Networking your way to success

As my time at Fremantle Press comes to a close it has become clear how valuable the contacts I have made through this job are. While I know the value of networking events I have never been a particularly big fan of how some people chose to go about it-handing out their business cards left right and centre and attempt to sell themselves to anyone and everyone. It is important to get out there, meet people and make a good impression as a PR professional, but I personally think it’s more effective to network in a relaxed, subtle and friendly way. In my experience people like a genuine approach, so taking the time to get to know people, have interesting conversations and build real relationships is very important.

On my last day at Fremantle Press I was invited to a farewell celebration for a long-serving staff member. I was able to meet the board, many of whom are well known in Perth’s arts and business communities. I used this as an opportunity to get to know them and make a good impression. Having taken the time and made an effort with these people I would feel very confident to call on them at a later date.

My approach to networking is a reflection of my personality and it has worked really well for me. I think everyone has to find their own style that works for them and I would be very interested to hear how others approach networking and any suggestions or tips you’ve got on how to get noticed and remembered. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Verity

The Value of Voice

I've invented my own word, I call it 'techciety' (pronounced tec-si-e-ty) and I use it to describe the current corporate culture we live in.

Week three of my internship has come and gone, and I found the need to develop a universal term to describe the environment my office operates in, and what I feel many offices nowadays are operating in.

I am placed in an office 2 days a week (over 10 weeks) with an event planning company called TriEvents, however as I mentioned in my last blog, I am doing my internship through correspondence with an event staffing agency called Event Workforce. I have fast come to realise that business people rely heavily on technology, many I feel are co-dependent.

I operate my day on the computer, carrying out market research and emailing students from our database and university lecturers who I am trying to organise the delivery of promotional presentations with. In my first few weeks my day has relied solely on what information the computer can provide. The majority of my market research is carried out online, and when I need to contact new university lecturers I find myself researching their details online and sending them an email. If I did not have my computer, my to-do-list would be unachievable.

It was this week that I realised that the techciety we live in, whilst it is fast, efficient and convenient; doesn't satisfy our need to communicate verbally and physically. I was delighted this week to receive a phone call from Michelle at Edith Cowan University. I had emailed Michelle earlier on in the week with information on Event Workforce and to discuss distributing flyers across the campus. When Michelle organised to call me, my first reaction was fear. I felt nervous to communicate with a person verbally as it makes the conversation somewhat 'real'.

When I picked up the phone, my afternoon became a delight and I automatically satisfied  my personal need to effectively communicate using Grunigs two-way symmetrical model. My conversation with Michelle opened up many business opportunities. Michelle explained to me the current volunteer program that ECU currently operates and also gave me the names of professionals in other tertiary institutions that I could contact for my own purposes. She also kept our company details on file so she could recommend Event Workforce to students who contact the careers office looking for volunteer opportunities.

We live in a techciety, which is fabulous. Our reliance on techonology not only reflects our internal operations, but also the habits of greater society. As such we must use our technology wisely. As a communications student I recognise that online communications are essential and preferred in the corporate world. However in saying this I have also learnt that we must embrace the notion of face-to-face and verbal communication when addressing particular stakeholder publics such as university contacts as it helps build a mutual understanding and stronger relationship.

This can also be applied to internal communications, perhaps next time you go to write an email to your colleague, a walk to their desk to say hello may be in order? The value of face-to-face contact cannot be underestimated, as it is the original and the most basic medium for developing mutual relationships.

Lets not lose the most valuable tool we were given in this techciety- our voice.

Until next time,

Amy

First World Issues: Chocolate or Vanilla?!

My journey throughout my University life has not always gone quite as smoothly as I may have hoped. As a young, wide eyed, impressionable 17 year old I actually commenced my studies at Notre Dame University destined to be a high school teacher. Needless to say the Gen Y stereotype well and truly kicked in, as I decided to leave that course of study as of a week of experiencing exhilarating explanations of lesson plans, “basic IT” (how to put together a PowerPoint- seriously?!) and the joys of marking hundreds of student exam papers; nooo thank you! 

