You can't get rid of me that easily!

Wednesday, 8^th May 2013 was my 20^th day at Via Appia NetworkingWA. It was extremely bittersweet. I must admit when I first began, I was so nervous and shy that I could not wait till my 20^th day there so that I could just say ‘bye’ and leave for good. The thought of waking up before 8am on the upcoming Mondays and Wednesdays were killing me.

Yet, 20 internship days or 11 weeks later, I found myself not wanted to leave just yet! If I went through and listed all of the memories and things that I’ve learnt through this journey, this blog post would never end.

Before I began my internship at NetworkingWA, I had no idea that they were an intern-focused organisation – meaning that they primarily “hire” interns who are looking for an internship either to gain additional work experience or, like me, are looking to complete a placement unit for university. During the time that I was there, I met and befriended eleven different amazing girls whom I never would’ve met if not for this.

I’ve also developed a newfound respect for my bosses, Rebecca and Adriana for always being able to constantly deal with everything – mainly the ability to professionally deal with difficult clients. In addition, their feedback and constructive criticism on every piece of work has helped me grow a lot as a potential PR consultant.

My favourite part (as I’m sure you guys already know), was the adrenaline and satisfaction I get when I see my contribution being a part of something big! 

What I learnt most, was the importance of time management. Evidently, in the event industry, datelines are set at least two days before the event is being held and the process to plan the event would've taken at least six months. That might seem like a long time, but when the creativity and resource juices start to run tight, time just flies by.

The most challenging aspect of the whole industry, is locating resources within the budget. It's true, what most people say about events - they don't bring in profits. This just emphasises on the importance of sponsorship from other companies. Till today, it still surprises me on how difficult this is to achieve.

I will never forget this journey, as it is the first time I’ve been able to experience what it’s like to work in an event management company.

I couldn’t bare to leave just yet so I’ve decided to continue on with my internship until the end of semester! - just when they thought they could get rid of me ;)

I hope that all of you enjoyed your internships as much as I did for mine.

Thank you all for reading my blog posts :)

Don't forget to keep a look out on their website for any events that you may be interested in!

Laura Ng

14865060

News Headline: Women take over the corporate world.

This topic has been numerously and vigorously discussed since before women had a right to do...well, anything really. Yet, women today are still trying to prove men wrong about this issue - that is, that we're as capable in the corporate sector.

If we think back and reflect on what women must have felt like then, the way they were ignored, mistreated and controlled, just because they were born on a girl. It's really saddening, isn't it?

When I was younger, my mum would constantly remind me of how lucky I am to be born in this time where women have their rights. Despite that, I can’t help but think, have women really come a long way? Have we really managed to gain respect yet?

To me, the answer is no. You must be thinking that I’m out of my mind - that we now have the freedom and rights to do what we want, say what we want etc. The way I see it, even though we do have rights, we still get constantly judged and criticised for everything we do.

I cannot tell you the number of times my driving has been criticised because I’m an 'Asian woman driver'. In the workforce, women who have higher-tiered positions are seen as heroes and it was no easy journey - to get up there to the top.

As NetworkingWA has an all-female team, we understand the importance of this topic and have had an increased interest in successful women in the workforce over the years. That's why, we have taken the initiative to celebrate and inspire other women to do the same.

Last year, NetworkingWA hosted “Women leading the way” where Non-Executive Director of Wesfarmers, Diane Smith-Gander provided us with an insight about her career journey and how she managed to juggle and prioritise in between family and managing one of Australia’s largest listed companies. The MC for the event, was Channel 10’s Co-Presenter, Narelda Jacobs is an idol whom many female look up to as she was the first indigenous female news anchor for a commercial channel.

Due to the success of this event, NetworkingWA has decided to re-create this event by making it bigger and better! This event is scheduled fr either June or July so everyone at NetworkingWA has been all hands on deck trying to locate the perfect venue and speaker. We can't wait for this event! 

