news-area/news-detail.aspx?newsId=13383 . This is a Media Release written straight after the event, for you all to read, although I did not write this one it is still a good overview of how the event went.

Below is a picture taken at the Festival De Cannes in May:

FilmAid UK Chair Iliane Ogilvie Thompson, Chivas Regal Brand Director James Slack and Academy Award winning actor, Cuba Gooding Jr., celebrate FilmAid’s work in Cannes.

I was so excited to be given this opportunity to write my first real article, which will be published in an internal magazine and distributed to all employees that work at Chivas Brothers globally. For this article I had to research a lot, get in touch with a number of employees who attended the event and speak to James Slack (pictured above) about the event and Chivas Regal’s work with FilmAid. This was all necessary to avoid using incorrect information and to ensure all facts and quotes were accurate before I submitted it for publishing. I had to cross check details with my supervisor, who is the Head of PR at Chivas Brothers and once complete I proof read and also sent it to my supervisor to check over. 

Proof reading and cross checking is sooo important, I never understood it at uni when the lecturers went on about it, but now I fully understand its importance! There is nothing worse than getting told that you spelt something wrong in an important document. However I was OVER THE MOON when she gave me great positive feedback and only changed a couple of words! I then sent it off to the internal communications manager to edit and publish. She also loved my work and it is to be published in the next Salute (internal magazine) edition in August!

I have learnt a lot through the process of writing this article, one of the main points being that there is no 4 or 5 week notice to complete a task (like at uni), it is generally a weeks’ notice (if you’re lucky). I felt a little overwhelmed at first because I knew I only had a week to contact everyone that I needed and actually try to write a ‘professional’ article that will be submitted in a publication for the first time and seen by thousands of employees. Once I got my head around this, it was very fulfilling and exciting to complete, as the event was so huge and very interesting to find out how the whole red carpet process happens.

This week I also went to a creative thinking session with one of Chivas Regal’s clients John Doe, as some of the information discussed is confidential, I won’t discuss the PR and marketing concept created. However this was an all-day meeting that took place in central London at a creative thinking building called: Wallspace. The idea is to get the Chivas Regal team and PR team out of the office environment and into a room which is bright and is made for people to ‘think creatively’. This was such a great experience and I got to have some input into the upcoming PR campaign for Chivas Regal. –This was very different from anything I expected and I had never heard of such a place, but it was very cool to see.

As I mentioned in my first blog, I have also been creating documents each week which collate all the relevant weekly press cuttings which I send out to all employees to keep informed on the company news and industry.

Hope everyone else’s interns are going well- Can’t believe it will all be over so soon!

Gemma O’Hart

Social Media Crisis Management

I can’t believe I’m already a week into my internship!  Its true when people say time fly’s when you’re having fun! I never thought I would have fun at work but I am really enjoying the working life. I am staying in Windsor (45minutes out of central London), even though I have been to London before but I have never experienced the working life in London. It is so hectic, with the amount of people around and the busy tube lines! But it’s so exciting at the same time to be amongst all the buzz and see the true WORKING London lifestyle!  I never thought I would be driving past Windsor castle every day to get to work, or working a few tube stops away from Buckingham palace, Hyde Park and Harrods but I absolutely love it!

This week was another interesting, hectic and exciting week. Throughout university we are constantly taught about ethics and what to do in crisis situations and how to prepare for them. On Monday morning, I started off my second week of work experience by attending a crisis insider club breakfast with two other colleagues at a private members club called The Hospital Club, in Covent Garden (central London). This was a very interesting experience as there were people from all different companies, who came together to listen to the founder and CEO from Seat wave- Joe’s experience in a crisis situation and also heard from a journalists point of view. Here is the link to seat wave website: http://www.seatwave.com/.

The way in which Joe handled the crisis, related back to what is learnt at uni, including having a crisis management team on hand 24/7, acting quickly but calmly and approaching the situation in an honest manner to keep consumers informed. In this situation, Joe used social media (Facebook and Twitter) to help communicate the situation to their audience.  By listening to Joe’s experience and the way in which he effectively used social media, such as Twitter and Facebook made me realise the true effect of social media and its  ability to communicate with thousands and millions of people at once and in such an efficient way. Joe was able to tweet and reply to Facebook posts whilst the crisis was unfolding- responding promptly and honestly. I was very glad to be asked to attend this meeting, as it showed me great insight into handling crisis situations and also allowed me to recognise the importance of preparing for all types of crisis situations, as we are regularly taught during university. At Chivas Brothers, there is a crisis management procedure and they also have constant emails from media databases which prompt the communications and public relations team when any important information on the business or industry is found. This is to keep up dated and well informed of what is happening within the alcohol industry.