As a result of my very definite decision not to pursue teaching (funnily enough I know teach adults Pilates- go figure) I chose to pursue what many of my friends considered the safe vanilla option- Business. Lovely, not so excitable (or so it seemed), safe business. Being a bit of a chatty Kathy I immediately chose Marketing then later on PR to major in for my degree and for that I am extremely grateful.

Having finally reached that almost Mount Everest like challenge of ACTUALLY getting to the last semester at University, marketing and PR has served my overactive brain well. A degree that requires a certain amount of drive and dedication seeing as you do only spend around a maximum of 12 hours at Uni, has taught me the integral lessons of absolutely never giving up. Which brings me to my internship. Me being quite the busy lass, I did like so many other students before commit the cardinal sin of leaving the organisation of my internship to the last minute, that’s a big fat woops! My advice to all youngins out there yet to embark on their placement journey; please, please organise yourself early or better yet as one of my class mates did, even complete your placement in the Uni holidays. Shock, horror I know. Completing a placement within the one time period of forced rest and relaxation- seems like another sin. But I digress, back to my mistake. .

I was vey very lucky to have emailed one of my first choice boutique consultancies and hear back from them within the space of a week; they had a position available, brilliant!  However dun dun dun, enter option number two. As Perth people often do, and you will understand this if you are a local, I employed the age-old key PR tactic of networking. Temptingly easy in the place where everyone knows absolutely everyone and I am not exaggerating this (unless you are separated by the river north and south- like separate countries I’m telling you), I managed to secure an interview at the Fremantle Dockers Football Club.  Massive dilemma! It was like choosing from chocolate and vanilla, peanut M&M’s and Crispy, carrot cake and chocolate cake. Both such delicious options but which one to choose?!

In the end my love of fitness and sport tipped the scales and I chose to commence my internship with the Dockers in the Events department as of two weeks ago. So far my experience of the Club has been fascinating. Seeing the inner workings of such a well-known organisation and being to apply the hard earned skills of many years of “back breaking” study (12 loong hours a week…) and endless internships (actually back breaking) has been very rewarding so far. As an AFL Club the Dockers have an endless list of events to execute ranging from the major bi-weekly home game matches, a huge scale operation in itself, to that of sponsorship/ stakeholder lunch functions, the scope and scale of events and PR activities on every level. In saying this the Dockers players have a large list of responsibilities, with a select group of individuals assigned to several off field duties. PR and events involving stakeholder and media management, a daunting task I assure you. That being said it is safe to say that there is never a dull moment interning at the offices! And on that note I will leave you to ponder the mysterious nature of an AFL footballers responsibilities off the field when I discuss my first day on the job; the pre game Starlight Children Foundation stakeholder lunch..   

Until next time,

Lauren 

It all started with A Number

It all started with A Number...

The room was pitch black, not a murmur could be heard when the lights flashed and actors Kym Gyngell and Brent Hill stepped on stage for their debut performance that delved deeply into a witty, comedic, sci-fi experience. Genetic mishaps, dysfunctional relationships and the nature of the unknown. It is safe to say that the arts world is far from ordinary.

VIP tickets to the State Theatre of Western Australia on opening night, if that wasn't enough to get me in the door then the magically presented and fascinating performance from Perth Theatre Company on Saturday evening certainly was. I walked into the theatre and was overwhelmed by the atmosphere and buzz. Rachael (an intern at Muse Bureau) accompanied me to the event along with the Muse Bureau team and we watched in awe as everyone piled into the open warehouse.

There is something wonderful about a trip to the theatre, aside from the perks of champagne, good company and endless discussion. My first experience was eye opening and exciting, I thoroughly enjoyed becoming captivated in the complex scenario of stolen identities, secrets and mysteries that 'A Number' embarks on. There is no denying the intensity of concentration that I felt focused on the actors during that play.

