Day One: a glimpse into the 'Real World'

Hello everyone!

My name is Bridgette Stephens and this is the first of four blog instalments to reflect on my internship experiences at Networking WA/Event and Conference Co. I am studying a double degree in BArts Journalism and BCom Public Relations at the Curtin Bentley campus.

As I began searching for an internship to work at to complete this Industry Placement Unit, I thought about the sort of Public Relations work I wanted to gain experience in, and where I saw myself working in the future. As I reflected on previous work experience I had done and units I'd taken throughout my course, I realised event management and media based work had been my favourite. So, when I found Networking WA/Event and Conference Co. I thought I had found the perfect fit.

The interview with the owner was brief and I was nervous to start the following Monday. I so nervous to start, I arrived 30 minutes early and sat in my car waiting for 9am. I think I expected to be overwhelmed with information, but my first day was, really, just a step-by-step process of getting myself connected to the server, being shown by other interns where to find jobs to complete, who to send completed work to, and how to label it. I felt a little more comfortable knowing I would be interacting with other interns who were also at Curtin University.

The majority of the work I will complete for the duration of the internship will be done independently and sent through to my supervisor at the end of the day. With so many assignments at university completed as group tasks, I think it will be interesting to complete them independently.

Did everyone else have the same experience as me? Or did you have a more fast-paced first day?

Bridgette

Things are not always what they seem

Almost a month into my internship and I had been experiencing things I never thought I would when I decided to join ChangeU Group. First let me start by giving a brief introduction to the organisation. 

ChangeU Group is a corporate training and development consultancy that specializes in transforming corporations through mindset change, breakthroughs, innovation and greatness. The organisation was established in the year 1990 in Hong Kong (headquarters) by CEO-Founder, Robert Chaen. The company is recognised by most of the corporations based in Hong Kong and since it only branched out to the Malaysian market in 2013, they are still in the midst of breaking through to a large number of companies in Malaysia. In Malaysia, ChangeU Group is considered a small business and run almost entirely by the CEo-Founder, Robert Chaen and just recently, American TV producer, Craig Santy. Since the establishment of the firm, ChangeU Group has successfully transformed organisations from the Fortune Global 500 corporations, government sectors along with top companies such as Coca-Cola (China), Nestlé, Gap, Petronas, Public Bank, DRB-HICOM, Jardines, Swire, hundreds of ICT/MSC companies throughout South-East Asia’s Silicon Valley and many more. 

When I went in on my first day, I was rather shocked when my CEO (as off now refered to as boss) told me that I wont be doing the things I expected to do before I joined the company. I was told that I was expected to do all kinds of tasks that involved the different departments in an organisation and that involved being an editor, HR, PR Representative, personal assistant, client liaison and a few other. It somewhat demotivated me but then I figured if I had to this I would want to gain as much as I possibly can in a PR point of view. Its really a matter of approaching the situation in a whole different and that is what I learned throughout my years of taking PR units. 

Sincerely,

Kane 

BYE BYE MUSE

Unfortunately, my internship at Muse Bureau is drawing to a close. I have only three weeks remaining and to be honest I'm frightened to leave! 

My internship at Muse has been amazing! I have met a variety of new faces including: talented artists, entrepreneurs and journalists. I am also happy to announce that my confidence has boosted! ...I would hope so, considering I have been in my placement for over 6 weeks now. 

The last  campaign I have been assigned to is the 10 Year anniversary of Perth hair and beauty salon, Ebony and Ivory. I am loving working in the beauty industry as it has helped me expand my knowledge of media outlets. 

The founder of Ebony and Ivory, Joan DellaValle has quite an incredible story, she moved to Perth from Zambia at the age of 23, fell in love with a Perth boy, got married, studied Management and Marketing at ECU and founded the salon in 2003. I am inspired by her story of hard work and determination, making it easier for me to pitch to media outlets. After I complete the publicity report for the client I will be on my way out into the world of professional public relations... 

Working with Muse Bureau has been an absolute delight. The staff are amazing and the range of clients make it the perfect place to gain experience in the public relations industry.

Its time to say goodbye now! 

Adios.
Sandra.

Money Can’t Buy Experience

Throughout my time at the Fremantle Football Club (FCC) I have been fortunate enough to sit in on a number of meetings with the Corporate staff. The majority have been Pre-Game day meetings however, in addition there have also been meetings involving stakeholder relations initiatives and how events can support the following. One such initiative is the Dockers Live the Dream school camp. The Live the Dream school camp is a concept designed to give twenty Year 11 and 12 students (a mix of male and female) to experience a week in the life of a professional AFL football player at the FFC. Participants will spend the week with a select group of FFC staff, gaining an insight in to all aspects of an AFL footballers life including strength and conditioning training, nutrition planning, psychological training and a whole other range of meaningful and insightful activities. A money can’t buy experience, I was flabbergasted at the luck of the key target stakeholders: West Australian high school students aged between 16 and 17 years and their respective high schools across urban and regional centers.

