Introduction to the world of PR at Scitech

Several weeks ago I began my professional placement within the Marketing Department at Scitech. I was tremendously excited about this as I have always perceived Scitech as a place that would have a fun and bubbly working environment – I was not wrong!

I was made to feel very welcome from the get go as I was taken around the building and introduced to all of the people that make up Scitech and greeted enthusiastically as a new addition to the team.

I was thrown right into work as I started in the middle of Toddlerfest which is a huge event aimed at children under 5 and brings brought in 15 000 people across the two weeks it ran. A photographer from The Sunday Times arrived at 10 and I assisted the girls in finding children and parents willing to be photographed for the paper, helping the photographer to stage shots and collecting details and quotes from those that were photographed.

I found it a little daunting to be doing this on my first day as soon as I had arrived but afterwards I felt pleased to have been apart of it. It was definitely a valuable experience because it allowed me to see what it is like to work with the outside media, not only the organisation itself.

After this it was straight onto my next task – promotions for the next big event – Scitech After Dark. After Dark is an 18+ event run for young adults where they can view the exhibitions and watch science and theatre shows while enjoying food and drinks. Scitech without the kids gives the adults a chance to interact and get involved in the learning themselves.

I was told by Sarah (my supervisor and the Communications Manager) that I would be in charge of organising a lot of the promotions, advertisements and social media buzz for After Dark. This was a scary thought but after week two and four days at Scitech I am looking forward to leaving my mark on the After Dark event. I am confident Sarah will guide me through the areas I require assistance with as she has already been so keen to show me new websites, programs and to let me take the reigns and try things for myself. 

Traditional Public Relations - So much more satisfying!

Over the course of my internship at Corporate Sports Australia i've spent a significant amount of time completing tasks generally thought of as 'traditional public relations' - such as media release production and distribution.

After writing a number or media releases on the city to surf, i am a firm believer that tradtional PR tools still have a place in today digitalised society.

Of the last four media releases i've produced, two have generated some excellent free publicity in The Sunday Times! yay! and some were also featured on the City to Surf website. In my opionion seeing some recognition of your hard work in print in the newspaper is so much more exciting and satisfying that simply maintaining a presence of Facebook.

Except when i told my mum and she couldn't understand why name wasn't on the article. 'No mum, i didn't actually write the article, i wrote the media release. Which the journalist then decided to write an article based on.' She definitely did not share my excitement.

Corporate sports are very into championing the notions of 'tragedy and triumph' within media release content. As interns we were pushed to seek proactive stories that will connect with the wider Perth community, tapping into emotions through, inspiring stories of everyday people - like them! And then hopefully encouraging them to get off the couch and run a marathon!

Earlier in my placement i wrote a media release on the cutest couple ever. Now in their 70's they have run every single City to Surf to date! And they were probabaly the nicest people i've ever met, they even sent me loads of old photos and media clippings from marathons they've competed in around the world.It was nice to be able to recognise their acheievement and give them something back through getting the story published.

Writing media releases at my internship gave me an opportunity to showcase some of the skills i've picked up over the last three years of studying and i now have some great pieces of work to include with my CV.

Pick and Choose

Hello again,

We have heard it time and time again - how small is Perth?! It wasn't until I started my internship at Detail that the Public Relations world is even smaller. Within the context of the media - everyone knows everyone. It is crucial that you ensure that you don't step on anyones toes, because it will be known throughout Perth by the time everyone has had a chance to open their next email!

Taking this thought into consideration, you must look at the way that you liaise with different media groups when publicising an event. Due to Perth having only a couple of major newspapers, The West Australian and The Sunday Times, PR practitioner must ensure they know which one is more important to be covered in for their client.

For example, The West Australian isn't going to publish an editorial piece if The Sunday Times has already done so - and vice versa. This is where you must make your choice, and ensure you are not pitching to both publications at the same time.

With blogs being another popular source for exposing events, clients etc. it must also be understood that a small blog doesn't receive the information or interview before your most important publication does, otherwise you will lose a for maximum exposure!

For the Fremantle Festival that is coming up at the end of October we have been purely focusing on long lead magazines, which would be the ideal avenue to promote the event. It has been difficult with some publications seeing a lot of them have already spoken about the event in the past and are always wanting something fresh and exciting. This is where we come in - thinking of a new angle to pitch the event from!

Hope everyone is enjoying their prac's and I am sure if you are anything like me you would have to agree that the work experience we are getting is absolutely priceless!

Brooke x