Networking was soon to follow, after feeling a little star-struck I worked up the confidence to talk to Kim (actor) it was fantastic having an inside view into the performance and his thoughts about his first performance. I was introduced formally by Lauren and Grant to every high profile person within the arts industry. I found that my past knowledge from PR Techniques and PR Media was incredibly useful and I remembered learning a great deal about appropriate behaviour for networking and the importance of making contacts.

I was so greatful to be given the opportunity to have these experiences and I hope it is not my last!

Georgia

One Amazing Opportunity!

Hi Everyone,

My name is Jayne and this is my first PR393 blog. 

At the end of last semester I applied for the position of ‘Events Assistant’ at the Rottnest Channel Swim Association. The position was advertised as a part time position, helping to facilitate and organise the 2013 HBF Rottnest Channel Swim.  As I have always been passionate about the events industry I thought this would be amazing opportunity. After a telephone interview and two in person interviews I was offered the position. I was so excited; this is exactly what I was after!

I was aware of the fact this semester I would need to complete my PR 393 placement, I was slightly unsure as to how this would go as I was more in an event role rather than a PR position. However, once I was granted through university permission to complete my placement through my position at the Rottnest Channel Swim Association (RCSA), I quickly realised there were so many more aspects to PR and Events than I had first initially thought.

My time so far at the RCSA has been such a learning curve. I have been lucky enough to be involved in a variety of roles I would have only ever dreamed I would have had the chance to do if I was in a placement in any other organisation. The RCSA is a small not for profit organisation made up of only two staff members, the Executive Officer – Stacey and myself as the Event Assistant. This small office environment provides me with the opportunity to wear so many different ‘hats’ and learn so many different aspects of both Public Relations, Events and Marketing.

 The RCSA not only works all year to prepare for the HBF Rottnest Channel Swim which is held in February each year, but it is also an association made up of a board and a membership base. Individuals are granted membership of five years when they successfully complete a solo crossing from Cottesloe Beach to Rottnest Island.

I have always been told at University about how challenging working in a not for profit organisation is, and I never really understood or had firsthand knowledge until now. We rely so heavily on sponsorship as well as the community and swimmers support.  During the planning stages of our event and various functions that are held in the lead up to the swim such as our AGM and Swimmers Seminar, it was imperative that we sourced out the most beneficial quotes. This means sourcing a variety of suppliers for all our requirements - working to budget is extremely important!

I am so grateful for the networking opportunities that my position has opened up for me, I am liaising with Marketing Managers and Public Relations staff at some of the large corporations around Perth and the ability to network is something that I aim to continue to develop and improve on as my position evolves.  The use of networking site LinkedIn has become something I rely on heavily, as it provides the opportunity to connect with individuals in similar positions around Perth. You never know when you may run into these individuals down the path in your career…

I look forward to posting about my experiences so far and the events and functions I have had the opportunity to coordinate, as well as aspects of my position I find most exciting! And most importantly what I learn and the experiences I have in assisting to organise the largest open water swim in the world!

Regards, Jayne.

ITS A WRAP!

#4 ITS A WRAP

Perth Fashion Festival 2012 is over! The week went by so fast; it was a blur of excitement and exhaustion. Its been a week since Day 1 and I am still recovering!
Whilst I have worked in events for a couple of years now, I have not experienced a week long event. It is so much different to an event that goes for one night, or one day. You really cannot prepare yourself for something like PFF if you haven't worked it before.