A state brimming full of talented young sportspeople, so many students (or budding athletes if you prefer) should be jumping at the chance for such a rare opportunity. Thinking of the broader picture the experiences of the lucky participants could make such an amazing impact not only on the skills and confidence on them but also those within the communities in which they live; amazing potential! As a Marketing and PR student it was fantastic to see the planning and interdepartmental organisation of such an initiative to really understand what it takes to make these things happen. Often as a student I find that coming up with creative and sometimes wacky ideas is the easy part, it’s the putting into action part of the strategy that takes the hard work. Now having been given the template (in a sense) to action thoughts and ideas in to the physical application I am feeling confident and excited to take on whatever future workplaces throw at me! It’s having that understanding and practical application of tasks that this internship has given me to really drive home the meaning of Public Relations within professional organisations; brilliant! 

To see the practical application of PR theory and techniques was in invaluable experience, and just like they always say the pin finally dropped! I always thought I understood the concepts on paper and when push came to shove would be able to come up with a text book PR plan off the top of my head just like ‘hey presto’. After witnessing the application of a communications and PR plan by seasoned professionals I now understand that it is not only the PR theory that I need to understand, but also have the practical application of so many other business principles combined- finally I understand why I had to do my most hated subject of all time, Accounting 100!

Having come to the end of my placement at the FFC I am truly grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such a unique mix of organisation. Unlike any other professional organisation that I have spent time at interning, I have found the FFC to have a great balance of corporate business and elite sports, both industries I have discovered to be passionate about. Getting to understand the complex relationship between a professional sporting organisation and its varied publics and seeing the fantastic potential for diversity within an organisation has seriously made me consider a career within the industry. Before understanding behind the scenes of this high profile club I had absolutely no idea of the opportunities available within. Now having made some fantastic contacts and experienced the hands on application of the elusive PR theory, I feel more than ready to enter in to the workforce; an exciting prospect after so many years that’s for sure!

So for all those that have been kind enough to read my blog posts, sayonara, and bon voyage. I wish you all the very best for what you have in store after graduation!  

A pocket full of dreams...

The End.

My placement at Sunsets has had it its ups and downs. Days where there was not much to do but office duties where I asked myself what is the point of this, this isn't helping me with my public relations ? or days where there was not enough time to fit in all the tasks asked of me. But of all the days I have experienced the varying change from office duties to public relations has prepared me for the real world as it is probably the best lesson that showing enthusiasm and initiative for any task given to you shows your employers the type of worker you are.

The experience has been challenging, with the juggling of work experience, a casual job, university work and on top of that a lack lusting social life. Looking back upon the experience it would be unrealistic to think that the multi tasking involved throughout the semesters has also prepared me for the 'real world'. I have also been given a set of skills that are going to help me in the future and that is invaluable to a graduating student.

Overall, my experiences at Sunset Events were invaluable to the knowledge that I can take on to future work places. However, for me personally I will not be looking for work specifically in just events for the foremost. I would ultimately love to work in fashion doing  public relations and marketing in that context is really more where my passion lies. And yes your probably all thinking won't fashion involves events? It does but it is also a mix of other things which is what keeps me interested and motivated. I enjoy multi tasking, and fast paced environments is where I need to be to kept busy and from the sounds of it thats what the fashion industry is all about.

So for everyone else finishing up their placements and looking towards their futures, hopefully you follow your dreams and enjoy every step of the way after graduation!

Good luck

From Beginning to End

To begin with,

I began my placement only a short while ago at the start of April with Sinclair Consulting - a Perth based and operated, boutique public relations firm.

The opportunity to work at Sinclair Consulting was certainly fortunate; I had already been participating in some work experience activities with the consultancy as they arose, and found them to be highly valuable in gaining an insight into how a public relations consultancy might run.

Before I had started my placement I was still contemplating what type and which, organisation I should apply to, and thought a small PR firm like Sinclair Consulting (that is expert consultant-based), would probably not would probably not have much use for an inexperienced undergraduate. As the deadline loomed to find a placement, I decided find the courage to ask Sinclair Consulting if they would take me on. And Lucky I did - as their answer was an unexpected yes!

