Stakeholder Relations 101

Hello There,

So in my previous post about my daily tasks as a Public Relations intern, I highlighted on the role of Public Relations personnel as communicators and mediators between an organization and its publics or stakeholders. It is safe to say that this role is the most important one as although all the individual tasks I encountered during my internship were vast and varied, they all collectively led back to serving this specific role.

The most common execution of this role can be seen when looking at how an organization relates to its community or the general public. During my internship, this manifested itself as the relationship between the Ministry of Energy and Minerals and the general Tanzanian public. As a Public Relations practitioner working for the Ministry, my primary role was to communicate important information to and fro the two parties. 

On one hand, this was done through the media releases that I would write on behalf of the Ministry, that would be relayed to the public through the media. Inversely, by summarizing the daily mentions of the Ministry and briefing it to the Ministry's officials and staff, I was communicating to the Ministry what was being said about it in the public. Furthermore, the media releases were put on the Ministry's official website and in its weekly news bulletin that is open to the public, to reach a wider audience, and so relay information to more people.  

Another important stakeholder relationship to highlight is that of the Ministry and its staff. Internal communications was executed through sending daily media briefs to all the Ministry's staff and not just the officials alone. This way, they were able to know the general news surrounding the Ministry, even with things they may not have been directly involved in. Similarly each week, a news bulletin highlighting the Ministry's latest happenings, including all the in-house media releases would be published and posted in all the Ministry's notice boards and emailed to all the staff and so this is serves as another way to keep the staff aware of the happenings of the organization they work for.

A new relationship I got to explore however, is that between the government and its partners; financial and otherwise. For the second half of my internship I was put in a team in charge of preparing an implementation report (more on this in my next post) on behalf of the Ministry to be submitted to one of its financial partners. Again, this is an example of the vital exchange of information between the organization and one of its stakeholders managed or facilitated by Public Relations personnel. 

Lastly but definitely not least, it is important to note the Ministry's relationship with the media. The Public Relations department was in charge of contacting all the media in case of any events as well as sending media releases to the media for publication, so once again we see that Public Relations people are responsible for maintaining and facilitating these relationships.

It was really interesting seeing a concept learnt in class play out in real life.

I hope this was an interesting read.

Until next time.

Latifah Mzee Hamis Salim Boma
17223946/ 7E3A1749

Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia

A Day In The Life

Hello There,

So as I got more accustomed to my internship, my primary responsibilities included carrying out daily media monitoring for the Ministry, with a majority of it being on newspapers as form of traditional media. Although I was not new to this, I found it interesting that after highlighting all the mentions of the Ministry's activities in all the major newspapers, we would summarize all the information and email it to all the Ministry's employees. 

I think this is a brilliant tool as it not only enabled us as Public Relations personnel to know what is being said about the organization in the public but it informed another important stakeholder group of the Ministry; the employees, of the organization's activities that they may not be directly involved in and so aware of.

Daily monitoring and briefing of all major newspapers.

Another of my recurring tasks was that of writing media releases on the different activities done by the Ministry. This was one of my favourite tasks as it enabled me to put in practice all that I learnt from my modules and improve on my professional writing skills both in English and Swahili, that are both actively used as a means of communication in the country. I learnt that although writing for Public Relations may differ depending on the organization and industry, the format for media releases usually stays the same, following the 'inverted pyramid'.

To date, the most fulfilling day has to be when one of the media releases I wrote was published in the front pages of one of the major daily newspapers in my country.

A media release in Swahili in the 'Mtanzania' newspaper.

A media release in English in the 'Daily News' newspaper.

However, I was pleasantly surprised at how involved the Public Relations department was in the Ministerial meetings, that I frequently had to attend. I learnt that our role in the meetings was that of communicators and mediators between the Ministry and the general public. The meetings were a great source of information for media releases as that is where most important statements were made and contracts signed. It was a pleasure to see the role of Public Relations extensively appreciated on a governmental platform,

I should note that the amount of work did fluctuate depending on the Minister's schedule, with some days being fairly hectic and others involving nothing more than daily media monitoring. Regardless, it is best to give your all in all scenarios as it shows that you are proactive and not reactive towards your work. Do not be afraid to ask what else you can help with when the work load is low. Besides, this is a great way to keep monotony away and learn new things. 

I hope that this has been an interesting read.

Until next time.

