Socialite Media, New Chapter

Don’t get confused by the word Socialite. I don’t mean Socialite like “a person who is well known in fashionable society and is fond of social activities and entertainment” Socialite is a short-term word for an employer who works at Socialite Media is called a Socialite.

When I first arrived back in Australia from an amazing holiday, the countdown of finding the perfect job for PR 393 unit started in my head. I told myself that I have to organized myself, edit my resume, and hand out to companies I wanted to work at.  Everything I learned for the past three years of Public Relation Theories and Practices, I felt overwhelmed and asked myself whether I am ready for the real world.  

However, PR 393 unit is one of the best stepping stone for me to get a taste of what is like in the real job world. On January 25^th, 2013 I handed resumes at many companies I can think of. In the beginning, it was difficult to narrate down to what type of organizations I wanted to get myself into. Although, I didn’t want to be picky, so I was content with what company I ended up working for. All of a sudden, I got a call from Socialite Media.

Socialite Media is an implementation partner for organisations that wish to grow their social media presence.  Who says you need to manage your own online social media? It’s challenging enough executing a standard business strategy, let alone hourly tweets and daily Facebook updates. In fact, on average, Socialite Media spend 8 hours a week maintaining their social media presence irrespective of a strategy that actually generates results. Even though this organisation is not a PR Firm, Socialite Media is Australia’s leading company in social media solutions. They provide a holistic social media solution for any organisation.  

When I received my first interview call from one of the campaign manager, Julian Amistad, the first eerie question he asked me was “How social media addict are you?”

“I am a bit of a social media addict, but I love to go outside for fresh air”- my first response initial response of an interview question

Luckily Julian had a great sense of humour and asked me if I was interested in working for their organisation. It was difficult to contain my excitement, but I kept myself calm and responded on what day they would love me to start.  

We organised a face-to-face interview meeting and before I hung up, I told myself “This is a new beginning…”   

Before I walked into the office, I sat by a near café to look over my notes about the organisation and I brought one of my favourite books to read which was by Anthony Robbins “Awaken the Giant Within” (shown  photo above).

For those who don’t know who Anthony Robbins or known as “Tony” Robbins is an American self- help author and motivational speaker. He became well known through his infomercials and self-help books and he has travelled around the globe helping individuals with financial and personal decision of how we perceive by using NLP (neurolinguistics programming). 

He has been an inspiration and taught me that “know that it’s your decision, and not your conditions, that determine your destiny”(Tony Robbins). I took his word, looked at the time, got up, and head to Socialite Media and knew the decision I’ve made to get this far is the beginning of the new chapter. 

I wish everyone the best luck of their internship and if anyone is still looking for internship, please DON’T GIVE UP! =)

 

Blog References:  

• (2010). Socialite Media [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://a2.mzstatic.com/us/r1000/050/Purple/1b/a7/2e/mzl.ybjmkzrl.png

• Diago Franco, E. (Photographer). (2013, January 29). Getting ready for an interview. A couple of wisdom and positivity in my mind. [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://instagram.com/p/U47CKrpmrz/

'This isn't an internship you can start the night before!'- How Planning Pays Off

We all know how teachers used to always used to say things like: ‘this isn’t an assignment you can start the night before!’ and your mum used to say, ‘you have to get organised, Natasha, this is getting ridiculous!’...or ... or was that just me? The point is I’ve always been quite good at organising other people, but myself? Not so much. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never handed in anything late or unfinished but I just seem to perpetually be stuck in a rush before deadlines. I’m sure you know it’s never fun.  However the way things are going I think I those times might be coming to an end.

My internship is at a national spray tan company called TechnoTan. I felt that this would be a good opportunity to learn internal PR and to prove to myself that PR theory can be practiced in any business and in any industry. TechnoTan is not at a PR firm, a charity or even a company with an extensive PR department. Before I arrived, when PR work was done it was often completed by the marketing girl or the consultant that comes in one day a week.  This means that there is no one telling me what to do and no one sharing their contacts or passing on projects to me.