Some of my highlights from the week were:

1. Social Media

I was one of a few girls on the PFF Instagram during the week! It was an amazing experience approaching 'celebrities' to take photos of them, or capturing a run way show and then uploading it to see so many people 'liking' and commenting. Whilst it was fun, it did come with great responsibility. There were PFF rules about how and what we upload, concerning boarders, filters and tags. This task really helped me understand the power of social media and how important it is in the public relations industry. 
On a personal level, taking part in the PFF Instagram was also very effective from a networking point of view. I had underestimated the impact social media can have on your work life until this experience. Through Instagraming people I met lots of designers, bloggers, stylists, industry people and journalists, who after meeting, I followed their Instagram from my person Instagram account, with them following me in turn.  
With my online presence now existing in a work environment as well as personal, I have taken on the responsibility of 'cleaning' up my own social media. Yes it is a bit of fun, but it is important to give off a professional, 'ideal' online image. 

2. Watching 'my' event

There were two PFF events I solely focused on during the Festival, as my boss was the Project Manager for them. The great thing about this industry, is that you have something tangible to show for all your hard work. It was an incredible experience to see it unfold first hand, as well as to read all about it in the media the next day. Such as on The West:

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/full-coverage/perth-fashion-festival-2012/a/-/article/14923523/local-collections-hit-the-mark/

3. Networking

The amount of people I met and the relationships I have gained as a result of working throughout the PFF week and my internship there for the past 3 months are invaluable. On a personal level, I have made some great friends and on a work level, I could not be more grateful for the experience and the doors it has opened up. 
In the PR world, you never know who is watching, who you will meet, or who a person is, so my greatest lesson learnt is to always be professional, always be presentable and always be on your A game, no matter what your feeling on the inside. Events is very hard work and long hours, which often goes unnoticed and unappreciated, so you really need to develop a thick skin. Go out of your way to introduce yourself, don't be shy and make an effort with everyone, because you don't know who they know. Perth is a small city, use every opportunity you can to network. 

ITS A WRAP

The Festival was so well received and it's amazing feeling knowing I contributed to it. I have decided the PR industry, in particular, Events, is definitely the area I want to work in once I graduate soon. Hopefully I made a good impression at PFF and they will consider me for next year!

Running into sports!

Hey everyone,

As I am now nearing the end of my professional practise at PMH Foundation, I am starting to get a much better understanding for the foundation as well as the not-for-profit industry itself and how PR is a vital tool in succeeding in this challenging industry.

If there was one thing I could take away from this and find the most important trait to carry when working in a professional world, it is to create connections, relationships and networks. As the big events are soon approaching for the foundation such as the Bear By Night Ball, Melbourne Cup Luncheon and the Urban Descent, this trait is being forced into me as I observe and assist with what is going on behind the scenes. This is something I hope use a lot soon as I am in the early stages of assisting and developing a corporate sports day for the foundation. This corporate sports day is something we hope to tailor into a package and make readily available for corporate organisations to use and therefore increase the funding received for the organisation. It is an exciting package to plan as it involves a sport that I love, but I won’t disclose which one though ;)

Getting this plan off the ground though was supported through the use of current relationships between certain staff members at the foundation and certain personalities within Perth, reinforcing the notion the value of relationships and connections.

As I am only in early and research stages of this, I will have to keep you all updated on my progress and also the ending of my placement as that is soon approaching. In planning this, I hope to create some great relationships that will benefit and support me within my professional career after university!

Thanks,

Brodie!

Networking our way through

I posted this before but through my other email so here it is again! ;)

As spring has officially begun, it is now getting closer to the race that stops the nation and also the event that stops the foundation (PMH Foundation that is). As the Melbourne Cup Luncheon at the Pan Pacific Perth is only 2 months away, final preparations are underway and the guest list continues to grow. On a daily basis many groups, organisations and individuals are calling for seats to the cities best Melbourne Cup luncheon. As this is a large event for the PMH Foundation, I have understood that even the small roles that I have been assigned to do such as data entry, research and researching potential donors is integral and the backbone to the event.