Latifah Mzee Hamis Salim Boma
17223946/ 7E3A1749
Curtin University, Sarawak Campus

The end of a story. The beginning of many.

Dear All,

Time flies.

I ended 3 months internship with Sarawak Oil Palm Berhad (SOPB). There were a lot of wonderful experiences that I gone through and learnt a lot PR practices from my supervisor as well as my executives.

The most enjoyable task that given to me was taking photos during internal and external company’s events. I never used a professional camera to take photos until I entered SOPB. My executive, a professional photographer with more than 8 years experiences, taught me how to use the DSLR camera as well as basic Photoshop skill. He always gives me chances to take photos. These chances explored my communication style as well. As a photographer, I need to stand in front of the public and stay calm in order to take a good photo.

Me behind the DSLR!

Photo taken during Taman LambirJaya Launching

Crowd in the house

Other than photos taking class, I involved in event management as well. Chinese New Year Celebration is the most important festival for Chinese. We organized Chinese New Year and Deepavali Combined Celebrations at our executive chairman’s residence. This was the first time SOPB organized this annual event at his residence and this is a very challenging event for us. We were advised by not doing too grand but not too simple for this event. However, we managed to held this event successfully and a lot of “thumb up” from the participants, especially our top management!

Decoration works in progress

Arranging the food station

Kolam decorations for Chinese New Year and Deepavali Combined Celebration

SOPB annual dinner also held at the end of February. Annual dinner committee team was led by our PR assistant manager. I been assigned a task from him, which was making a 2015 milestones slideshow for the opening of annual dinner! After he expressed the message that needed in the slideshow, I began to prepare the suitable photos to put in the slideshow. Initially I used PowerPoint to compile the photos, but too time consuming. I chose Window Movie Maker then to do the compilation and the video was accepted by them. Until today, I still remember my feeling when I saw my work displayed on the screen and everyone in the hall was watching it.

Screenshot of the Opening Video

February is the busiest month during my internship. Many events in a row and this exercised me the importance of time management as well as teamwork spirit. As a PR practitioner, we always need to expect the unexpected. In this face-pacing industry, none of us knows what will happen tomorrow. Therefore, I bear in my mind that always prepare for challenges. 

Last but not least, some photos during the set up of Chinese New Year decoration to end my blog. 

DIY-ing the decoration item

Hanging the "Tang lung" on the tree

Coloring the "Jing Li Yu"

Figure out how to hang the red cloth on

Final product at the main entrance

"Tang Lung" Tree done as well!

That’s all from me and wish everyone all the best in your future. Thank you and have a great day!

PR Team during the last event - Colour Rush 4.0!

Warmest Regards,

Chung Jia Yiing

17136837 / 7e2a1122

Curtin University Sarawak, Malaysia

PR in schools - they do more than you think!

Upon arrival on my first day, I had teacher after executive after teacher making jokes about how "Linda (my supervisor) doesn't do anything all day" and that "she has so much time on her hands". Linda had already informed me that she was extremely busy at the moment, but these comments made me realise that she wasn't just busy. She was REALLY busy, and everyone knew it. Apparently I couldn't have come at a better time. 

I thought to myself, "how busy can a one-person PR department at a school really be? Maybe everyone is over reacting". Oh how wrong I was. It turns out the role of a public relations professional in a school encompasses so much more than the traditional role of PR we had spent so much time learning about at uni.  

With only one person working in PR, Linda is the photographer, the graphic designer, the event manager, the liaison, you name it - it's her job. There is no team of people for tasks to be delegated between. It is just her, and now me. 

Open Day is the biggest event of the year, and I was right in time to help plan and execute their annual event that showcases everything the school has to offer. There is huge pressure to communicate the right messages, as the school is only three years old and the brand is still being established. 

I'm hopeful that through helping me learn and grow in my PR skills, I will also be able to provide a valuable contribution and actually be helpful!

Is Briefing Your Spokesperson Ethical?

Prior to an interview between one of our clients and the media, I was presented with a ‘Spokesperson Briefing book’ to review before the interview. This document ensures the spokesperson is prepared for the media’s questioning, and ensures answers will be diverted back to the well-being of the spokesperson’s establishment.

I have previously engaged in similar media preparation tasks for assignments at university, where we were told to “think like a journalist” – what would they ask the spokesperson?

This document contains four sections: interview details, media profile, anticipated media questions, followed by dos and don’ts.