The last twenty days or so at Sinclair Consulting have by far been the most valuable learning experience I have encountered yet. I have been lucky enough to work alongside the director, as well as four highly experienced consultants that complete the team at Sinclair Consulting. I feel I have gained much insight into understanding the fundamentals of how consultancies – (as well as a small business) are operated, in the arena of public relations.

Through this placement I have been able to take on a position that is at the forefront of real-world projects (not just behind the scenes), with an invitation to attend client meetings and see how a project is executed from start to finish. It really was inspiring seeing a proposal on paper, be pitched and brought to life!

Finally, I must express my gratitude towards Sinclair Consulting for taking me on as part of the team over the last two months. It really has been a valuable experience and positive ending to my degree.

Shake and Sign

World Meningitis Day was held on April 24 2013. It is a global annual event that raises awareness of the disease. This year the Confederation of Meningitis Organisations (CoMO) spent the day at Perth City Murray Street Mall alongside their organisation member the Meningitis Centre, raising awareness of the need to get government recognition worldwide to put prevention vaccines into their National Immunisation Programs (NIP). This was the first time the organisations had held a booth in the city.

The day was a new experience where I had to step out my comfort zone and go up to people and ask them if they knew about meningitis and would they be interested in signing the petition to help prevent meningitis. This proved to be a bit of challenge as some people are against vaccines and some people think you’re trying to sell them some sort of product or take their money and therefore ignored me. Some people were the opposite and were willing to sign the petition and were happy to be provided with information about the disease. I also had to shake the donation tins during the day which also had its challenge as I didn’t want to make people feel like they had to donate. Despite the challenges of shaking tins and signing the petition it was a fun day out of the office and a great opportunity to get the message about meningitis directly into the community.   

Our target on the day was parents and grandparents with young children. Balloons, stickers and brochures where given out on the day. I was surprised by how successful the uses of balloons were to gain attention from children and to draw in parents.

The Meningitis Centres ambassadors Brett Sheehan father of a survivor and survivor of meningitis Adam Selwood attended the event to assist in getting people’s attention and share their experiences with the disease.  Survivors of meningitis and their families and friends also attended the event.  This created a great atmosphere where many parents, grandparents and even young people were provided with plenty of information about meningitis, signed the petition or donated to organisation. It was great that it was school holidays so there were plenty of parent and children around the city.

The event was covered by channel 10 news on the day where they interviewed Adam Selwood and Brett Sheehan. It was great to get to have this media attention.

It was a great opportunity to see how a non for profit organisation engaged with the community and raised awareness.  I would say it was a successful shake and sign event.

-Alyce

What makes writing so important?

Hi all, 

Looking back at my 20 days spent at Woodside, I’m realising how important the writing skills of a PR consultant are.

The Oxford dictionary defines writing as the activity or skill of marking coherent words on paper and composing text.

Writing is therefore the vital means of communication within an organisation as it is the primary basis upon which our work is expressed.

Always paying attention to the grammatical errors, to the tense you use and make sure you use the active rather than the passive voice is essential.

I paid lots of attention and time proof reading my work when my mind was refreshed to make sure I didn’t left any basic errors behind.

Good style and quality writing is an essential PR job skill, as most of our tasks require writing convinced and effective documents. I’ve done a multitude of re-writing tasks, and found it quite hard sometimes to keep the meaning but change the structure of a sentence or paragraph. Use different words, find synonyms, keep the information and change the orientation of the sentence. That’s the magic skill of a good PR consultant.

I believe that experience and practice are the only way you can improve your writing skills, and I thank Woodside for the great experience opportunity I had.

Happy writing throughout your careers!

Cheers

Alice

A Big Help. .

I know that I have now done one blog too many but I felt like there was so much more to share about my experiences in the 'real world'. 

Following the oZAPP Award Roadshow I checked off another step in the PR plan I established at the beginning of my placement. The 2012 oZAPP Awards is a competition following on from last years WApp Awards. Both competitions have the same concept, however the competition is now national and is open to all states throughout Australia. 

Following the launch of the winning concept from last years awards, I developed a media release and fact sheet and distributed it to all Western Australian media outlets. Tim and Leon, the winners from last years awards, were at the roadshow event and once again I was able to meet the people I had been writing about so often. Their app, the Big Help Mob, is a fun, creative approach to community service, attracting hundreds of people who had never volunteered their time before, to helping out causes throughout WA. The ABC news report on their app can be found here. For more information on the WApp Awards and the winning app click here. 

Official oZAPP's photo: Left to right: Leon Delpech, Bill Tai and Tim Kenworthy

Once the media release was completed and sent out, my next task was to update the national educational institution database and develop an information pack on the awards that could be distributed to all Universities and TAFE's around the state to generate awareness among university students. These information packs included a cover letter, fact sheet, media release, social media links and poster. 