In the past several weeks in helping to plan this event, I have discovered that managing a successful charity event doesn’t just mean organisation and great management skills but it is also having the right relationships and connections, with this especially being the case in the not-profit industry. Networking to create these relationships is extremely important as these relationships can better acquire sponsorships, supplies, donations and/or guests. This is something I have discovered through one of my mentors, Guy. We had an unfortunate case within the team recently where a large beverage sponsor for the Melbourne Cup Luncheon decided to drop their sponsorship due to unforseen reasons, yet through one of Guy’s many contacts, we were able to quickly pick up another sponsor. These relationships that Guy has with many corporate clients in Perth and interstate locations has also managed to help acquire great donations for auctions and door prizes through connections at one major international airliner and other major organisations.

As practitioners, it is not just knowledge that is required, but it is also a personality that is friendly, communicative, outgoing and friendly. This is beneficial as it increases our social network and creates lasting relationships and connections that may benefit us, or the organisation we work for soon down the track. With this though, a level of professionalism still needs to apply. The degree of professionalism one must posses or must present varies, as relationships within the not-for-profit industry I have discovered are much more relaxed and open.

As I learn new skills and abilities every time I conduct my placement, it is still important for me to stay true to who I am and for me to use my personality to my advantage. This quick, self-made motto I believe is something that every PR practitioner should take into consideration everyday they go to work! 

Events to make the Events

I am starting my blog a little late but at least that gives me more to talk about!

I started placement at the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation, working alongside the events team four weeks ago and could not of chosen a better place to do my placement!

Most Western Australians have had some contact with PMH in their lives, whether it is associated with themselves, friends or family. This is one of the main reasons for me to ask the Foundation for a placement opportunity, as I myself was once a patient there. Many associate the Foundation with Telethon, but the foundation is completely separate from large-scale event and is also separate from the Princess Margaret Hospital itself. The foundation is set up alone as the sole fundraising body for the hospital to help acquire donations for future research, maintenance and equipment. Even though it is not apart of the hospital, the team at the foundation work alongside many of those inside the hospital to help reach future goals.

A lot of what the foundation does I found is highlighted in the weekly Monday morning meetings. These meetings help start off the week with what is currently happening at the foundation, what is coming up for the foundation and what the foundation is aiming to achieve as well as continually reinforcing the main goal of getting those donations and funds. Issues the foundation carry always emerge in these meetings, which I will discuss later on. These weekly meetings may seem like another sleep inducing discussion, but to me it is actually the thing that gets me buzzing in the morning, as it is informative and interesting to see what the foundation actually does and what I could potentially help and make a difference in (with a coffee in my hand of course).

Even though there is only four of us in the events team and only one being full-time, the team still appears to be a major part of the foundation as it appears to be the sources that gain large amounts of funding and donations. The events that the foundation creates appear to be extremely successful within Western Australia and manage to acquire well-known sponsors and guests. Events that are established by the foundation include the “Bear By Night Ball”, “Urban Descent” and “Wear a Bear Day”. The upcoming months appear to be busy months ahead for the team as all these major events are placed in the first half of the new year and as PR professionals, we all know there is a lot of planning when it comes to events.

To prepare, the events team (including myself) have been gathering information on past donors and sponsors in hoping to recruit further donations, sponsorships and guests to these upcoming events. The main event we are focusing on at the moment though is the Melbourne Cup Luncheon that is to take place on the first Tuesday of November of course. This included gaining a full page in the STM (Sunday Times Magazine) as shown to the right. It is not as large scale as some of the foundations other events, but it still manages to acquire large donations due some of its affluent clientele. Attracting sponsors and donors for the auction who match the clientele guest list has been at the top of the agenda for us. Gathering information on these past sponsors and donors had included using the foundations database (Readers Edge) as well Excel to dig out this information. This may appear tiring for the eyes, sitting on the computer hours on end searching, but it is all worthwhile and vital! Sending out chain email invitations to previous guests as also been achieved and appeared to be successful. So at the moment I have not been using many of the practical PR tools, but the basic teachings such as networking, professionalism and technical work that have been drilled into our minds is coming into good use.