As I began to scan through the first few pages, I began to question the ethical procedures involved with this spokesperson brief...

Does this interfere with the transparency and authenticity of the spokesperson? Does this mean a person cannot organically present themselves because public relations has twisted and tweaked the spokespersons dialogue and expression?

Alternatively, I considered the opposite side of the coin. The media has an established reputation of twisting statements and conversations made through every day conversation. They can utilize an unintentional statement and revert it against the spokesperson, for the purpose of their story.

This means spokespeople preferably need to be educated on their representation towards the media, in order to protect their reputation in the spotlight. Beneficially, this enhances their chance of positive publicity as media professionals (public relations) have studied how to effectively communicate with the media, to ensure honest and positive publicity.

Section four of the brief: Do’s and Don’ts. This was intriguing – I contemplated my previous impression of the brief as I now realized perhaps the spokesperson brief is ethical and necessary. Public Relations simply educates the spokesperson on being consistent in their messages, answering all questions, being clear and calm. The spokesperson is advised against memorizing answers provided by public relations. This ensures the spokesperson isn't spoon fed answers to the media, and still has the opportunity to naturally communicate with personal dialect. 

An invaluable experience

Before I started my internship, I was positive I wanted to work in-house PR. However, after my time at Go Communications in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia I have learned some important lessons about effective public relations, and I will definitely consider working in a consultancy when I graduate. 

Some things I learned from my internship in Kuala Lumpur;

1. Team work - Throughout my degree, almost every unit has included some kind of group work. I saw first hand the benefits this could have when at the Go Communications office, where my team often brainstormed ideas at lunch or called a team meeting to discuss ideas for a client or upcoming event. The reason this worked so well, was because in these meetings everyone was given an equal say, and everyone’s ideas were considered. PR is often about engaging with a large audience, so interacting with your team - who all have different views - will help you achieve this.

Image - Fradley Croft

2 - Thinking outside the box - One event required my team to get creative for a Halloween-theme launch. This taught me how to bring a little fun into public relations work.

Image - Growing Up With A Disability

3 - Don’t get overprotective of your work - I had more than one idea knocked back during my internship, and this helped me view my work impartially, and edit it without restraint. I think we all get a bit overprotective of our ideas and work, especially when we put a lot of time and effort into it. But to be an effective PR practitioner, I understood sometimes it’s better to step away and try something new sometimes.

Image - Libelty SEO

4 - Think about how your message could be received by a range of people - I think growing up in Australia I have a relatively good idea about how people might interpret a message. For example, when watching the news, I can see a headline and predict how a number of people will respond to it. I now know I definitely took this knowledge for granted, because interning in a different country, I understand you must thoroughly research the cultural values of an audience.

5 - Take advantage of your seniors - As I learned writing my first press release, even though you've done it countless times at university, doesn't mean you know everything. Ask your supervisors any questions you have (It's better to ask too much than make the mistake). They know so much more than you do, and they can help guide you in the right direction. 

Image - Muhsin budiono

6. Don't take tasks for granted - Not everything you're given is glamorous or a hard-hitting press release. That doesn't mean it's not equally as important, you can still take important lessons away from it. And if you do it well, it proves your commitment to the job. 

 Image - The Office, NBC

Image - Smshamma

 

7. Good Attitude - I can't stress enough how important it is to have a positive attitude to everything you do. This relates somewhat to the 6th point, but if you have a good attitude it will not only make the task easier, but it shows in the quality of your work. 

Image - Positively Present

And now I'm back in Perth, and it's almost time to start looking for jobs. I worked with some fantastic people at Go Communications, and I have a wide range of work to add to my portfolio. My internship has not only further honed my writing and communication skills, but it has allowed me to broaden my understanding of PR and how it relates to different countries and cultures. I would highly recommend future students to consider interning overseas. 

Whitney Slater

Curtin Bentley 

Operating in unfamiliar territory

Throughout my studies it has been highlighted that understanding your target audience and/or stakeholders is key to public relations success. In fact, Public Relations Institute of Australia includes it in their definition of PR;

‘Public relations is the deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organisation (or individual) and its (or their) publics. It's the key to effective communication in all sectors of business, government, academic and not-for-profit.’

So, when I touched down in Malaysia town to start my four week internship at Go Communications, I found myself having to research aspects of my work - cultural factors which I am attuned to at home in Perth. 