Details about last year's event

Via Appia NetworkingWA

Laura Ng

14865060

Santa’s little helpers go to the ball

Ok, so it’s not exactly Christmas and I didn’t exactly attend the ball but on Saturday, April 6^th, I got to be behind the scenes at one of the most spectacular and breathtaking annual event; the Interpeople Charity Ball.

It was exactly what I have been waiting for. Finally. After so long, a nice reminder about my passion for events. Sometimes the effort and work that is demanded for a smoothly-ran event can get a little stressful and hectic but when I see it all come together; I know that it was all worth it.

Before I get ahead of myself, let me tell you guys a bit about the event and its cause. It’s an annual charity ball hosted by Interpeople and each year, they choose a different charity to donate 100% of the proceeds to. This year, Interpeople decided to raise awareness to Parkerville Children and Youth Care by showcasing the work that they do and some of the children whom they support. There was no better way to do it than to make the theme, glow in the dark! There’s no way you can turn down an event like this!

Of course an important day like this, calls for a lot of helpers. As NetworkingWA primarily hire interns, Rebecca [the founder] was able to split us into three shifts; 9am – 12pm, 12pm – 6pm and 6pm – 12am. I was asked to assist during the second shift so I managed to watch the entire set up! After placing flowers and jars filled with glow sticks as centerpieces and getting lighting all perfect, the venue was absolutely breathtaking!

Unfortunately, there were enough people to help assist during the actual ball so I didn’t get a chance to see the whole thing but Interpeople and NetworkingWA has received nothing but good feedback from the attendees. We can’t wait for next years!

I’ll make sure to volunteer for the night shift next time! It was evident that the people at Interpeople wanted to cater for everyone and they did not hold back with the details and prizes. Attendees got to experience Chris Nixon, paint right before their eyes, businessman whom enjoy golfing got to play in a Par3 golf stimulator, others got to enter in both live and silent auction that included eighty-nine different prizes including singing on stage with Australian rock legend Daryl Braithwaite. To add a little surprise, The Dance Collective put together a spontaneous flash mob routine – attendees were extremely shocked when the waiters suddenly jumped onto the dance floor!

If you don’t believe me, you can see for yourself!

The ball was held at the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre

Entrance / Registration

Entrance to BelleVue Ballroom

Cocktail Area - before set up

Stage view from the side

Tables with flower centrepieces

Tables with glow stick centrepieces

Par3 golf simulator

Blank canvas for Chris Nixon

Silent auction prizes include signed jersey by the Eagles and Dockers team

Videos; I apologise in advance for the shakiness and poor quality of this video as it was filmed live on an iPhone

Ballroom during light check

The Dance Collective flash mob
Via Appia NetworkingWA

The smile and excitement shown on the team's faces were absolutely priceless!

Laura Ng

14865060

First day as a Networker

Before I begin my story about my first day at my brand new internship, I must first tell you a story. After emailing (and getting rejected or no replies) by at least ten different event management companies, I decided to email two final companies before moving on to look at different areas of PR.

By now, I’m 3 weeks away before the commencement of Semester 1, 2013 and I am desperately trying to land a placement so that I can get one step closer to graduation. Now, let me just mention that I emailed a specific lady for Company A (I managed to get her direct email) whereas the second company (Company B) only provided a general email account (no name was provided).

Within 2 hours of sending the emails, I got a reply requesting for an interview. I was ecstatic! At this point in time, I was completely unaware that I was emailing two ladies who had the same name!

So it’s Monday afternoon, I arrive ten minutes before my appointed time and I walk through Company A’s doors requesting to see this lady. I was shocked when she said that she was unaware about our meeting and requested to see the emails that we had apparently been exchanging. I guess I was too excited about actually landing an interview that I completely forgot to even see which company was emailing me.

It’s a hot summer day, by now I’m a few minutes late to meet the lady at Company B and to make matters worse, I get lost.