That is all from me for now, but I shall be back soon for more updates!

Over half way!

Hello all,
I hope everyone is still enjoying their placements as much as I am. I am over the half way mark now and have been really really busy.

As part of the complete rebrand of Creating Communities the company needed an updated group staff photo and individual shots for the new website- so I was delegated the job of finding a student photographer who wouldn’t be too expensive but would still produce a quality product. Luckily a good friend of mine happened to fit that exact profile- so I was hoping that all the amateur shots he had taken in the past would be practice enough to produce a quality outcome (I was a bit worried as one of the directors used to be a photographer- so I had to make sure everything ran very smoothly and the photographs were of a good quality!). Luckily everything turned out really great. And you can see the finished product above and below.



In my last blog I talked about the cover page of the new Creating Communities website going live, the first cover page is the public interface with online stakeholders and the four flash pages which the design team created has been really effective. With the cover page going live my supervisor, Paula, was keen to get the rest of the pages completed and gradually go live with the rest, so this has meant that I have been proof reading a lot of articles and website copy.

Creating Communities was part of an award winning team, along with property developer PEET, who won a national Parks and Leisure award for the Village at Wellard. This was very exciting for the team to receive this accolade so it was only fit that I write up a media release and send it to our local papers. This is always such a daunting task- you know that when you are a PR practitioner that you will be writing media releases, but when it gets down to writing your first ones it is quite daunting and I was seriously raking my brain trying to remember PR Media and PR Techniques! I was also surprised when my supervisor thought it was good- need to believe in my own PR abilities a little bit more- I am sure this first media release will be the first of many!

One of the jobs that I had to do after writing the media release was to actually get PEET and other partners to approve what I had written- I was also a bit scared that they wouldn’t like what I had written but after liaising with the client I was given the all clear.

The move into the Melbourne office which I have talked about in previous blogs is still moving full steam ahead!! This meant that the Melbourne director (who is currently working in the Perth office) was flown over to Melbourne to try and establish some contacts and possibly win some work (stakeholder management and networking!!). So my job was to refer back to the business plan with the ten year outlook, vision, mission, strategies and expertise to create a PowerPoint presentation to take to clients that sold our company and our expertise but also raise our brand profile. This meant writing up ideas and proofing more copy, the finished product looked really great!

As part of the ten year business plan Creating Communities Australia wants to become Creating Communities so that the business can expand globally without having to be location specific. One of the strategies to raise our profile locally, nationally and internationally is to get Creating Communities employees on judging panels for awards, speaking positions at conferences or as a last resort being delegates at conferences to create networking opportunities and to raise the Creating Communities brand profile. My part in this has been to develop a conference and award database, recording important up and coming conferences and awards that fit in with the Creating Communities strategic direction. From the database I was then required to start emailing organizers about judging, speaking or attending. One thing I had to remember when email people was that my emails had to be really perfect as my name and the company is attached to it so it had to be absolutely spot on!

In an effort to communicate with a broader audience Creating Communities is starting an internal newsletter. This newsletter will be emailed out in an e-blast to contacts on our database. I have been put in charge of this project and have so far been gathering ideas from fellow staff about possible news stories and brainstorming ideas and newsletter themes. As part of this I have mapped out an 18 month plan for the newsletter with possible themes and have tentatively set the themes for next three newsletters.

So to finish up, I have been doing heaps and heaps of really interesting work and it looks set to continue. Hope the rest of you are still enjoying your placements too!

Primrose

eventful times at minters

Hi all! The past few days at Minter Ellison have been full on as usual -Thursday particularly, as we hosted two events at our offices and as a marketing team attended the lunch box list’s ‘Marketing Mavens’ lunch.

The first event was a breakfast seminar. All ran smoothly as we had pretty much set everything up for it on Wednesday afternoon. However our event coordinator was at the scene from 6.30 to ensure a successful and professional execution.

