Final thoughts on my time at Devahasdin

I am a bit late with posting my final blog post for my internship, I guess in a way I didn’t want it to end!

Throughout my internship I was involved in countless activities and projects for the many Devahasdin clients. In the beginning I was nervous and the thought of writing even a media release all on my own was daunting. Even though I had learnt the theory and certain practical aspects of what is required in such a document, I was still worried that it would not be good enough. I shouldn’t have worried though, everyone at the organisation was extremely helpful and understanding and most importantly, always took the time to explain why and how we would do certain things.

Some of the highlights of my internship include:

Mundaring Truffle Festival

The Mundaring Truffle Festival was held on the weekend of the 28^th and 29^th July and I was involved in many aspects of media relations. For example, ensuring media attendance, press and VIP passes, event preparation and many other small tasks required for such a large event. I also had to collect and value the large volume of media coverage the festival received leading up to the event. I really enjoyed working on this event, as I got to experience the enjoyable world of event co-ordination. Obviously the best part was going to the event and seeing all the hard work of the Devahasdin team going into such a wonderful and successful event.

Qatar Airways Perth route launch

I started my internship while the planning for major events surrounding this client were underway. As such, I had to learn all about what was happening, what events were planned and exactly what Devahasdin was doing for them very quickly. Being involved with such a major client was exciting and gave me an idea of the hard work and long hours are involved for the account manager (and others within the organisation). I saw major logistical issues resolved, ongoing communication between Perth and Doha (capital of Qatar) and perfectionism in all aspects of planned events. One of my tasks was to drive to DHL at Perth airport and collect items for the Qatar Airways media launch, where I was given a fluorescent vest and escorted through the busy storage area to where the items were. They weren’t what we were expecting. Of course I panicked and frantically said there must be more somewhere and called my supervisor. It turns out this wasn’t an issue and we had been given the wrong description of the items by the sender. They were the right ones after all. However, it really demonstrated to me that public relations requires clear communication at all times.

I’m very grateful to have been given the opportunity to do work experience at Devahasdin. I was also very lucky to have been offered a paid position at the organisation, where the director was happy for me to work around my uni schedule until I could work full time. It was very unfortunate that I was not able to continue with the job offer, due to the very high demands of my final semester. However, I do believe the experience has opened my eyes to the world of public relations and I cannot wait to start full time work in the industry!

Reflecting on my time at Devahasdin

After being at Devahasdin for three months my internship has come to an end and I cant believe how quickly it went by!

Throughout my placement I had the opportunity to work on a range of tasks for a very diverse range of clients. This provided me with a great insight in to all the different aspects of PR and also the different needs of clients. Some of the main tasks I completed included:

·      Compiling media databases relevant to the client

·      Client clipping and valuing reports

·      Pitching to the local community newspaper

·      Liaising with various clients

·      Overseeing a client promotion

·      Event preparation – nametags, invite lists etc.

·      Online event listings

·      Preparing material to be used for client’s social media

All the tasks I completed both big and small, even the lengthy and not so exciting ones were beneficial to my own learning. All tasks undertaken in public relations are important for different reasons and without doing them you aren’t able to offer the client the best service and achieve great outcomes. I was always kept busy through my placement ensuring I was making the most of my experience, which meant there was never a dull or boring moment!

Reflecting on my internship I believe I have grown both personally and professionally and I am glad we were ‘pushed’ by university to go out and gain this experience whilst studying. All the ladies in the Devahasdin office were great mentors each providing me with different learning’s about public relations, which I am more than grateful for. One that has really stood out for me is the importance of communication within the office - always ask questions, know your deadline, get your work reviewed and ensure everyone is on the same page so there is no confusion or error!

My placement at Devahasdin was truly invaluable and I now have a much greater understanding of professional public relations and the wider corporate working environment.

It’s great to know that from my placement I will be taking away new skills, new friendships, new professional contacts and it will also be a great addition to my resume. 

I hope everyone else really enjoyed and gained a lot from their placements!

Caitlyn

Media Releases - What a Process! - Blog 2

Hi all,

It has been eight days now at the Heart Foundation and it certainly has been busy. The last few days I have been working alongside the media and communication manager to help promote the 2012 DoorKnock appeal. You may be familiar with this campaign; it entails an army of 120,000 volunteers (nationally) “Door-knocking” in order to raise 5 million dollars to help fund life saving research and promote community health.