After 5-10 minutes of running up and down the same street, staring at every single building number, I arrive at the doors of Company B. The moment I stepped inside, I knew that it was the perfect environment for me.

Rebecca (the Founder of Via Appia NetworkingWA) interviewed me and after a few questions, I was given the opportunity to intern for them and was given a tour of their cozy office.

On the first day, all interns are required to write a blog post about who they are and why they wanted to be an intern at NetworkingWA. After submitting my blog post, Adriana (Event & Marketing Manager) introduced me to Highrise and DropBox, websites that they frequently use so that all documents could be easily accessible.

My first task that was I was assigned to, was a really fun one! In the upcoming weeks, NetworkingWA is hosting a conference in Bali and the event programme included an “Amazing Race” challenge for all the attendees. Rebecca and Adriana wanted me to create all the activities for them and research about what a nearby orphanage desperately required as the prizes that the winners receives, would ultimately be donated to their children.

Planning the Amazing Race challenge definitely took longer than expected so I did not manage to complete until the end of my second day but it was definitely something new that I had never gotten the opportunity to do before so I was glad that I was given this task on my first day.

What I learnt in PR Techniques definitely helped me complete this task, as I was able to refresh what I had learnt from 2 years ago and actually apply it at work. It’s the first time that I have been giving the opportunity to do this and I cannot wait to experience more of this.

Via Appia NetworkingWA
My internship blog post

Laura Ng

14865060

21st Century Options...

Who would've thought it'd be possible to provide a means for direct communication between a business and customer, and increase lead generation and selling, all whilst the business is improving their relationship with the customer via email and the internet? It seems e-newsletters are quickly becoming one of the most necessary and compulsory tools for distributing information to clients and customers in todays society.

As part of my internship at The Hub Marketing Communications, I was allocated the task of researching into the various e-newsletter choices available online. I used two different e-newsletter developer websites to compare options; mailchimp.com.au and campaignmonitor.com.au. After conducting research into both of these developers' offerings, I was amazed at the hundreds of different options that were available to help an organisation transform the way it delivered information to a client.

To help you better understand the degree of creativity that goes into creating an e-newsletter, here are a few examples of what e-newsletter developers can offer clients today:

• Mobile ready templates - or more simply, any template you design on a monitor will be automatically optimised for both desktop and mobile clients (i.e. how you see it on the desktop is how you see it on the mobile)
•  Segment your email list based on any category of difference to ensure clients and customers are only receiving information necessary to them (and customise the content)
• Free reports - after you have distributed an email/e-newsletter, you will have access to a variety of charts, graphs and calculation tools that will show exactly who has opened the e-newsletters, what they have been looking at, any links they have selected to open and how many times they have re-opened your e-newsletter.
• 'World view' feature - shows you exactly who has opened your email and from what exact location in the world from the view of a fullscreen world map that you can then share
• Give clients access to your reports
• Personalise everything! From the template, to the customised information included to the signup/subscriber forms and confirmation emails
• Have 'time zone' control - ensure e-newlsetters are sent out at exactly the right time using the time zone controller tool
• 'Subscriber snapshot' - a function that allows you to see a single page showing every interaction you've ever had with each of your subscribers (e.g. see which email client they view their emails on

These are just a few of the hundreds of differing options available to organisations who chose to go through a e-newsletter developer when constructing their very own e-newsletter.

This research certaintly gave me an insight into the world of the internet and how it's possible to customise everything right down to the core!

Now, more than ever, public relations firms have the option of going above and beyond competitors by utilising the various techniques for differentiating yourself apart from a client organisation. And whats even more exciting, being creative has never been easier with the ease and simplicity of using websites to develop email campaigns... What's not to love about 21st century technology?!

Welcome to WACOSS!

Hello everyone, my name is Carla Lo Presti and I am in my final semester and this is my final unit of my Marketing and Public Relations Degree. 