This opened my eyes to the importance of communicating with a multi-cultural audience, and truly checking how your message can be interpreted. Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia has a unique cultural landscape - there is no one dominant culture, in fact it is home to a large population of Indian, Chinese, Indonesian and Muslim people to name a few. 

Kuala Lumpur population by Ethnic Groups, 1980 - 2000

In my first week at Go I wrote my first press release, and I had to completely change my writing style. I have always written press releases in a hard news style - here in Perth it’s the recommended way to get published. As Even Peterson points out, PR is all about writing, so this was a chance for me to broaden my PR skill set. 

My team leaders explained the best way to write the release, and after reading past GO press releases and local newspapers, I understood my usual approach was not going to work. Most Malaysian media outlets write in a more colourful, descriptive style - where in Australia we’re basically 'banned' from any unnecessary detail and comment. So in my press release for the National Kidney Foundation I followed my team's advice, and took into account the fundamentals of a press release to make sure it was effective. Read up on 5 mistakes not to make in press releases here. 

In the end, my release got half a colour page in a newspaper. I should also note I read the local papers every morning, so this helped me understand the preferred style and content. 

By adapting my writing skills to suit a different audience, I was able to communicate the client's message more effectively. This task helped me to hone my writing skills - to write more succinctly and clearly. First week down, and this made me much more confident to tackle other tasks. 

Whitney Slater

Curtin University - Bentley 

Building a brand blueprint

During my internship I had the good fortune to sit in on a meeting that was to decide the blueprint of one of the company's brand. My company is a cosmetics and jewellery company and is undergoing some big changes to its branding.

Our Vice President of Jewellery, Perfumes And Cosmetics was leading these changes and had experience leading brand blueprint workshops, so she facilitated the process as the PR, communications and creative people contributed. The objective was to make a comprehensive brand blueprint document that would inform PR activities, but also marketing, creative design, product design, even how it would be sold.

We started with more standard business terms such as what the vision, values and positioning of the product were. But then we started knuckling down to discuss the belief behind the product, or what it's essence or promise was. 

 

It all sounds a little silly, thinking about how a brand sounds, what it says, what its soul is. 

 

What surprised me was how useful such a process was. I had a much better idea of how to write and communicate the brand once I had a better understanding of what it was. 

 

But this was high level stuff. Planning a brand and how to communicate is something I likely wouldn't touch until much later in my career. Strategic PR as opposed to the technical daily grind of media releases and social media writing. 

It was also a shared process, with key people involved in the communication of the product working together. I think part of the problem with promoting a business or a product is that people have very different ideas about what it is and how it should be done. Sitting down from day one and planning this out will likely help lots with this problem.

 

Ultimately, walking out from that meeting I had a much better understanding of what the new spa range was and what it meant for the business. This would let me communicate the product to people better in future and plan PR activities around the product. I think this will result in a much stronger communications strategy overall.

My top three social media tips

I’ve spent a lot of time on social media throughout my internship. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter… you name it, I probably did it! Here’s some tips I picked up that might help you execute a social media strategy. 

 

Be a consistent poster

Social media is not a static tool, it’s something you need to update regularly. I updated each platform once every two days to keep content fresh and different each time a person sees it. I also started a post series called “Pearl Tip Tuesday” and each Tuesday a new tip about pearls and their care is posted. I thought this would be a good way to get a sense of regularity and get people looking back through older posts. It’s been a good strategy so far, and will likely become a great tactic to keep in mind. 

 

A picture says a thousand words

Did you know that including a picture in a Facebook post increases engagement (likes, comments, shares) by 39 per cent*? I was lucky at my company to have a big bank of beautiful photos to use in social media. Almost all of my posts had a picture attached as well, which makes the social media profile much more interesting and varied. If a posts pops up in someone’s newsfeed as well they’re much more likely to look at it if there’s an interesting picture as well. 

 

Prepare in advance

Although social media has an advantage in being current and great for news updates, it’s really time consuming to post every day and it will often get pushed by the wayside when there’s other more pressing tasks. As such, I used Hootsuite to schedule posts to the company’s Twitter profile and Facebook’s scheduling feature to save time down the track. I ended up scheduling three months of posts in one sitting, which was a much more efficient way of doing things. We also posted more recent content from events and media as they happened, to make sure the page also had a sense of currency. It was a good strategy overall.

Do you have any social media secrets? Please feel free to share in the comments.