I also had the chance to challenge myself by writing a package for a client. I spent a day researching and developing pages on the company, the experience of the team and the the proposed establishment. This experience taught me that my writing strength is in PR media and plans and it is a lot less natural for me to write documents of this calibre. Throughout my placement I had the chance to work on them twice and my supervisor sat down with me and went over the way she altered them for the client. I learnt that it is definitely a lot harder for me to get this work out but I definitely want to practice and learn how to do it for the future. 

Being my last week the work load was massive as I worked through to have everything completed! I took out the PR plan i developed at the beginning and had a meeting with my boss about the next steps and how the PR could be altered to attract a larger audience. I also had the opportunity to experience the planning, execution and aftermath of a radio interview that took place and how feedback is given to the client, and social media comments responded to. 

The experience working on this event has been amazing! It has taught me that you can't always anticipate the reaction of the media or the public and that sometimes your original plans need to be altered in order to gain greater success. The concept of the awards is incredible and it focuses in on a developing industry, however for some reason the public and media's interaction has been limited and hasn't taken off as anticipated. I have also learnt that every client is different and you have to speak and deal with them in a way that shows them how integral each part of the plan is without undermining them. On top of all these lessons, one of the biggest lessons I had was at our goodbye drinks. The social media coordinator was on Facebook and the alarms went off and within seconds all three people were on the phone and social media responding to the issue. The lesson: there is no weekend for social media and it is essential that you monitor it at all times. PR does not sleep and you never know what can happen out of the office! 

It may be the end of my placement but its not the end of my experiences at 32DSG. I am staying on a day a week to see how the oZAPP Awards pan out and have been assisting here and there, taking on every learning experience that I can! 

The Final Week

Hello everyone,

So it has come to the final week of my internship. I am actually overwhelmed with the entire experience and it has hands down been the most educational and rewarding experience of my university degree to date. I cannot express how much I have grown in the past three months thanks to Detail Communications.

It has really been an eye opener into all the possibilities that you can dive into within the PR industry. Pr is something that is hard to get a grasp on when you first study due to its broad nature and variety of roles a PR practitioner has to play. Actually seeing first hand the day to day workings of a PR consultancy enables us as students to put everything we have learnt into practice.



I have been lucky enough to work on a variety of clients while at Detail, such as Fremantle Festival, Made on the Left Markets and Walk to Work Day. Each client having different ambitions and objectives allowed me to view the different approaches that can be made when it comes to a PR plan.

You also understand what is newsworthy and what is not. Being honest with the journalist about how interesting and exciting the event is going to be is vital, as you don't want to come off as not a credible source. It works the same way with the clients expectations, you have to ensure they understand the scope of media they are going to be able to attain and don't lead them to thinking you can provide something which you cannot.

I hope you have all taken your internship with both hands and made the most of your oppoutnities. I think it is a wonderful way to find your feet in this fast paced industry as you quickly find out if it is the right fit for you or not. For all of you that are set to graduate at the end of the semester - a big congratulations! 

All the best everyone,

Brooke x

"Its not over till the fat lady sings"

Hi Everyone!

I have just completed my placement at 32 Degrees South Group and I cant help but feel sad. It has been such an amazing experience especially being part of such a new company. When I finished, my supervisor took the team out for celebratory/goodbye drinks and she asked us what we have learnt from this experience. My immediate answer was ‘confidence’. I said that in University your tutors see potential and they mark you accordingly however you never truly know whether you were just having a good day or whether the caliber of work would be accepted in the real world. Working with people who truly rely on you to do a good job because it involves money and business reputation, and then getting good feed back on your work, just gives you more and more confidence to be able to enter the workforce. No one could every replace that.  I also said it was so incredible to see my work go up online- knowing that it was good enough to be up for everyone to see it and represent the companies work. I was extremely lucky to have a supervisor who gave constructive criticism and compliments that I started to feel were deserved.  My supervisor also asked me whether I felt disadvantaged for working in a small boutique firm rather then a big one. I answered that I could see that each has its positives and negatives attributes. For example, being part of a boutique firm means that you are given many jobs to do and get one on one contact with your supervisor who can mentor you through your internship. However, it also means that you cannot hide behind someone else when you make a mistake, you stand out, every task given to you is something that will be used in one way or another and be a representation of the companies work. When you work for a big firm you can hide behind other people, if you make a mistake it can be easily covered, your work is not always the be all and end all of company and you get the opportunity to work with some big names. However some negatives may be that you do not get as many chances to produce work, your supervisor has little time to communicate with you and you could potentially be given unexciting and repetitive tasks. I have not worked in a big firm so I do not take my word that these negative characteristics are true- they are only assumptions. I would however be very open to working in a big firm because I have realised that you do not have to be a part of every daily task that goes on in the office, merely observing can be very educational. You also have a lot of opportunity to make an impression, stand out and potentially score yourself a paid position.