It turns out that this has been just the push I needed to get my working priorities in order. Just because no one is assigning me projects or babying me does not mean that there is nothing for me to do and learn. There was very little PR work being done when I arrived which means that there are fundamental gaps that I can get to work on immediately. It means that I will gain real-life experience on company analysis (swot analysis’ are my best friend!) and what it is really like to implement public relations initiatives from scratch. There will be no coasting through on anyone else’s ground work here. 

Falling back on the fundamental PR theories learnt in class, I begun with a situation analysis. I researched using information from the office manager, company manuals, online and promotional materials, casual interviews with customers and even through studying competitor’s materials. I also interviewed the managing director when completing a gap analysis to really get an idea of where the company wanted to go. I also made a special point to note the writing style and tone adopted by the company, as it is very important to maintain and cultivate the correct 'image' of the company when writing for it.

Then, with still no work incoming from my boss, I drafted, and then got to work on a series of projects that I could complete to help bridge the gap between the head office and its various publics.

It just so happened that yesterday the office manager approached me, after having worked by myself  for days, and let me know that they were thinking about interviewing customers to see how to better serve them and would I like to write up a survey?

‘I have one right here!’ I said, having written one up to aid my swot analysis.

He also mentioned that after hearing about my idea for a seminar series, it would be good if I could provide a mock-up of a presentation.

‘I can send it to you right now’, I said, having drafted them as a part of the campaign.

He then mentioned that the Managing Director wanted to improve the vision and mission statements.

‘I’ve already sent him some options to look over’, I said.

It turns out that being prepared and conducting extensive planning really pays off and can look quite impressive to your supervisors (not to mention it feels pretty good too). This is definitely a lesson I will take with me, in both my career and life: planning pays off.

Natasha Smith

14279030

Team Work

I've been doing my professional practice placement at Curtin University within the Public Relations and Marketing Department. I have been working directly with the Project and Campaign Consultant, Asha Selvendra.

Our main focus was Curtin's Open Day. We were in competition with the four other major tertiary institutions in Perth, who were also holding their Open Days' in the week surrounding Curtin's, so not only did we have to make sure everything was organised in time for the event, we also wanted the event to be fun, innovative, and entertaining. Our main priority in the first few weeks has been the program for Open Day.

I have worked with all the different education departments within Curtin, Health, Science & Engineering, Humanities, CBS, and  in order to sort out the program/guide for visitors on the day. I have been finalizing lecture and activity times, to make sure everything that gets printed in the program is correct. The design coordinator within the marketing department, Angus Souter, has also been working with the graphic designer in charge of the design for the program. Asha and I have been meeting with Angus, to finalize designs for the timetable for activities and lectures, maps, and other images that will be included in the program.

My first two weeks really showed me how massive a job planning Open Day is, and how important it is to be very well organised. Small tasks such as the program, take up so much time, and involve a lot of team work and coordination with separate people in order to get the job done. Asha and I have spent a lot of time meeting with different people to ensure that the program is printed on time and correctly.

First few days! - PR Internship at the Heart Foundation

Hi all,

I am a commerce student majoring in PR and will graduate this year.

So far I have worked a total of six days here at the Heart Foundation located in Subiaco and I am enjoying the challenges and tasks that are coming my way. I have decided to write about the first four days in this blog to keep each blog individual and a little more interesting.

The Heart Foundation was established in 1959 with the goal of aiding cardiovascular research, supporting health professionals, developing promotional activities and assisting those affected by heart disease. The Heart Foundation is a not for profit organisation and heavily relies of the generously of corporate sponsors, the public and the government.

Most people are familiar with past campaigns, however the majority of people recognise the Heart Foundation tick often located on cereals, spreads, certain meats and other grocery goods.