My morning was spent entering information onto a membership database and running around the city picking up essentials and completing last minute errands for the NAB dinner later that was held later that night. The ‘NAB long table dinner’ is an annual event hosted by Minter Ellison and has a positive reputation with both firms –which adds to the pressure of exceeding expectations each year. This year’s theme was ‘China’ and the lawyer in charge of the NAB client ensured we left no stone unturned, used only the best and demanded absolute perfection –right down to how far down he wanted the lanterns to hang in centre meters!

All in all I can say I had defiantly found 30 before 10am and as the day went on I felt I was given my first real look into just how stressful events can be – and that the more help and support the team gets the better. The way the lawyers from the responsible division helped out was a real credit to the employee relations at Minters and I am grateful to have had another opportunity to experience a whole event play out -from the sending of invitations to the fifty guests arriving, and even all the time consuming tasks in between! I must add how lucky the guests actually were –taking home a hefty goody bag and a bonsai plant each!

Seven of us left the office to attend the lunch box lists ‘Marketing Mavens’ event. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to three industry professionals.

The first speaker; Lousie Ardagh was extremely inspirational and I felt she presented a very relatable story. She discussed her hardship early on in life and how three key lessons have in some way shaped her. They related to resilience, persistence and hard work. She started her professional career in Ireland –moving there for love and not knowing how to speak a word of the language! She told of how she had to continually prove herself as good enough to her bosses and how she would always go that extra step to get what she wanted from her career.

I have actually been lucky enough to have had an internship with the second speaker –Nicole Jenkins at her boutique consultancy The Hub earlier this year. Nicole gave an account how she was never the best student and didn’t even study marketing or public relations at university until she had been working in the industry and found that is where her passion lied. She is now completing her doctorate on branding and has worked on some exciting events locally and interstate including the Perth convention and exhibition centre and the 2000 Olympics.

One thing I noted about the speakers was that all of them did strike some fortune of luck to kick start their career –emphasizing just how important networking and who you know really is. But they all also put in so much dedication, commitment and had a drive to be an absolute professional in the field and it is that that has got them to be where they are today. It’s those kinds of stories that really do inspire you and gets you excited about starting your own career, building up your experiences, lessons and knowledge to share and hopefully inspire others with one day.

This was the second lunch box list event I have been fortunate enough to attend and I encourage everyone to try and get along to them when you can as they really are inspiring and a great way to meet people in the industry.

The significance of networking and relationship building...

Hi All!

After five official days at Sunset Events I have begun to ponder the importance and, I dare say, the necessity of networking and relationship building with regards to events development and management. In particular I bare reference to the sourcing of an invitations/guest lists for anniversary/launch parties for new products/services and other internal events.

This became of immediate relevance to me in particular, as I spent numerous hours on the internet discovering the cool and trendy bars, music venues, galleries, restaurants etc around Perth and then another countless amount of hours ringing these establishments for contact details and confirmation of mailing/email and other informations (needless to say, I'm a pro on the phone now, haha!)

During this process I wondered whether it would be the exact same case for every event to follow, whereby the poor little office intern for that particular day/week/month would do exactly the same tedious tasks as I had done, or whether the contacts made throughout my search would be forever aligned with the organisation from that point on?

...Also, would the task have been a little less involved and time consuming had it focussed primarily on persons and organisations already affiliated with Sunset? Or would the event have been seen as lacking variety, scope and relevance if it were completed in this way?

What's your take on the situation?

--

Unrelated to the topic at hand, here are a few little highlights of my time at Sunset so far:

• Birthday cake for morning tea (yum!);
• Learning how to and performing my first mail merge (yay!) and;
• Seeing the final product, being invitations, sealed and addressed in their envelopes- of which I was involved with sourcing, quoting and compiling all of the elements =)

Signing off for now,

Ana B (Bentley Campus).