Challenge: 4 Weeks Without a Supervisor

When I first started my internship it was noted that there would be a period of about 4 weeks when I would be left by myself in the marketing and PR department, “no worries” I said at the time “I’ll hold the fort”. Then suddenly it was the beginning of April, and I was left alone.

In the week leading up to my manager’s trip to Europe and the marketing assistants trip to America I tried to get as much information from them as I could and we compiled a long list of action items that I could work through whilst they were away. At first I was nervous at being left alone, but after my first day ‘holding the fort’ I realized that after almost 15 days over 2 months working at the company, I had learnt a lot more than I realized and gained a confidence in myself and my abilities that was not there before.

Whilst my supervisors were away I worked through the action items and tried my best not to email for help instead taking the initiative and working through things myself or with help from others in the office. The month went smoothly and I came out the other end with an almost complete list and even a few additions.

When meeting with my manager and colleague the week they both returned, I was proud to show them a list of completed items, some new ideas, a printed advertisement and the media release that would be printed the following month for which I had interviewed one of our clients, a major Oil and Gas company in WA.

Overall, as daunting as it was to find myself so abruptly left alone, it was a necessary learning curve that saw me work independently to a deadline and enabled me to gain confidence in myself avoiding reliance on others. It also saw me begin to create my own presence within the company as I met more and more people and took on more responsibility. 

The Perfect Blend

So it’s now my very last week at PPR and as I sit and write this, all I can think about is where has the time gone?! In theory, a month sounds like a long time but in the fast paced world of PR, I’ve rapidly come to learn that it isn’t.

In my third week at PPR, I spent a lot of time on the road, delivering invitations for an event on behalf of a client. At the time I treated this as a bit of respite from all the work that I still have left to do but with only 2 days remaining to get it all done – I’m now working to a very tight deadline.

 At the end of the week I was also given the task of helping one of the account managers put together a credentials document for the firm. I was given this task based on my ability to write and to perform under a tight deadline, which was definitely the confidence boost I had been searching for. As you might recall from my previous blog entry, my second week at PPR was a tough one in terms of my confidence and belief in my ability to write but undertaking this task has given me a chance to resurrect myself. I got to work on the task immediately by compiling some relevant case studies, which will all be included in the publication and wrote a succinct synopsis of each one. Part of this task will also involve me proofreading the account manager’s work to ensure that there are no spelling mistakes or other grammatical errors. Though I have never edited anyone’s work in a professional capacity, I have nonetheless chosen to embrace this task as yet another opportunity for me to learn and acquire those much-needed editing skills, pertinent to a successful career in PR.

Another aspect that I really love about this task is that to me, it is the perfect blend of both sides of my degree, as not only am I writing for a professional publication, but I am also helping this PR firm carry out its own PR. This fusion of public relations and professional writing has definitely demonstrated how well the two degrees go together and how skills from each are sometimes necessary for performing tasks in this industry.

I am looking forward to this final week and I can’t wait to reflect on what has definitely been an exciting, frightening, educational and enlightening month at PPR.

PR is not for the faint hearted.

Wow my second week has flown by in the blink of an eye and I can’t believe I’m already half way through my internship at PPR!

This week – as expected was also busy, in fact much busier than the last. My calendar on my desktop has quickly become my best friend and my saving grace, reminding me of all the things I need to do and when. This week’s tasks have primarily been public relations orientated which has given me a well-rounded and very real insight into the various duties that PR consultants do in their line of work.

One of these tasks was to write a profile on a mining company for a magazine that PPR produces. As someone who has little knowledge of and no experience in the mining industry, this was definitely a very daunting task. However, with a little of bit of research, professional guidance and a lot of trial and error, I managed to produce a piece of written work that I was proud of and so was the editor at PPR who is going to publish the article in the company’s publication. Needless to say, I was absolutely ecstatic and when offered to write a second piece, I gladly accepted! This task has taught me the importance of versatility in a PR consultancy as it is likely that you will have to write pieces on certain companies, events etc that you have little knowledge about. Research is therefore a very important factor and one that I’m glad is emphasized in all our PR Units at university.

One area that I felt I struggled with this week was working to a deadline. On Wednesday I was given the task of writing a response to a year 12 student regarding the impact of FIFO on rural communities. Again, with little existing knowledge of the industry, I researched previous documents to gain a good perspective of the issue and then set to work. However, because I only had a deadline of two hours to complete the task, I felt like my mind (and more so my ability to write) completely shut down on me under pressure. Although I did eventually get to work, what I produced, I can’t say I was completely happy with.  This ability to work to a deadline is certainly one of the most prominent aspects of the PR industry and one that I’m determined to tackle in the next six months before I graduate.  I’ll be seeking some good advice from the PPR team about what to do when those terrible nerves take over and how to focus when working to such a tight deadline. What are your tips for dealing with deadline stress?

My last major task this week was to produce a media release for a recipient of a grant given by one of PPR’s clients. The idea of writing my very own media release, something I’ve done many times at Uni, really thrilled me but once again I struggled with the pressure of producing something that I expected to be of a high standard.  The media release that I produced was edited and tweaked a little by the consultant that I was doing the work for and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of disappointment that my media release had to be altered a little bit to flow better.  After all the experiences I’ve had writing media releases at Uni, I felt that I would know how to write these better than anything else – but the reality this week was different. Although the consultant assured me that I’d done a great job, I just couldn’t help but a feel that I’d let myself down.

One of the Account Managers reassured me further by saying that most media releases, even his, often get tweaked by more senior PR people and that it’s all part of the creative process.

Has anyone else had these experiences before?

I think I just need to remind myself that I am an intern and I still have a lot to learn instead of always being an over achiever and striving for perfection –  it’s simply not realistic or beneficial to my sense of self and self worth!

