My 20-day internship is soon coming to an end. With only one day left after two and a half months of interning, I thought I would use my last blog post as a reflection of what I've learnt. I've worked on four major events, and a couple of small-scale events. One of the most interesting aspects of the internship was the research component. I really enjoyed researching the different topics that I wasn't familiar with before.
As my internship progressed, I noticed how different PR is at Uni and how different it is at 'work'. This was slightly relieving and slightly annoying. So much of what I have learnt at Uni is relevant to the professional practicing world but the aspect of Social Media has not been taught extensively, I realise this might be because it doesn't need to be.. Young adults already have the knowledge and drive to use Social Media professionally. But this might not be the case for mature students.
Writing in the professional world is also slightly different, for example the media release is taught as short, concise and a succinct piece of writing but this is not how I was taught to write in my work placement. I was told to write a story... develop an idea.. and provide a solution to an existing problem.
Overall, my internship was very insightful and I realised how much it makes a difference if you are learning and growing in a comfortable environment with lovely, talented and fun team members!
Even though events is an area that I am not looking to work in, this was a great experience and I look forward the windows of opportunity that await me!
Thanks for reading!
- Sarah Awan, Bentley Campus
Showing posts with label Sarah Awan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sarah Awan. Show all posts
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Saturday, April 21, 2012
The Resource Panel
Yesterday, Networking WA held their annual 'Resource Panel' event. The Resource Panel brings together key industry leaders, opinion leaders and experts to provide up to date information on issues currently surrounding the resource sector within WA and it's lasting impact on the state economy. This information is for all those involved in, interested in or acting within the mining and resource sector.
This is the event I have been extensively working on throughout my internship so far. The event showcased four panel speakers who discussed the key challenges and risks facing the resource sector, this led to a topical discussion of the skills shortage within the mining sector.
Our panel speakers this year included Denise Goldsworthy, Managing Director of Dampier Salt Limited and Hlsmelt, Jason Waller CSC, General Manager Capital Planning and Programs at QR National, Jeffrey May, partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Alison Morley, CEO at Brumby Resources. All speakers had some really interesting insight to share and all were very experienced and capable in their field.
The event was a luncheon - with a delicious three-course-meal at the West Grand Ballroom at the Pan Pacific Hotel which was so beautiful!
The event was a huge success with close to 200 attendees with lovely prizes to give away and I met some really interesting industry professionals! It was so exciting to see an event you've been working extensively on for a couple of months come together.
This week my tasks were mainly involved with last minute errands and check ups for the Resource Panel event, such as finalising the press kit, writing and printing flyers and booklets, blogging about the event and ensuring all logistics are taken care of- it was such a relief to have it over and done with - and done so well!
Thanks for reading,
- Sarah Awan, Bentley
This is the event I have been extensively working on throughout my internship so far. The event showcased four panel speakers who discussed the key challenges and risks facing the resource sector, this led to a topical discussion of the skills shortage within the mining sector.
Our panel speakers this year included Denise Goldsworthy, Managing Director of Dampier Salt Limited and Hlsmelt, Jason Waller CSC, General Manager Capital Planning and Programs at QR National, Jeffrey May, partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Alison Morley, CEO at Brumby Resources. All speakers had some really interesting insight to share and all were very experienced and capable in their field.
The event was a luncheon - with a delicious three-course-meal at the West Grand Ballroom at the Pan Pacific Hotel which was so beautiful!
The event was a huge success with close to 200 attendees with lovely prizes to give away and I met some really interesting industry professionals! It was so exciting to see an event you've been working extensively on for a couple of months come together.
This week my tasks were mainly involved with last minute errands and check ups for the Resource Panel event, such as finalising the press kit, writing and printing flyers and booklets, blogging about the event and ensuring all logistics are taken care of- it was such a relief to have it over and done with - and done so well!
Thanks for reading,
- Sarah Awan, Bentley
Thursday, April 5, 2012
The (not-so-secret) Life of an Intern
Hello fellow-interns!
I have just completed my 8th day at my Internship at Networking WA. It has been a FULL on week!
Last week I wrote my first media release. When I was being interviewed for the internship, I had told my supervisor that I felt writing was a weakness for me and that I intended on improving my skills through my journey and it turns out - hurrah! I am!