*7 Powerful Facebook Statistics You Should Know About: http://www.fastcompany.com/3022301/work-smart/7-powerful-facebook-statistics-you-should-know-about

6 Tips for Getting the Most out of Your Internship

During my two internships there are things I did that worked to my advantage and things I wish I had done differently. Below are my tips to ensuring you get the most out of your internship.

1.   Triple check your work

No matter how small or insignificant the task may seem, always take the time to ensure you have completed the task correctly. Check your grammar is correct and that you have finalized the task to the standard requested.

When you are doing the same task over and over it is easy to slip up and make a typo. It might not seem like a big deal. However if you pass this work to your boss who picks up the mistake (or worse, the client) you are unlikely to be trusted with jobs with bigger tasks.

At the end of the day the work you output is a reflection of you and your professional standards.

2.   Complete the small tasks with a good attitude

I am not going to lie, there were times during my internships where I was completing a task thinking ‘three years of my life and $30,000 on a degree has lead to me spending half a day scanning documents’. It is frustrating, but at the end of the day you are an intern. You are going to be given the tasks that no one else wants to do.

My advice is to try and learn as much as you can from that task. Even if it is just scanning, get to know the documents you’re scanning, learn from them. Do these tasks fast and to a high standard. Only then will you be trusted to take on jobs that require more responsibility. No one is going to let the intern who can’t even scan a document strait write a media release.

3.   The answer is yes

You might just be lucky enough to be given a task that is challenging or even scary, that think you are incapable of completing. Never decline such an offer. You have been allocated the task because your supervisor believes in you. You should too. 

Don’t think about the worst that could happen. It is more than likely that you will do a fantastic job and impress everyone, including yourself.

4.   Dress for the job you want not the job you have

You might be surprised at the opportunities that can present them self if you are dressed like a corporate professional. If you have read my previous blogs you will know I attended a press conference during my internship. My job was media registration. With the knowledge that I would be meeting the client I dressed as professionally as my wardrobe would allow me. 

I ended up being asked to MC the press conference. I spoke to 30 media from Malaysia’s most successful media outlets. I have no doubt that I would not have been asked to MC if I was not dressed corporate.

See my blog post ‘From intern to press conference MC’ for more information on this story.

5.   It’s not what you know, it’s who you know

Networking has been absolutely hammered into us throughout university. Yet still I just cannot stress how important simply knowing the right person can be. Meeting one individual can change the way your career progresses.

When I start a new job, particularly an internship, I do my best to talk to everyone. Better yet, make a good impression on them. Chat to the person in front of you in the down stairs café, strike up a conversation with the lady heating up her lunch in the kitchen, pick up the pen the guy dropped because his hands were full of files. You just never know where that conversation might lead you.

6.   Talk to your supervisor about what you want to experience

A simple conversation might be the difference between you getting little out of your internship and getting the rewarding experience you want. Tell your supervisor what you want to be exposed to during the internship. Whether it is writing a media release, a story for the intranet, organising an event or interviewing people. At the end of the day if you don’t tell them they won’t know. 

Communication with your supervisor is just an important as any other form of communication, and I know you are great at communication, after all you are about to get a degree in it.

My internships at GO Communications and the Public Transport Authority have taught me a lot about Public Relations in the real word. I even learnt a thing or two about myself. 

Good luck to you all.

Whitney

Communication is Key

Another month of internship and I thought that I was going to go crazy. I had to do a whole lot of telemarketing. I was told to sell something for free. How do you sell free stuff? It was time to put what I learned into account here. If I was working as a PR Representative for a celebrity and this person "messes" up in a way that affects her reputation as a public figure, how am I going to construct an apology message for her to publicly announce. The same thing applies here. It is all about looking for ways to phrase a words to becoming an effective message that will come across clearly to the receiver. And so I played the psychology game. What I did was call these top managers up to say that "we have reserved a complimentary VIP seat for you for our upcoming workshop, the seats are limited and there are many of them who are waiting on the availability of seats so I am wondering if you could confirm your attendance?" They are often left without much to say and immediately confirm their seat. It is interesting in the sense that instead of asking if they are interested, it is better to use the trick of "suggestive thinking" to grab their attention and to reduce that time one has before doubt or rejection begins to kick into ones head. Who says PR is all about image, communication is key.

