This is the end... but not goodbye!

Hi everyone!

This is my last post to sum up the three months being an intern in CROWD PR Agency.  The internship had broadened my perception of Public Relations immensely.  I considered the three months as a defining moment to determine if public relations will be the career path for me. Alas, I’ve found my answer.

Nearing the end of my internship, I have accepted the full time position offered by my supervisor.  I believe I am up for the challenge to deal with demanding clients, having ideas turned down for the zillionth time and having quick lunch breaks that could barely fill my stomach. (Hey, just dramatising the life of a PR practioner.) On a positive note, I’ve figure that the challenging moments are also the most gratifying moments of the job. Given the test-run for 3 months, I believe that I fit the bill for this job.

A couple of days ago, I’ve chance upon an article from the PR Week discussing the traits of an ideal PR consultant. (Link) The writer believes that the ideal new generation PR professional should have 1) the right mind, language and behaviour, 2) Take initiative to network and 3) exert assertiveness.

I couldn’t agree more with the writer that apart from technical skills, these soft skills helps to make one a better consultant. It serves as a reminder to me that despite being “promoted”, I should remain grounded and possess the same determination and assertiveness as previously in my intern role.  

I hope that this article will inspire you just like how it did for me, and hopefully through this internship journey, you would find your answers too!

(My colleagues and I hanging out at our recreational area)

Ending my last post by sharing a quote by the famous Oscar Wilde. 

“There Is Only One Thing In The World Worse Than Being Talked About, And That Is Not Being Talked About." – Oscar Wilde

Cheers,

Candice

Building relationship with media friends

Hello Everyone!

This is my third post, which means my internship journey is nearing to the end.

Today I'll be sharing my thoughts on building strong relationship with our dear media friends. The media circle in Singapore is very small due to the limited number of local publishing house. You could even count the number of publishers with both hands!

With a small media circle, it is important to have media friends on "our side". Here are some observations that I have concluded on building good relationship with media.

• Make an effort to find out what type of story angels the media is looking for. It would be easier to fit in their shoes if news given are timely and appropriate for their magazine/newspaper column. 
• Apart from work, go the extra mile to mingle with media friends. When a common interest is found, a good rapport will be established
• With that, it makes negotiation easier, should there be tight timeline to rush or last minute changes given by the client. 
• The best part of having a close relationship would be the entitlement to their personal mobile number. This means that you do not have to get through the main line, which is often engaged.

Apart from the local media, it is also important to keep a good relationship with influencers. I'm speaking in the context of lifestyle products. In Singapore, Instagram and Facebook are two of the most popular social media tool. 

Therefore, to penetrate into the crowd, we often touch base with lifestyle influencers to share new products to their avid followers either via Facebook or Instagram. This is typically known to attract the younger age group varying from 17 - 28 years old. 

So much on bridging good retaliation shop paths it seems that a good PR practitioner requires a wide connection of media friends and reputable influencers. 

On a fun note, the crew from Channel News Asia popped by my office this week for a short filming session! My boss had agreed to an interview about companies that are open to flexible working hours during the World Cup period. This is to accommodate football fanatics that are up at the wee hours to catch the match.  It was an interesting role reversal as my boss used to be off screen prompting clients with their scripts instead of being filmed.

Overall, it was an interesting experience for me albeit participating in the background. I have also used this opportunity to extend my connection with the reporter and hopefully in time, this connection will come in handy. 

And by the way, I'm rooting for Germany this coming World Cup, what's yours?

Till then, 

Candice

Crisis Management: Being Ready 24/7

Hi Everyone!

This is my second blog contribution. Instead of pointing out my daily routine at work, let me share more on my thoughts on the topic: Crisis Mangement.

I've been working in CROWD (A boutique agency in Singapore) for more than two months now. Some days consist of routine deskwork, while other days gets a little more perked-up. 

Well, I wouldn't exactly say meeting a crisis is exciting for account managers, it is however an eye opener for me. I’d be sharing three cases of crisis management from various incidents:

The first crisis ignited by a protest from an activist group, whom publicly displayed their unhappiness towards our client for supporting animal cruelty. The activist group involved was PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), known for their strong believe in animal rights. I will not divulge too much information due to sensitivity issue. But in a nut shell, PETA did managed to get it's message thru to the media. As a result, the news featured had reflected negatively on our client's reputation. I recalled having a discussion once during International Public Relation 340 module, that activists group have obtained a higher power of influence to the public than before. Therefore, it is important for companies to work with activists group rather than going against the tides.