My supervisor liked my media release so much that now I've become her go-to-intern for media releases. I was asked to write media releases for other events the company is holding. They haven't been easy but getting it to the utmost perfected state has made me feel really proud of my work. I've sent the release out to a few community papers and media contacts so I'll keep you all posted if it (fingers crossed) is published.
I worked on my very first event last Sunday, the Helping Hands Community Picnic at Kings Park. This event was held in partnership with Autism West and raised awareness for Autism amongst the community leading up to World Autism Awareness Day. The event was mainly targeted at families so we had lots of kid's activities, I did face-painting and kept lots of the little kiddies happy :)
The main focus of the event was to try and get 110 hand-prints on a canvas, 109 hand-prints in the colour blue and one in red to symbolise the one in 110 individuals being affected by autism.
I got to write the blog post on the Networking WA website about the event, this was exciting as it had my name attached to it! If you have time for a quick read - take a look at www.networkingwa.com.au.
Here are some photos:
The next day, I wrote another media release for another upcoming event and mainly researched a clientele base for attendees. I also completed my very first 'website critical review'. This was really interesting and pretty fun to do. I was so shocked as to how many typo's this company had on their website! It was so strange as this company was in a marketing/business field. It does become surprising how many times organisation's get their website wrong, whether it's the colour scheme, spelling errors or just the general layout. 3 clicks.. It should only ever take 3 clicks to find exactly what you're looking for on a website (something I've learnt from PR Consultancy).
The rest of my day consisted of my admin assistant style duties, printing off event flyers and printing envelopes then stamping them and sending them out. Even the most simple tasks seem fun when you do it with a bunch of fun fellow employees :)
That's all for today folks, I hope you all enjoy the Easter break as much as I do!
- Sarah Awan, Curtin Bentley
I have just completed my 8th day at my Internship at Networking WA. It has been a FULL on week!
Last week I wrote my first media release. When I was being interviewed for the internship, I had told my supervisor that I felt writing was a weakness for me and that I intended on improving my skills through my journey and it turns out - hurrah! I am!
My supervisor liked my media release so much that now I've become her go-to-intern for media releases. I was asked to write media releases for other events the company is holding. They haven't been easy but getting it to the utmost perfected state has made me feel really proud of my work. I've sent the release out to a few community papers and media contacts so I'll keep you all posted if it (fingers crossed) is published.
I worked on my very first event last Sunday, the Helping Hands Community Picnic at Kings Park. This event was held in partnership with Autism West and raised awareness for Autism amongst the community leading up to World Autism Awareness Day. The event was mainly targeted at families so we had lots of kid's activities, I did face-painting and kept lots of the little kiddies happy :)
The main focus of the event was to try and get 110 hand-prints on a canvas, 109 hand-prints in the colour blue and one in red to symbolise the one in 110 individuals being affected by autism.
I got to write the blog post on the Networking WA website about the event, this was exciting as it had my name attached to it! If you have time for a quick read - take a look at www.networkingwa.com.au.
Here are some photos:
The next day, I wrote another media release for another upcoming event and mainly researched a clientele base for attendees. I also completed my very first 'website critical review'. This was really interesting and pretty fun to do. I was so shocked as to how many typo's this company had on their website! It was so strange as this company was in a marketing/business field. It does become surprising how many times organisation's get their website wrong, whether it's the colour scheme, spelling errors or just the general layout. 3 clicks.. It should only ever take 3 clicks to find exactly what you're looking for on a website (something I've learnt from PR Consultancy).
The rest of my day consisted of my admin assistant style duties, printing off event flyers and printing envelopes then stamping them and sending them out. Even the most simple tasks seem fun when you do it with a bunch of fun fellow employees :)
That's all for today folks, I hope you all enjoy the Easter break as much as I do!
- Sarah Awan, Curtin Bentley
Monday, March 26, 2012
First Week In: Tradition vs Modernism
Hello readers,
I have just completed my first week at Via Appia Networking WA- a very fun, vibrant and hip PR firm that specialises in Event Management, Social Media Marketing, Managed Services and Event Networking. Run by two young sassy ladies, Networking WA is all about "who you know" hence the name Networking WA!