Sincerely,

Kane  

Social Media is on Song

My internship has been keeping me on my toes with new and exciting ways of thinking about communication and social media, and how these differ between the worlds of personal and professional.

One of my ongoing tasks here at Zaccaria has been updating the company's social media sites, namely Facebook and Twitter. In the live music and entertainment industry, these two communication platforms are imperative - customers and fans want information that is interesting and timely, and they want it often! As Zaccaria manages several events simultaneously, there are a number of things to consider when managing Zaccaria Events Presents Facebook and Twitter Pages. I will use any time I get (which is not often!) to scan the internet for music news and anything that might be relevant to our upcoming concerts or events.

On the Zaccaria Facebook page, my access as an "admin" allows me to see how many people our posts are reaching, the percentage of people engaged in our posts, the location of people who like our posts and our page, our most popular posts and the trends of our online marketing activity over time. This data allows me to strategise future posts - we are able to determine, before we post them, which updates are going to appeal to our target audience. One particularly important aspect of using social media as a marketing/PR/communications platform is ensuring the content is relevant. For example, if we announce the pre-sale of say The Presets tickets one morning through an eDM to our entire Zaccaria e-mail database - we then follow this activity up with a Facebook post with similar information in the eDM. I have realised the importance of, and how effective it is, to strengthen one medium by backing it up with a complimentary form of communication. Here is the Facebook post I released after the announce of The Presets on-sale.

This post reached 600 people after the first two hours of posting - a figure which is consistent with the fact that we announced through eDM the on-sale that morning.

While on the topic of being timely and relevant, another tour Zaccaria is promoting is Human Nature: The Christmas Tour. Zaccaria has been organising a number of publicity events to promote the tour, one of which was an TV appearance by Human Nature on Better Homes and Gardens. Following this appearance on a Friday night, I posted on Zaccaria's Facebook and Twitter pages to remind the public and our target audience of the tour. The idea is to keep people thinking about the event - it doesn't have to always be about announcing tickets on sale, but rather keeping our audience in the loop with the latest news and happenings of Zaccaria and the talent we are currently representing. Below is my Twitter post from this morning, which I was excited to see was "favourited" by Human Nature - meaning the word is getting out.

So there is my brief reflection on the importance of social media and how it can be utilised in a more effective way to maximise publicity by supporting another form of communication. My experience at Zaccaria has taught me that as PR professionals we cannot rely on one form of communication - we need to focus on creating a diverse, integrated marketing communication technique in order to resonate well with our stakeholders.

Is anyone else using social media at their internship, and what insights have you noticed from using it in a professional manner as oppose to just generally stalking people?

Hope to hear from some of you!

Delta

On Organisation and Communication

After such a hectic time the last few weeks things have stalled a little bit over the last few days.

Work on the website is much more extensive than we thought (and will turn out to be quite expensive) so I've been drafting up things to put on there when it finally get's up and running again.

One of the things I've noticed in my time at AVHI is that there is a distinct lack of organisation. Now this isn't as much of a problem as it could be in a large organisation; with only a few employees and only a few communication channels open with potential clients, the information flow is manageable. However I can't help but think how much easier it COULD be, and how much it COULD become a problem as the business grows (because it is growing, and hopefully will grow even more with some of the ideas I'm putting in place). 

It's not that everything is a shambles, because it isn't, it's just...very all over the place. I am by no means the most organised person in the world; but I am a little bit of a control freak. Even if my things are disorganised, I know where they are. At AVHI 'things' are just everywhere. A receipt here and a planning there and equipment and pricing lists and just everything all over the place.

It has made it a bit difficult to come in as an outsider to the business and try and sift my way through everything. As I said, it doesn't adversely affect the business at all, but good organisation can make everything run so much smoother, and I've found that having good organisation generally leads to good channels of communication. 

CMYK, consistency and car-free day

I’ve now passed the ten-day mark of my internship at Mills Wilson Communication Consultants. I’ve done a myriad of different activities, including a big research brief for one of our client CEO’s; photo briefs, logging and captioning; a media release to send to the local paper; a letter drop around the CBD; and also went on a bit of an excursion to a printing factory which turned out to be incredibly interesting.