When asked by my unit coordinator to think of an industry that I could see myself working in, there was not one hesitant bone in body that suggested Not- for-profit. With careful persistence and courage I was determined enough to gain a placement at the Western Australian Council of Social Service. After a few phones calls and emails, I was lucky enough to begin my placement at WACOSS on the 31st January 2013. Here, I have been assisting the Membership and Communications Manager and the Director of Corporate Services with various projects.


My first day was a little daunting, being the new person and a student there is often a lot of pressure and expectations that are placed on us as we are expected to have more knowledge and experience just because we have degrees. I was firstly introduced to the other members of staff in which were all welcoming and wonderful people, I was given a tour of our workplace, and I was asked to sit with the Director of Corporate Services and the Membership and Communications manager for a briefing. My first day also consisted of my director and manager discussing what our first project would be and what my responsibilities would include. It was my job to firstly read various annual reports, read the constitution, and research the community sector in Western Australia and Australia. 


The first major project I was asked to work on included the membership review for 2012-2013. WACOSS maintains a long list of member organisations and individuals that look to WACOSS to assist them in working effectively with members of the community. The last membership review was conducted in 2009 in which included new research to be conducted, a survey and previous data comparisons to take place. It was my job to review the survey of 2009 and make suggestions of improvement that I thought would be appropriate in ensuring WACOSS could get the results they needed to make improve services they are providing to members. 

Later on that day, the Corporate Services department in which I was placed in, held there monthly meeting. Here each staff member was able to tell me what their positions were in the organisation and what they do in each of their specialized areas. With a new team being developed in corporate services it was evident that new processes, systems and ways of communication needed to be developed in order for the team to work effectively and collaboratively. I was able to suggest having staff activities at each meeting so that staff could get to know each other and work well together. This provided me with an insight into how important internal communications is when working in larger team. 


After my first day, I will not lie in saying that I was left shaking in my boots! I did question my skills and knowledge and wonder if what I had learned in my degree and through other work experience had taught everything I needed to know.It is a little confronting when entering a new organisation and learning a whole new world. But then I remembered it was only the first day and this placement will teach me more skills that will help me in my career in Public Relations.  

I look forward to viewing other blog posts and seeing the different placements my fellow students have experienced!

I hope you are all enjoying your placements! 

Until next time… Carla

Let's make it personal

Over the past couple of weeks I have been tackling a lot of different projects including helping organise kids for photo shoots for the 2013 PMH Foundation calendar, interviewing and writing up stories of kids at PMH for the Ambassador program, visiting some in hospital dressed as the Stitches the Bear, writing and changing the monthly media report template and finding stories to pitch to journalists who wanted to write articles about the Foundation. Through all of these different activities I have been amazed at how versatile our team has had to be in adapting and accommodating key stakeholders. Each person has a completely different background, relationship to the hospital and the Foundation, interests and experiences. The Foundation does a lot of qualitative and quantitative research on its key publics through online campaigns, database information, commissioned reports and media monitoring to keep updated with changing social trends, issues and behaviours. I have noticed that the key concept used to successfully engage key stakeholders is to customise all messages and make things as personal as possible. Two recent tactics PMH Foundation is thinking of adopting to achieve this are email testing and a proposed online newsletter.

Email Tests

As discussed in my last blog, I have learnt a lot at weekly team meetings. We recently talked about testing donor responses to ‘thank you’ letters and welcome packs by sending one letter to half our database and a different one to the other half to see which one gets a better response. I was interested to learn how tests such as these help organisations better understand their key publics and tailor their messages and activities to suit their supporters needs and interests.

Online Newsletter Proposal

Another proposed activity was the idea of creating an electronic newsletter for our donors that could be tailored to suit individual interests. For example there are some donors who participate in certain events every year and are only interested in this, others are keen to give specifically to something like research and others who just like supporting PMH through buying merchandise. There would be significant benefits in creating a newsletter that could customise, and essentially personalise, information to suit certain stakeholders. The concept would be to make sure people are targeted individually and not made to accept a ‘one size fits all’ template. This way donors and supporters are not hassled by things they are not interested in and maximum awareness is stressed about things that do interest them. I have recently been involved with research into different online services that help to facilitate this sort of online newsletter, a service I never knew existed. I was introduced to http://mailchimp.com/, one such service that impressed me so much that I wrote up a recommendation and proposal for its use by the Foundation.