This week I also attended many meetings including:

• Meeting with agencies that were pitching their ideas for the brand 'Royal Salute'. I had to take notes and identify in a table format which agencies met the brief best and which agencies had creative strategies which are best suited to the Royal Salute product.
• Meeting with the head of internal communications to get an idea of how internal comms works in the Chivas Brothers office. I was also allocated to write an article on the Cannes Film Festival which Chivas Regal sponsors and this article will be published in their internal magazine.
• Attended key messages meetings, were they were identifying this year’s key messages for Chivas Regal, Beefeater gin and Ballantine’s whisky for marketing and PR purposes.
• Sat in on a conference call with John Doe, discussing ideas for this year’s Ballantine’s golf event.

I found most of these meetings interesting as I know all these brands and is intriguing to see how the marketing and PR works behind the scenes. Sometimes I felt the meetings weren't that relevant for me to listen to as I couldn't contribute much, however it was still useful to see how the meetings and conference calls take place and to hear some very creative and exciting ideas.

Next week I'll be working on my Cannes Film Festival article and evaluation on how the event went in comparison to previous years, which I am looking forward to. Until then! 

Gemma O'Hart

My Introduction to Chivas Regal, London Style!

Hi everyone,

I am writing this blog in London as I am doing my PR placement here at the Chivas Brothers office which is part of the parent company of Pernod Ricard. Pernod Ricard is the second largest wine and spirits company in the world, with brands such as Chivas Regal, Malibu and Absolut vodka. However the main brands which the PR and Marketing team work on at the Chivas Brothers office in London is on a global basis across all international  markets, looking after products such as Chivas Regal, Ballantine's, Royal Salute, Beefeater gin, The Glenlivet and Plymouth. The current leader in the market and clearly their major competitor is Diageo who is currently leading with brands such as Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff.

As I imagined, on my first day I was completely nervous and had no idea what to expect, but as soon as I walked into the office all the people were so friendly, warm and genuinely nice. I felt comfortable almost straight away and knew it was going to be a great experience! I am working in the PR team who work across all Chivas brothers’ brands, the team is made up of 10 people, including roles such as: Communications Director, The Head of PR, 2x International PR Managers, Internal Communications manager, Communications Executive, Graphic Designer, The Head of Sponsorship, Events Manager and a Personal Assistant for the Communications Director. However, I mostly work with Jennie who is the Head of PR.

Here are a few pictures- The Chivas Brothers office and view from the building at work!

This first week, mainly revolved around me learning the office facilities, each PR person’s role, collecting media coverage and sitting in on meetings. This was very interesting as I noticed that most tasks discussed in the meetings, could be related back to assignments I had done in the past at uni. For example the creation of key messages and objectives as an initial starting point for any task and the process involved in evaluating a PR campaigns effectiveness. As Chivas Brothers is such a large and global company, many meetings involved briefing PR consultancies such as John Doe about where a brand such as Ballantine’s is now, and where they want to be. Thus, expecting the PR agency to help them come up with creative ideas of how they can get the Ballantine’s brand to the position which they want to be in.

I have been given the task each week to collate all media coverage on Chivas Brothers, Pernod Ricard, any Chivas Brothers products and any competitor coverage. Once I have gathered the relevant and interesting articles, I create a document of them all which gets distributed to staff members working at Chivas Brothers offices in London and Scotland. This document is to be read by all staff in order to keep up to date with what is happening in the media in regards to how their products, company and competitors are doing within in the industry. This week I had help from Alicia, the Communications Director, to collate and forward to all staff; however from next week onwards I will be doing this by myself which is a little bit nerve racking as I will be emailing employees around the world this coverage. (I’m just hoping I remember every step of the process and email it to everyone correctly).

The 'event season' for most of the brands have just taken place and/or are coming up later in the year, so whilst I am here I will not be taking part in any specific events. However, Chivas Regal 25year old whisky has just sponsored the Cannes Film Festival for a fourth year during May. Since this event recently took place, I will be working on the evaluation for the event, and working through the process of evaluating each international market with the communications team and Chivas Regal marketing team!

I’m looking forward to evaluating this huge event over the next few weeks and to see if it was a bigger success than last year and how the PR and marketing aspects contributed to the success. I'll keep you updated!

This week has been a very eye opening experience and has already shown me a great picture of how PR works in real life, including the in-house side and consultancy side, through the meetings with different agencies. I already feel very comfortable and a part of the team, I’m loving the work and I know this is a once in a lifetime experience and I wouldn’t be able to get this global experience in Perth, so I am very grateful for this opportunity and so excited for the next few weeks!

Bye for now,

Gemma O’Hart