Despite the sounds of it, I have still had a great week, which has taught me just as much about myself as it has about PR consultancy.  I know now that PR is not an industry for the faint hearted and in order to succeed, you need to stay strong, focused and flexible to the demands of time, clients etc.

I’m grateful that I have had this insight this week into the areas of myself that I need to work on and I am glad for every experience that I have at PPR because it’s all part of a learning journey that I imagine will only continue throughout the rest of my degree and my career. 

Until next time…!

Getting the Pitch Right!

My internship at Devahasdin has gone by so quickly and I have been lucky to learn and experience so much about public relations and working in consultancy.

Over my placement I have worked on a range of different tasks for various clients but one task I have been doing regularly for the client Waterford Plaza is pitching stories to the local community newspaper, The Southern Gazette. I have had two pitches; one for Burger Edge and their fundraiser for paralympian Nigel Barley and the other for Supa IGA’s International Food Festival appear in ‘The Fast Lane’ section of the paper.

More recently I was responsible for preparing a pitch for Mo’s Mobiles Waterford Plaza and their ‘Recharge and Reach Out’ fundraiser that was running from June to August. First I had to contact Aloysius the store manager and conduct a brief phone interview to gain further information about the fundraiser which he was more than happy to provide knowing the coverage from the local community newspaper would encourage more shoppers to get involved and help reach the fundraising target. From there I compiled the information and prepared a short pitch, which was approved by Kat my mentor before I sent it off to the journalist at The Southern Gazette.

The pitch was successfully picked up and the next stage was the fun bit - attending the photo shoot at Waterford Plaza! I really enjoyed overseeing the pitch, which turned out great appearing in this weeks Southern Gazette:

Writing a pitch was new to me when I first started my internship and I was surprised to know that I only had to write a couple of interesting sentences with all the key facts. At first I found it challenging to achieve less is more with the pitch as I was used to writing longer media releases for university assignments. After a few attempts and edits by my mentor my pitches were good to go!

From being responsible for pitching stories I quickly learnt the importance of media relationships and respecting the journalist’s time and deadlines. It is always best to pitch earlier in the week and if a journalist responds or asks for further information always provide it promptly otherwise they will move on to another story which means your client misses out and that journalist may be reluctant to pick up another one of your pitches.

My internship is fast coming to an end but I am sure there will be plenty for me to do and learn before I finish up!

Caitlyn

What University Doesn't Teach You About Media Releases

Media releases are the most basic, simple forms of controlled information that PR students learn in the first couple of PR units at university. They teach you the layout, format, what to include and writing style. These techniques are useful, but not universal and sometimes outdated. The following points are important notes I have learned from the marketing team at Hames Sharley that I would have never thought about.

1.  Media releases aren’t just organizational bragging pieces

2. Always send the release as PDF or similar document that cannot be manipulated

3. You don’t get 2 – 3 weeks to draft one like with uni assignments

In about the third week of my internship, I had completed my final draft of a media release I had been working on the previous two weeks. Pretty proud of it, confident it was in the correct layout and all fancy in the HS template, I sent it on to the rest of the marketing team. I was pretty shocked when it was sent back all marked up with about a page of feedback. I was less upset than I was in awe. There was so much realistic advise that I had been searching for at uni and never been able to find. She slammed the piece for being a brag material rather than something interesting that people would want to read and that editors would pick up. At uni they teach you newsworthiness, I thought I had satisfied that but I had presented it in a way that wasn’t interesting to the general public. This is an experience I am extremely happy to have had and will not soon forget throughout my career.

The next few releases I worked on were simply project updates that consisted of about two sentences each to be sent for a specific magazine segment. I finished them, pasted into the template and sent to the marketing team for approval. Before sending them to the editor, Bec (Marketing Assistant) provided me with a few pointers in the outgoing email. She instructed me never to send a Word doc and only ever export to PDF. She explained that this helps to decrease human error, maintain credibility and hold parties accountable for the correct information. For example if the editor were to open a Word doc and accidentally press a random key without noticing and publishing it thereafter, it affects the magazine’s image, but if we can prove who’s error it was, the appropriate party can take responsibility. It also reduces incentive to manipulate a controlled piece of information which is handy if your relationship with the editor isn’t necessarily strong.

At university, you get sometimes up to four weeks to submit a media release as part of an assignment. I don’t see the point of the assignment when this is completely irrelevant to timing in real life. I assume in most cases you get only a couple days. Luckily at my internship, I get about two weeks tops because I’m only there two days per week. If the release is prolonged anymore than this, the information simply becomes outdated and useless because editors will just look over it and throw it out. The newsworthiness decreases with time. The more time you spend drafting it, getting your facts right and finally sending it out, the less chance you will have of it being published or even sent to be published. This happened to me with my first release. I worked really hard but by the time I got around to sending it out, the marketing coordinator said it’s only good enough for the internal newsletter now. A fantastic learning, yet steep curve.

DEADLINES!

My time at the Department for Communities is soon coming to an end. One insight I would like to share with you is the importance of deadlines.

I have learnt that you definitely need to be prepared and organised everyday so that you can reach a deadline before it is due. Leaving things too late could cost you a client or even your job. It is vital to have deadlines in projects and normal activities so you are motivated to reach your desired goal on time.

During my time at my placement, all the meetings I have attended have emphasised the importance of deadlines!!! When working in a team, it is essential that all members know their deadlines for their own tasks and the end date for the whole project.

At the office, employees use Microsoft Outlook Calender to book in all their meetings. They also have individual whiteboards on their walls and wall calendars to mark in important deadlines. By utilising these tools regularly, you can become more organised and prepared to reach your deadlines.

Mei
Bentley