It certainly is a game changer joining the ‘real world’, firstly you dress the part (no more casual dress and messy hair), its now elegant suits, silk ties, cuff links and superior grooming. The office atmosphere is certainly something strange yet interesting at the same time. Here at the Foundation you have your own typical office cubical with all the office amenities shining under bright lights.

My first few days were quite busy with many things to quickly learn such as using the network drives, using outlook, working out the cisco phone and building an excel database for the current 2012 Door-Knock campaign. Overall things are much more settled and productive now.

I shall leave it there for my first blog entry, next blog will discuss the Door-Knock campaign and the work I have been doing.

PS: Does anybody find parking in Subiaco ridiculously hard and strict?

Talk to you guys later, Miles. 

A Toe Tapping Start to Work Experience

Hello!

So I've finally decided to write my first blog about my internship at the one and only Western Australia Jazz Youth Orchestra (WAYJO). WAYJO is a not-for-profit organisation that provides unique opportunities for the top jazz musicians in WA. It's a very tough organisation to get into but once accepted students are rewarded with career-defining experiences including touring, training, recording and performing with world-class guest artists.

As this is my first work experience position I had no idea what to expect! As soon as I walked in I felt very comfortable and ready to get to work! I work in a small office with about four other ladies all of whom are very kind and facilitating.

WAYJO at the moment is very busy as its due to celebrate its 40th anniversary next year! This means gaining sponsor and alumni support is even more important as they plan for the numerous events and programs in the next coming months. This is wonderful for me as there's a lot for me to do!

Due to WAYJO being a not-for-profit organisation I've been given a variety of tasks. These tasks include; creating a media contact list, updating and adding to sponsor and school contact lists, written an editorial on an upcoming jazz artist, designed event flyer's, contributed to the format of the new website, created a list of free web event listing sites, published WAYJO event details to event listing websites, and resolved returned emails.

I'm very much appreciative of my unit coordinators as they've always covered material that is associated with non-for-profit organisations. It is only now I understand the true differences of PR roles in profit and non-for-profit organisations that I've been taught throughout my degree. The skills I've learnt from my PR units have been vital in my role at WAYJO and additionally give me the confidence to attack the new tasks assigned.

So far I have learnt so much and have really enjoyed my placement! I'm looking forward to learning and experiencing more at WAYJO! 

Bye for now,

Christina

Stretching in at Gymnastics WA

Hello PR people,


Introductions

First of all my name is Kim, I’ll start off by admitted I'm pretty wrapped that I'm finally starting up my blog, it means I survived the first week or two of my Internship! And yes I actually was that scared of the idea of starting this last phase of university learning. I say that because after all this time learning about PR, what it is and how to use it, I was scared that the way I applied my knowledge wouldn’t be of much value to a real organisation.


I’m finding myself pretty fortunate in landing a spot at Gymnastics WA, the main reason for this being it’s an organisation based around sport, something I’m pretty passionate about.


The Office

The state Gymnastics Centre is located in Loftus Sports and Recreation Centre, not too far from home which is wicked. In the office there are about 10-15 people working to keep the Government funded organisation running. Each person has control of an area working in conjunction with a few others in their section, these being; Operations Section, Services and Development and Gymsports Section.


My Role

As Gymnastics WA doesn’t have a PR department as such I am working under the Gymsports Section which manage the events and state teams. My role fits in here as I’m helping with the PR for a new event, an awesome opportunity but daunting too! The people I’m leaning on the most are the Gymsports Manager and the Executive Director. As this is a first time event designed to target outside the gymnastics community, both my mentors are in uncharted waters, so as a PR student I bring valuable knowledge to the situation.


So Far

So far my role has been to write the sponsorship package for this new event, a task I thought would be far beyond my capability, however I’m pretty proud of the document that’s coming together.