The second crisis happened during a sports competition. The roof of the event venue was reported leaking due to heavy downpour and poor maintenance of the infrastructure. The leakage had delayed the match schedules, as the slippery floor needed constant cleaning. This issue had caused some displeasure amongst top-notch athletes and reflected badly on the event venue. The crisis did not directly affect our agency as we were not representing the event venue. However, our agency do have to give an official statement considering that we are the media liaison for the event. During such times, it is important to draw a clear line of whose responsibilities should it be, to refrain from getting  unwanted complains. 

Last (and hopefully the least), was an internal management crisis happened just yesterday. An athlete from the Singapore's team had abruptly announced his/her departure from the team prior to an upcoming international competition. As a result, the players list needs to be restructured in order to replace the athlete's position in the competition. The athlete's departure was based on his/ her own accord, thus I would say that our client, the sports organisation, was being "blind-sided".

These three crisis that I've mentioned above might be familiar to some. There may even be some resemblance to scenarios given in previous exam papers. Through this series of unfortunate events, I've observed and learnt how to handle such sticky situations.

• It came to my realisation that crisis can never be anticipated. We are however, able to get ourselves prepared with a contingency plan. 
• In times of chaos, we need to stay calm and resilient. 

• As client's representative, we must always ensure  that our client approved the official statement given to the media. 

• High efficiency in delivering official statement to the media would reflect well on the client's reputation.

• Account manager needs to brief their client clearly on the boundaries of information being divulged to the media. 

• Lastly, committing to the job meant committing to a silent agreement to be contactable at any time of the day. This meant sacrificing your personal time even on a weekend. When crisis occurs and the call arrives, you need to be on your way.  

Well, are you up for such commitments?

Till my next post,
Candice

How to stand out from the CROWD?

Good day everyone!

This is Candice from Curtin Singapore. I am very psyched to embark on this internship journey, which also marks the last semester of my studies. Personally, I felt that the internship program was appropriately designed which allows students to display what we have learnt in the classrooms, onto real life situations. Furthermore, to gain valuable insights from the Public Relations sector which was not taught in school. After much anticipation, this is the time to get our hands dirty!

I am currently interning in a boutique agency, named CROWD. Here's four things you should know about CROWD:

1) Our passionate team of PR professionals understands the importance of engaging audiences. Dynamic and cost-effective, but creative solutions are our mantra.

2) When we say something, we do it, and we do it well. We know the media and we know what they want. Simply put, we get results.

3) Let us over-deliver and overwhelm you with what can be achieved. The results speak for themselves.

4) Our services includes PR & Communications, Social Media management, Event management, Crisis management and Influencer Marketing.

(Source: CROWD Pte Ltd)

It has been a good one month working in CROWD. For my first post, I would like to share about my personal thoughts on three skills that I have picked up along the way.

Sending press releases to media
I remembered the first time I was tasked to send out a press release to our media friends. Even though I didn't had the chance to craft the press release, (Understanding that this is only the beginning of my internship), I was given the chance to craft the email message nonetheless! It was a mixed of excitement and nervousness. Thoughts running through my mind were "What I should write?", "How should I craft an eye-catching email subject?", and not forgetting, "Am I able to impress my supervisor with my writing skills?". I wonder have anyone felt the same way before?

Time also plays a crucial part in sending out press releases as it determines news worthiness. Therefore we need to be swift and precise when sending out press releases. To assure that information are accurate and timely. 

Media Valuations
Valuations.. Valuations... I have heard about valuations briefly from my lecturers but never came about to learning the formulas to calculate the magical sum. I have never thought that calculating valuations had to be so precise till the extend of measuring newspaper coverage with a ruler! I got hooked onto calculating valuations as I felt that it gives the agency a sense of achievement for the efforts they have put in to garner features for our clients.  Also, each valuation is one step nearer to our KPIs. 

Newspaper Summaries
To be honest, reading newspapers daily is my least favourite task during this internship period. However, looking on the bright side, this helps to train my patience and attentiveness in searching for news articles. Scrutinizing on every headlines to ensure that all possible features were not missed out. Thereafter, I would have to translate these articles into simplified pointers for our clients' easy reading.

I believed the three tasks mentioned above are some common duties of a PR intern. This marks a good beginning of discovery and learning the rightful skills to be a professional public relations practitioner.

Press on, my fellow comrades!

Till then,
Candice