It has been fantastic to see how even up until my last days working at the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation I have continued to learn so much about the many functions and activities associated with public relations. Although a lot of the activities I have been involved in often cross over into marketing activities, I still strongly believe that each one helps build relationships and communication channels with key stakeholders and thus falls under the PR banner. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Foundation and it has helped me better prepare for a life outside of university both professionally and personally. I would like to personally thank all the staff at PMH Foundation for having me and investing time into giving me such an amazing and beneficial experience. Thanks also for offering me a paid position! PMH Foundation is an awesome place to work and I love the added benefit of knowing I am helping sick children and the WA community. At this point I am proudly going to say non-profit is the best PR sector :)

A fly on the wall at staff meetings

Staff weekly meetings may sound boring to some but this is where I have learnt some of the most valuable things about PR practice while interning at the PMH Foundation. Monday morning meetings have given me a broader perspective and greater insight into the organisation’s ethos, team dynamics and values. They have also brought to the surface many issues, ideas and concerns that play a part in bringing the team closer together and more in tune with each other and the vision and mission of the organisation. I have had time to think over a lot of different things that have come up in the meetings and in broad terms (so some information remains confidential) I wanted to outline some of the PR theory I have seen being used in practice.

Communication and Conflict Resolution - Employee Relations

At a staff meeting one person raised the concern that something had caused a shift in the team dynamic. Instead of feeling a sense of teamwork this particular thing had caused a sense of competition to overwhelm the way people went about their work. I thought this was an interesting point raised and as a team they felt they had to step back and assess whether this concern was affecting the organisation as a whole. The matter was fixed fairly easily because the meeting allowed people to voice their opinions and find a solution that suited everyone and bring things back to the values of the organisation. I think this was an example of good employee relations at the PMH Foundation and showed good communication within and across its teams of people. Staff are able to inform each other of important announcements and keep them updated with new developments during weekly meetings and through an email system. Informal things like ANZAC cookie competitions, nachos and pizza days are also lovely lunchtime ideas that build community and a sense of goodwill among co-workers. According to PR theory we have learned, service and quality are built through loyal and motivated employees. I think the relationships and communication developed in a mix of formal and informal ways are a key part to achieving this (I found this online tutorial had some pretty interesting things to say on this and many other aspects of PR if you are interested http://www.edvencomm.net/pr.pdf ).

Public Awareness - Marketing in PR

In my last staff meeting we discussed one of the main issues the Foundation is facing, which I outlined in my first blog post. Basically, there is continual confusion and lack of public awareness of the separate identity of the hospital and the Foundation. In addressing this concern, the marketing and communications team came up with a variety of new strategies to raise public awareness, manage the organisation’s image and provide more ways for target publics to be involved with the Foundation. I learnt a lot just by listening to the input from different team members about this particular issue. Ideas, which will be implemented to address different target publics, included giving out PMH Foundation bravery awards and Stitches stickers to kids in hospital, sponsored tea breaks for staff courtesy of the Foundation and a TV commercial to position the Foundation as the key fundraising body of the hospital (look out for it on TV soon!!). Social networking sites like Facebook will also be key to establishing a separate (and more personal) identity for the Foundation. I will be interested to see how all of these tactics help to build awareness and a strong identity for the Foundation in the future.

These are only a couple of aspects of PR that I have gained valuable insight into at staff meetings. I sometimes have to smile to myself when I think of how much of what is discussed relates directly to the things I have learnt about strategic PR in all of my units! Always good to see how theory is applied in the real world of PR in practical ways.