Interesting fact- Via Appia is a famous road in Italy built by the Ancient Romans and was referred to as the 'queen of the long roads' which was a key reason how the vast empire was networked and connected.
(Via Appia, 1890)
My first day was all admin work, data entry mostly and searching for potential attendee's for some upcoming events. To keep it short, it was boring but I wasn't too disappointed as I was nervous to bits on my first day and hey, I looked up many of Perth's A-list corporate officials and it was good research for me as well.
My second day was similar but with slightly different Intern tasks such as running errands at the Post Office. I'm not complaining as I'm trying to show as much initiative as possible and learn as much as I can during my Internship. My supervisor assured me the run-around tasks were the most monotonous but after working in fast food, hospitality and retail, these mundane tasks seem lovely to me! :)
On my third day, my supervisor asked me to come up with creative marketing ideas for an upcoming event, thinking fairly traditionally the majority of my ideas revolved around sending media releases out to different local papers but my supervisor said Networking WA isn't about traditional PR tactics and introduced me to the idea of 'guerilla marketing'. For anyone who doesn't know, guerilla marketing is an advertising strategy that uses low-cost unconventional means to promote a product or convey an idea including examples such as graffiti, sticker bombing, flash mobs or viral videos which we all know can be very effective from the Kony 2012 campaign.
My superviser gave me an example of a guerilla marketing campaign she ran while working in London which included butt-naked girls, a whole lot of body paint and lots and lots of promotion!
After learning of this exciting new concept, I went home and researched guerilla marketing and here are some interesting promotional ad's I came across:
Fitness First Ad Campaign
Frontline Advertisement
Unicef Ad Campaign
Cesviamo Stop Aids Campaign
Kleenex Ad Campaign
Quit Smoking Campaign
These are only a few examples, there are plenty more out there! I realised that these campaigns would require a budget, so I asked my supervisor and she replied, these targeted campaigns are generally the most effective, for which at this point I would agree with.
This sums up my first week as a nervous but excited PR Intern and I am learning different things everyday.
I hope this is an exciting learning curve for everyone.
Until next time folks,
- Sarah Awan
Curtin Bentley
I have just completed my first week at Via Appia Networking WA- a very fun, vibrant and hip PR firm that specialises in Event Management, Social Media Marketing, Managed Services and Event Networking. Run by two young sassy ladies, Networking WA is all about "who you know" hence the name Networking WA!
Interesting fact- Via Appia is a famous road in Italy built by the Ancient Romans and was referred to as the 'queen of the long roads' which was a key reason how the vast empire was networked and connected.
My first day was all admin work, data entry mostly and searching for potential attendee's for some upcoming events. To keep it short, it was boring but I wasn't too disappointed as I was nervous to bits on my first day and hey, I looked up many of Perth's A-list corporate officials and it was good research for me as well.
My second day was similar but with slightly different Intern tasks such as running errands at the Post Office. I'm not complaining as I'm trying to show as much initiative as possible and learn as much as I can during my Internship. My supervisor assured me the run-around tasks were the most monotonous but after working in fast food, hospitality and retail, these mundane tasks seem lovely to me! :)
On my third day, my supervisor asked me to come up with creative marketing ideas for an upcoming event, thinking fairly traditionally the majority of my ideas revolved around sending media releases out to different local papers but my supervisor said Networking WA isn't about traditional PR tactics and introduced me to the idea of 'guerilla marketing'. For anyone who doesn't know, guerilla marketing is an advertising strategy that uses low-cost unconventional means to promote a product or convey an idea including examples such as graffiti, sticker bombing, flash mobs or viral videos which we all know can be very effective from the Kony 2012 campaign.
My superviser gave me an example of a guerilla marketing campaign she ran while working in London which included butt-naked girls, a whole lot of body paint and lots and lots of promotion!
After learning of this exciting new concept, I went home and researched guerilla marketing and here are some interesting promotional ad's I came across:
Fitness First Ad Campaign
Frontline Advertisement
Unicef Ad Campaign
Cesviamo Stop Aids Campaign
This sums up my first week as a nervous but excited PR Intern and I am learning different things everyday.
I hope this is an exciting learning curve for everyone.
Until next time folks,
- Sarah Awan
Curtin Bentley
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