The campaign begins in WA on the 3^rd of September and finishes on the 22^nd.

Last week I officially sent my first media release to a local community newspaper and it was a good experience. (I believe I have sent three or four now) I am glad I remembered what we were taught all those moons ago in the PR media techniques classes. It is surprising how your desk phone becomes an extension of your body, especially when calling journalists and gathering quotes from volunteers.

The whole process of sending out a media release can be quite time consuming as detailed below:

1)     Source a volunteer who is willing to interviewed and photographed for a local paper and has a personal connection with heart disease. (harder than it sounds)

2)     Interview them over the phone to generate quotes to incorporate within the release.

3)     Once typed, send the quotes back to the individual for approval, alongside a media exposure consent form.

4)     Call the local paper and find the appropriate journalist for the media release.

5)     Wait for the approval forms to come back, and then input them within the release.

6)     Send the completed media release to the journalist and hope it will be used to generate a story in the local newspaper.

That is roughly the process, however there is often a spanner thrown in the works somewhere along the lines.

Recently I was also lucky enough to sit in a PR meeting in West Perth within a firm named Devahasdin PR, regarding the ‘smarter than smoking campaign’ running this year. The meeting was conducted with a PR team who were certainly on the ball and very professional. It was great to escape the office for a little while and see how professional PR people conduct business behind closed doors.

If you anybody is interested in learning more about the DoorKnock Appeal or even donating!, Visit www.heartfoundation.org.au/doorknock

Thanks for reading, Miles

 

    

 

Getting the Pitch Right!

My internship at Devahasdin has gone by so quickly and I have been lucky to learn and experience so much about public relations and working in consultancy.

Over my placement I have worked on a range of different tasks for various clients but one task I have been doing regularly for the client Waterford Plaza is pitching stories to the local community newspaper, The Southern Gazette. I have had two pitches; one for Burger Edge and their fundraiser for paralympian Nigel Barley and the other for Supa IGA’s International Food Festival appear in ‘The Fast Lane’ section of the paper.

More recently I was responsible for preparing a pitch for Mo’s Mobiles Waterford Plaza and their ‘Recharge and Reach Out’ fundraiser that was running from June to August. First I had to contact Aloysius the store manager and conduct a brief phone interview to gain further information about the fundraiser which he was more than happy to provide knowing the coverage from the local community newspaper would encourage more shoppers to get involved and help reach the fundraising target. From there I compiled the information and prepared a short pitch, which was approved by Kat my mentor before I sent it off to the journalist at The Southern Gazette.

The pitch was successfully picked up and the next stage was the fun bit - attending the photo shoot at Waterford Plaza! I really enjoyed overseeing the pitch, which turned out great appearing in this weeks Southern Gazette:

Writing a pitch was new to me when I first started my internship and I was surprised to know that I only had to write a couple of interesting sentences with all the key facts. At first I found it challenging to achieve less is more with the pitch as I was used to writing longer media releases for university assignments. After a few attempts and edits by my mentor my pitches were good to go!

From being responsible for pitching stories I quickly learnt the importance of media relationships and respecting the journalist’s time and deadlines. It is always best to pitch earlier in the week and if a journalist responds or asks for further information always provide it promptly otherwise they will move on to another story which means your client misses out and that journalist may be reluctant to pick up another one of your pitches.

My internship is fast coming to an end but I am sure there will be plenty for me to do and learn before I finish up!

Caitlyn

Good Food, Good Wine...Good Promo!

The Good Food and Wine Show was in Perth on July 13-15 and as a client of Devahasdin the lead up to the event was busy and also exciting!

In my first week a promotion was launched for Plaza Arcade in Perth City (another one of Devahasdin’s clients) with The Good Food and Wine Show. The promotion was to increase awareness of both clients and encourage more shoppers within Plaza Arcade.

In my second week I was given the task of overseeing the promotion down at Plaza. At first I was nervous about being given such a responsibility but the nerves quickly disappeared after starting and I was actually quite excited to be able to learn first hand all the different aspects that go in to coordinating such a promo. Within this role I was responsible to visit Plaza each day I was in the office and liaise with each retailer to gain their feedback on how they thought customers were responding to the promotion.

Some retailers were friendly and more than helpful, others weren’t very interested! As I currently work in retail I can understand both sides. Trying to promote your own in store deals plus informing customers of the wider centre promo can be tough and can definitely annoy those customers who just want to get in, buy their product and go!