We visited the printing warehouse/factory in Osbourne Park to learn about the different printers they have and the advantages of each for various jobs. As I am doing a print production unit at the moment, where we edit, format and distribute the Western Independent newspaper – this was particularly informative for me. A particularly interesting fact was what CMYK means: cyan, magenta, yellow, and key, as my favourite artist James Blake has an EP called just that! Anyway, the factory had two types of printers: offset (very large older printers which use physical ink) and digital printers that use recyclable aerosol cans. I found it very interesting that the old printers are still used, as it costs around $500 just to print the templates for each job!

I’ve also been writing newsletter stories for some of the spring newsletters Mills Wilson writes for a client who develops housing estates. These have included community stories on Recycling Week, World Car Free day, tips for spring cleaning, and so on.

The feedback I am receiving from the girls in the office is proving very beneficial. I produced an event plan for the community launch of a new estate and gave it to Jess for proof reading. I learnt that there were a few inconsistencies in some of the different documents I produced and I was forgetting about critical small details needed for an event such as rubbish bins and fire extinguishers. This is something I need to work on in future.

I have been incredibly busy juggling my internship with my work and class commitments, but it’s been a great learning experience so far. I hope I will be able to successfully document it all in my report… !

Communication is Key!

Hi Guys!

So I am now a week and a half into my internship at PPR and I can’t believe how fast it’s going. If you’ve read my previous posts, you may know that I’ve come to realise how important internal relationships are in consultancies. Well since then after having chats around the ‘proverbial’ water cooler, I have attended a couple meetings and am being called upon to do more tasks for the consultants. Letting people know who you are and that you’re willing to do whatever is needed and on time is imperative in this industry. Communication really is key.

Lately, I have helped some of the consultants with the client, PTTEP, an oil and gas company who were responsible for the Montara oil spill in 2009. It’s interesting to see that PPR are still having to manage the issue of this spill 5 years after it actually happened. It really goes to show that issue and crisis management can be a long process that can span many years. PPR also helps PTTEP with other matters as well and I have been lucky enough to be involved in creating a research report outlining what the statistical findings were after the spill. I had to create a glossary of words that were primarily in environmental jargon as well as read and edit over parts of the report.

I have been told that many lobby and special interest groups are constantly attacking PTTEP after the oil spill and Public Positioning Papers (PPPs) which are contingency plans which have been authorised by PTTEP are constantly being created so that they are prepared for any situation. Sitting in on the daily WIP meetings for PTTEP which are “Work In Progress” meetings has really allowed me to immerse myself in how the consultancy operates and the importance of communication again. As PTTEP is the second largest client for PPR, it’s handled by five consultants who each take a different aspect of PTTEP’s public relations. This WIP meetings are important because they all have to know what’s happening as there is often cross over in the work and it also looks better in the clients eye, the more knowledgeable you are. I know I sound like a broken record right now but the biggest realisation I have had is about internal communication.

In other work I have undertaken, I have done work for LandCorp. I spoke about PTTEP being PPR’s second largest client; well, LandCorp are their largest. At any one time, LandCorp can have multiple projects running that need the assistance of PPR which can be confusing if not organised properly. The project I was helping with was one where LandCorp was redeveloping a school that would be used to house young people with a disability. As there are little facilities for young people, many of those disabled live in aged care facilities. My job was to develop a list of media contacts within the industry of assisted living to feature stories regarding this project. What I found interesting was that I had to start from scratch and that PPR did not have a centralised database that had media contacts in it. This meant every time someone needed a media contact, they would have to research it themselves. A couple of the consultants had asked me to look up media contacts for them and I found that on some occasions, I had to find the contacts of the same organisation for more than one person. Luckily, as a Curtin student, I still have access to Margaret Gee’s Media Guide and was able to locate many publications through this but when I asked, PPR didn’t subscribe to this which I think would be extremely beneficial to them considering the amount of times I was asked to find a media contact. Anyway, after doing this, I created a timeline in excel that showed when tasks needed to be completed for this project, much like the ones I have done in PR plans at uni.

After working on such a wide variety of clients at this point, it has really given me an insight into how a consultancy works. Every Friday, PPR has drinks at the end of the day where I was talking with one of the consultants. “How do you manage to stay organised and manage to keep all your clients happy at the same time?” I asked after finding out that each consultant had a portfolio of up to five or more clients. “You have to be really organised and sometimes you just have to prioritise what each client wants the most and give this to each of them first.” Hmm is consulting where I want to go after I graduate if I have to be so organised? I guess, I’ll have to wait and see how the rest of my internship goes first.

Until next time, Jamie ;)