Lessons, lessons, lessons

Hi everyone!

So my time as a PR intern at Swan Districts Football Club has drawn to a close, with its fair share of lessons learnt, both life lessons and PR lessons. I will be graduating this semester, which is very daunting but believe the internship experience has really increased my confidence for the big bad world.

One of the main lessons I learnt from my internship was that I can't learn it all in such a short period of time. I went into my placement knowing I would develop my skills as a PR practitioner by writing Media Releases and helping with events. What I didn't realise is that when I finished, while I feel much more equipped, I will still be learning constantly in my professional life.

As the PR world grows and develops in organisations, the more we are going to have to know and instead of this freaking me out, I am excited to sink my teeth into this new challenge. Instead of dreading the set readings at uni, I am going to seek out books that will help me progress as a professional - and I will enjoy it.

I hope everyone has an amazing break and well done for getting this far.

Keep learning!

Lucy

Different strokes for different...stakeholders?

Stakeholders. We all know what they are. This word is used over and over in every assignment we do but getting into the nitty gritty real life experience you actually realise the importance of knowing who your stakeholders are.

I've always been interesting in the community relations side of PR, getting involved with the people and forming that relationship with the public. Through my placement though I have been reminded that there are usually two or more sets of stakeholders and both are equally as important.

In working at Swan Districts Football Club, I have realised the importance of knowing your stakeholders through and through and there are two sets at SDFC.

The first lot of stakeholders are the fans, the members, the supporters of the football club. These stakeholders are reached through the footy, talking about the players and merchandise.

The second group of stakeholders are the sponsors and financial contributors. This communication is more strategic and involves an in depth plan to reach them, specifically to provide financial support for the club.

I know this might seem a bit obvious but the need for different communication plans within one organisation surprised me. It makes sense though because by tailoring your communication to the stakeholder, your message will have more impact.

So over my time at SDFC I have had to do stories for oil and gas magazines, as well as writing Media Releases for family days.

I think this placement has really drummed into my mind the importance of being diligent in figuring out just how unique each stakeholder is and making sure they are provided for in a way that is perfect for them.

Just some musings!

I hope everyone is enjoying their placements, we're at the pointy end!

Lucy

Events - not all fun and games!

I have been doing my internship for Swan Districts FootballClub and what a crazy few weeks it has been!

Due to some interesting fixtures, SDFC have had three homegames in a row at Steel Blue Oval, which has equalled event management galore. This has made mevery aware of the day to day workings of a footy club before their big gameseach week and has given me huge amounts of experience in events and each jobthat needs to be completed to make sure the day runs without a hitch.

Each game day has required a lot of preparation because SwanDistricts hold luncheons in the members lounge for sponsors and members everyhome game. This includes coordinating with the marketing manager and functionmanager to organise caterers, bar staff, speakers, speeches, run sheets andattendees

As there were so many home games in a row, the events had tobe fun and interesting each time so I managed to grab a photo with cricketerDennis Lillee and met the infamous Brendan Fevola, who spoke at an event withfriend and ex-Carlton player Anthony Koutoufides (which was very, very enlightening, to say the least!)

I have always been interested in gaining more experience inevents as it seems like a great job to do, and so rewarding when the functionis over and you can say you did it! Helping with the events at Swan Districtshas been very eye opening though, as everything that is done is generally doneby the managers at the club. This is because the club has a smaller amount offunds and resources in comparison to what a lot of AFL teams would have. Therewere some times I would be folding brochures, sealing letters and printingnametags – happily I might add – with the marketing manager wondering when shehad time to do her job!

On game day though, these small tidbits definitely added togreat day and I learnt that it doesn’t matter who does the mundane jobs, aslong as they get done.

Until my next post!

Lucy