Insights from the inside @ RICE: That's all folks! It's a wrap!

----posted on behalf of Dora Thang------

And to sum up my experience at Rice Communications, it was a complete eye-opener, experience-charged and fulfilling internship.

I've attempted things that I never thought I'll be able to accomplish, which is planning and executing a public relations plan for a film festival.

I've got three experience points that I believe will be essential for anyone who is planning for a career in the PR industry.

1) Like the new Arctic Monkey's single, "Suck it and See". Quite literally speaking, whatever tasks that is delegated to you, you just have to suck it (up) and see. Even if it is unpleasant like making media calls and receiving negative responses in the process, all the patience and hard work will pay off in the end.

2) All work and no play makes you a dull PR practitioner - there has to be a bit of fun in everything you do (maybe not so much for crisis management) and I feel that it is through finding the 'fun' and enjoyable side of things in this industry that will really make a the distinction between work or passion-fueled work.

3) Find an industry of interest - the industry clients that the agency serves are the ones whose work you will ended up with. So if you want an enjoyable experience, find an industry that you are interested in and the tasks allocated will not seem like chores!

Ok, that's it I guess, three months into this and maybe a long way more to go? :D

I wish all of you fellow interns, an enjoyable career and fun-filled days!

If you would like to contact me, for a chat or just having easy banter about work, you can find me on Facebook -> [Dora Thang]
Or for the interns on the other campuses, if you are planning to pop by Singapore for leisure or work, I would be glad to help!

Best regards,
Dora Thang

Insights from the inside @ RICE: Sometimes, it does not matter who knows best, it is the end result that matters.

---posted on behalf of Dora Thang----

For the film festival, I was tasked with organising a press conference, a press release, securing media interviews for the featured directors and organising committee, obtaining film reviews and planning of the opening night. I first thought to myself, “What a huge load of tasks!” And I was right, but looking back, I enjoyed every moment of it.

One thing I feel that wasn’t that necessary for the film festival was the press conference. I personally do not think that a press conference announcing the launch of it was newsworthy enough, and with most of the information provided on the website itself, there wasn’t enough incentive to pull the journalists into attending it. In fact, on the day of the press conference, only two journalists from two main dailies appeared, plus a handful of bloggers and invited friends. But if the client insists, the only thing that can be done is to stick to it. Thankfully, the articles that were generated from the two journalists were substantial enough to be picked up and copied onto many other interest-specific online sites.

This specific experience taught me that it does not matter who knows best sometimes, be it the client or the PR agency. I know in most cases the agency would have the final say in the strategic direction and planning of the PR plan, but sometimes if the clients are some real tough nuts to crack, you would just have to try and adapt their ideas to best fit a strategy that would be the most appropriate. Especially if the client is a stickler for results, you just have to figure out a way to deliver.

Alright, more in the coming post!

Warmest,
Dora Thang
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Insights from the inside @ RICE: Being shy is not an option; necessity overrules all fear.

------posted on behalf of Dora Thang-------

Hello again fellow interns! Ignore the ‘dark’ tone of my title; nothing morbid or life threatening in any sort will be discussed in this post.

So, I realised in the first week of my internship, one must be ‘shy-less’ when it comes to media calling and event pitching. I never thought I had such a fear of calling random (note:media) people until this internship. For my first call, my hands started to tremble, my voice squeaks up a few notes and I started to stutter. This was the end result of my physical state after my first call. And I thought, there should be a better way to experiencing this, to be more strategic and all.  Do you all experience the same ‘symptoms/side effects‘ that I’ve encountered? 

I’ve figured a way to self-medicate! That is to come up with a script, and list the main points that the media should know about and pitch it around angles developed on a publicity grid. By doing so, all the fear and trembling hands started to disappear for me, and media calling has become a more enjoyable experience. I’ve also learnt to disengage from the curt and crude way some media folks tend to respond in. This is one of the main hurdles that I had to get over quickly when I first started on the film festival.

But on a more positive note, plenty of learning experience from just making media calls. It opens you up, and easy banter would come along smooth the next time around.

Warmest,
Dora Thang
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Insights from the inside @ RICE

----------------posted on behalf of Dora Thang-------------------------------

 Hello fellow interns!

I know we are all almost drawing near the end of our internships and this is only my first post. I know I’m a little late but I guess no harm playing a little catch-up!

Just a really, really short introduction. I am Dora, 21 and I am a student at Curtin Singapore. I’m close to graduating, which is this June.

From all the posts that I’ve been reading (stalking), I trust all of you been well and thoroughly enjoying your experience despite the ups and downs of the job. Well as for me, I know I am. So in this, I’ll name my series of posts as, ‘Insights from the inside @ RICE’.

 I am currently interning in a PR agency called Rice Communications, thus the name of my series of posts. The agency is situated in a quaint neighborhood, on the fringe of the Central Business District. I started my internship on the 28^th of February and am almost coming to the end of the 3-month stipulated duration.

My agency handles mostly B2B public relations work, and with a high focus in the mobile technology, pharmaceutical and mining industry. But for my internship, I did nothing of that sort (maybe just a smattering of each). I was tasked with handling the marketing and public relations bit for a film festival.

My agency took on the film festival project pro-bono, and as much as I felt that I was ‘affordable’ labour at the start, I actually realised that undertaking such a huge project on my own allowed me to explore and really learn through the mistakes that I make and the challenges that I face.

More about that in the next post, for now I’ll retreat back into my office cubicle and wrap up the day.

Warmest,
Dora Thang
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