Issues

The things I’m finding hard so far pretty much concern the change in work environments, sitting at a desk for 7-8 hours a day is not ideal. The other challenge I’m finding is getting contact time with my mentors to discuss my concerns, theres 10 other people so competing for their time is a task. However I’m being forced to talk to other staff members and borrow their knowledge as well as trust my gut, which I suppose is part of the whole process of becoming a PR Professional.

And So The Journey Begins!

On Monday July 2, 2012 I began my PR placement at Linc Integrated. Linc is a marketing and communications consultancy in Perth, that is quite well known for their work and focus on achieving results for their clients. I was very excited for my first day as I knew I would be able to be a part of something really big that week.

After arriving at Linc in the morning (and after having trained it for the first time in about five years - it was an experience, I’ll leave it at that) I met my supervisor and the rest of the PR team. My supervisor Rebecca introduced me to the Linc team (which includes the dog 'Poppy') and took me for a tour around the office. Although Bec would be my supervisor I would be supported by the rest of the Linc PR team, which included a few full-time and part-time members as well as other employees from different disciplines who help to support the work done for their clients.

We started off with a briefing between the team, and I got the low-down on why this week was to be one of the biggest and busiest of their year. I was to spend my first week of work experience assisting them to carry out Bankwest’s Six Days of Happy. Essentially the point of Six Days of Happy is to celebrate the opening of the clients’ new flagship store in the city. The fact it ran for six days was to relate it to the feature of the store being open six days a week, which differentiates the client from their competitors. Each of the days would have a distinct event at the flagship store in the city as part of their celebrations.

The events are listed here in a media release.

In order to familiarise myself for the first day "Main Event Monday" I took a good read of the running sheets, media releases, spokesperson briefs and speech notes. It was then time to set out and manage the event!

 

 

When we headed to the store I got to meet the clients’ team. After helping to set up outside and ensuring appropriate brand coverage, our special guests began to arrive. Main Event Monday was to feature the Western Force going head-to-head in a fitness challenge against the WA Ballet and Nathan Pocock from the Force would also be doing a book signing in the store.

I'll admit I was pretty excited about this, mainly because I have a background in ballet and I frequently have the argument of "dancers are the fittest" with my boyfriend who is a sports fanatic! Main Event Monday was going to finally set the argument straight once and for all!

Overall the event went really well, the WA Ballet smashed the Force boys in the five fitness exercises (as I knew they would) and we managed to get quite a few people down to watch. It turned out to be a crowd-pleaser but Monday was only the beginning!

On Tuesday we headed down for another big event. We were going to have Andrew Embley and Josh Kennedy from the West Coast Eagles (WCE) come down for a handball competition and some merchandise signing for "Tackle Tuesday". When we arrived it was really noticeable that the Eagles’ appearance would be a key driver for public attendance. Die-hard fans were already waiting for them to arrive before we got there. It was also essential that branding was in the appropriate places, particularly for the signing inside the store where photos would be taken of the players. I had the very fun job of coordinating the mascots which included Rick “The Rock” from West Coast and the clients own Gary the Squirrel. It was quite fun being put in charge of making sure they were in the right places at the right time to ensure photo opportunities.

  

In comparison to Monday, Channel 9 came down to the event to film and the footage ended up on their news report that evening, which was a great result. I also ended up appearing in a shot, which gave my mum a good laugh when we watched the news and managed to get my own signed autograph and photo with the boys (I must learn to not blink in photographs!).

When I returned to Linc on Wednesday everyone was buzzing! It was "Wi-Fi Wednesday", which would showcase the first Tweetathon in Australia! Every tweet between 8am and 6pm which included @Bankwest @Telethon7 with the hashtag #tweetforkids would result in the client donating $1 per person to the charity. I was really impressed with this idea when I heard about it as it’s good to see social media being put to use for a great cause. I also knew I was going to be facing a very big day that would be incredible to be a part of. Of course, as the event was on Twitter we all spent most of the day with our eyes literally glued to the computer screen. Every few minutes one of us would announce one of the high profile tweets we saw to the others, and there were a lot! My job was to ensure I screen captured all the high profile tweets. I ensured I got everyone who was well known and had a lot of followers. There were some big, BIG names including, Johnny Ruffo, Mel, Kochie and Mark Barretta (from Sunrise), Jen Hawkins, Megan Gale, Matthew Pavlich, Danny Green, Mick Malthouse, I mean the list just went on and on and on. I must have compiled about 25 pages of tweets just from high profile people.