Nevertheless I persevered visiting retailer after retailer, restocking their entry forms and flyers as I went. On my visits I was also responsible for collecting all the entry forms from the entry barrel and once back at the office counting the number of entries and storing them safely.

Overall the promotion was very successful and being able to oversee it was a great experience mainly because it allowed me to further my own confidence and professionalism. Liaising with clients face to face is different than through email or over the phone and clear communication is extremely important.

Throughout my internship I have noticed that my previous worries about making phone calls or sending emails have significantly reduced. I am now more confident and feel more comfortable to do these simple, everyday and essential tasks with ease.

Already the experience I have gained throughout my internship has been invaluable and I have been able to step outside of my comfort zone, which has definitely paid off. 

Caitlyn

PR Valuing - Inconsistent or uneducated?

A major aspect of PR that is not covered throughout the PR degree is valuing of media coverage. This may be due to the fact that each consultancy might value differently. For example, one of the major PR consultancies in Perth determines the PR value to be 2 times the advertising value, while another is 5 times – a significant difference!

I believe the basics of valuing - column centimetres, modules and page rates – should be highlighted more during the PR degree, instead of the brief mention I can vaguely remember. These valuing techniques are different for most publications, and can change over time, but learning how to apply these techniques so students do not go into the workforce blind would be a huge advantage.

So far during my internship I have had to do valuing for various clients, and while the account managers are always happy to help with any questions I may have, I think they would rightly expect that I should have some grasp of the techniques coming out of my university degree.

I guess I do have the disadvantage of being at a small boutique consultancy, where there is not really a comprehensive database of rates of all publications and media outlets (most publications are there, online news outlets are lacking). However this has taught me that in PR if you want to find out something (e.g. advertising rates) – you must call to find out. Spending hours trawling through websites is just not practical.

It is important to highlight the importance of getting a PR technique like valuing correct. It does not look very good for the agency if the value of coverage received by a client is significantly incorrect. Consultants use the amount of PR value gained as a way of determining how successful a campaign or strategy has been. I believe it is an important tool as a way of ascertaining the return on investment by a client, however it could be argued that media coverage does not necessarily determine how much work has been put into a campaign. Regardless of opinions surrounding PR valuing, it is a tool adopted by consultancies as it is usually expected from the client.

My Days as an Intern

I am completing my internship at Devahasdin, a boutique consultancy based in West Perth that specialises in public relations, marketing, event management and media relations. Already within my first few days as an intern I have learnt so much about public relations while also applying what I have learnt at university and gaining a greater insight in to working within the corporate world!

Before starting my internship I wasn’t sure what to expect in regards to the tasks I would complete and the learning’s I would gain. From the start the ladies at Devahasdin has been very welcoming and I have really enjoyed being apart of the team and working on a range of tasks. The main clients I have been involved with include Murano and Gullotti – David Bromley Exhibition, The Good Food and Wine Show, Mundaring Truffle Festival, Bethanie, Rebecca Millman, Lease Equity and Perth’s ice hockey team – The Perth Thunder.

A key learning so far has been that working in consultancy requires the ability to be able to work with a diverse range of clients and being flexible as you engage with each client numerous times throughout the day is essential.

One of the first things I was taught is PR Valuing and the importance of regularly collating the client’s clippings that may appear in print, online or broadcast media. Once the clippings have been compiled you then use the appropriate valuing method (Modules, Column cm’s or Page Rates) depending on the source. The valuing method gives the clipping an advertising value amount, which is then multiplied by 5 to measure PR Value. PR Valuing is a task that I complete each day to ensure each client’s clippings are being collected and none have been missed!

Another task that I regularly work on is compiling media databases relevant to each client. This can be a timely task but it essential to ensure that all media suitable to the client has been accounted for. The database is then used to pitch any media releases or coverage ideas, so it is a very valuable tool.

During my first week at Devahasdin I completed a pre-event pitch for IGA at Waterford Plaza to get coverage within the local community newspaper The Southern Gazette for the stores International Food Festival being held in July. This was successfully picked up and featured in the papers ‘Fast lane’ section, which was pretty exciting to see.

So far I have been kept very busy, learnt so much and have really enjoyed my placement! I am looking forward to the rest of my interning days!

Caitlyn