Check out some of the coverage online by following this link.

We also headed down to the flagship store where the client had arranged staff to wear special shirts whilst tweeting outside the store in the plaza (again, note the branding placements). Channel 7 had come down to film as it was the first event of its kind to happen. The Telethon Director and Fat Cat also came down and tweeted in the shots which helped to display the clients’ partnership.

It was really interested going down to see this because you just don't realise how different something is from how it appears on television and how 10 seconds of footage is drawn from 10 minutes of actual film, not to mention hours and hours of preparation. What was even more interesting on Wednesday is that I got to see an on the spot interview. This really showed the importance of briefing your client and preparing Q + A documents, as well as spokesperson briefs.

  

Overall it was a really exciting day to be a part of and follow so closely. It demonstrated not only the power of social media but also how to properly manage it. At the end of the day we ended up with 10,890 tweets and the event ended up getting great coverage on Sunrise in the morning, who promoted it during their show and on Channel 7 news that night (I also made another appearance in a shot which generated more laughs from my family).

Although I didn't help with a lot of the preparation in the lead up to the event, I learnt a lot about event management in those first three days of my internship ,which included:

·        If something can go wrong, it will go wrong!: As prepared as Linc were you can't control the inevitable, one of the Force boys was late and there really isn't anything that could have been done (you can't magically make someone appear as much as you try).

·        You can't control the media: This was probably the eye opener for me. Linc had managed to get into contact with Channel 10 Monday morning for Main Event Monday, who said they would head down to get coverage. But unfortunately as one of the Force boys was a bit late the event was delayed a few minutes and Channel 10 ended up leaving for something more newsworthy. Also you can't control what they are going to actually publish so you have to be sure to provide as many opportunities as you can whilst also ensuring you are happy with what could possibly be covered.

·        Micro management:  It was really good coming along and seeing how an event is managed. I payed close attention to my supervisor, Bec was great! She knew what shots the photographer should go for, where they should set up to get the best coverage of branding and making sure everything ran smoothly. I think that it is key in events not only to be prepared, but also to be able to improvise on the spot and know really well what it is that the client is after in terms of results.

·    The importance of sponsorships: The WCE really demonstrated the benefits of an effective relationship; they drew large crowds and got lots of media attention for the client. Their profile in Perth was definitely a huge advantage for Tackle Tuesday, without them I highly doubt we would have been able to get coverage on the news.

·       The power of social media: It is still an extremely new tool! At one stage we were worried the Tweetathon would blow out too much as some of the people who were tweeting had 100,000's of followers on Twitter. This in turn led to some negativity surrounding the idea as one blogger commented that no one would donate that much money so it was unfair. Of course on the flipside, such an innovative concept would not have been possible without these platforms and it was able to reach such a large amount of people in a short amount of time. We even ended up capturing international tweets and some people were still tweeting about it the next day!

·        Make sure you open your eyes in photos and avoid distinctive scarfs your family can recognise on TV: I think this one pretty much speaks for itself.

Well this blog turned out a lot longer than I anticipated, but I really wanted to cover each of these events in the same post to help everyone get a better understanding of how the week was to work together. I had a really great time those first three days and although I have never had a particular interest in event management, it was fantastic to be able to get this insight and I thank Linc for allowing me to do so. Event management is extremely important but I don't think I would be able to focus my career solely on this type of work; nevertheless I still had an amazing time helping out to make the Six Days of Happy a great week!

Until next time!

Laura Tirli