Over all this was an incredible experience- a lot of work on top of other university studies but every day was worth it. I feel proud to have obtained and completed this internship myself. It is a huge achievement. I think Curtin is incredible to provide us with this opportunity. The workforce doesn’t look so scary after all.

I have learnt that even though your internship has finished, the lessons you have learnt in this unit will stay with you throughout your working career- it is never over, it’s only just begun- and I’m excited!!

            

Thank you everyone for reading and I hope you all enjoyed your placement as much as I did!!

Martine

Xxxx

Two days on, 1 day off and still did so much

This week I only managed to do two days since I was sick for the third day. I, however got to work on website content for the events/projects page and help out at an event organised by our organisation, 32dsg.

The events page content is looking good and I am learning to set it out exactly how they want the web designers to produce it. There are so many skills I thought I would never use from university, especially the units that I started off doing in Mass Communications before I changed to Journalism and PR. For example the skills of text wrapping where you format pictures within the text so that the words move according to where the picture is. The understanding I have from ‘wiki’s’ we did in PR corporate and PR International gave me the knowledge to be able to link documents to the page and realise how all the pages will be connected in the end. There are so many little things you learn in university that can help you so much in real life.

The interns were asked to help out at the oZAPP Roadshow event being held in Perth at Spacecubed in St Gorges Terrace. We were told we were going to do the meeting and greeting, give out nametags and information as well as help out with food and drinks. The manager of the event space did not help out all the ‘girls’ all carrying drinks and heavy glass ware up to the room. It was amazing how this portrayal of rudeness can change the opinion of a company hosting an event in this space. 32dsg’s events coordinator immediately said she would never use this space again.

Although there were a few things that were working against this event such as the fact that there was another event straight after ours, in the same space, and that many of the people registered were not on the list for nametags, no one really noticed anything was wrong. The glassware was hired and therefore we needed to take them home but people for the next event were using a lot of them. However, we managed by kindly explaining the fact that this was for a different event. We solved the nametag issue by getting attendees to write their own names on a nametag. Overall people enjoyed the event and we were able to enjoy it too. I think one of the things I noticed was that there is little time for a person organising the event to actually enjoy it. There is always something to do or something to coordinate and therefore you really have to sit down and debrief to realise what could have been done better or what was successful to truly appreciate your efforts.

This coming week I will be making up the extra day I missed because of being sick and therefore I will be able to do a lot more in terms of website content and helping out with the content writing of a clients website that is about to launch in a couple of days.

Until then,

Thanks for reading.

Martine

xxxx

IT’S TIME FOR THE 140 DIFFERENCE

Welcome to my PR Professional Placement Reflective Blog!

To be different does not mean to consistently stand out from the crowd, but to ensure that your actions reflect that of originality and innovation.

It is through this notion that I chose to complete my placement at the Jones Lang LaSalle division of one40william.

My name is Alexandra Wheeler as a student as Curtin University, completing my final units of a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Marketing and Public Relations I am excited to share my experiences whilst interning at one40wiliam.

Jones La LaSalle (JLL) is a firm that focuses on the professional real estate service industry and provides such services to clients in 70 countries. With more than 200 corporate offices and 1, 000 locations worldwide, JLL has a high standard of real estate service experience. JLL is the managing agent for 140 Perth (the retail sector) of one40william building and development in the CBD.

“The Difference is 140”

Throughout my placement I will be working in the one40william office along side my mentor Kristi Dempster (Marketing and Tenant Service Manager). My work will be centered on public relations and marketing strategies assisting in developing the 140 retail segment.

GRAB THAT OPPORTUNITY

I was able to gain my placement through an opportunity of volunteering with Perth Fashion Festival in September 2011. As the 140 brand was involved with the festival, an email was forwarded by Perth Fashion Festival event manager Jacqui Brown on behalf of one40william to the volunteers. I jumped at the opportunity to complete an internship with one40william.

I was attracted to the vibrant and modern concept of the brand and the building itself. After emailing Kristi I was asked to come in for an interview. I researched the construction of the one40william building and the 140 brand to ensure I was prepared for questions on the organisation. Nervous but excited, I completed my interview and was ecstatic to receive a personal phone call from Kristi two days later informing me that I had gained one of the two exclusive internship placements at one40william.

It had really sunk in that the interview and communication skills that I had learnt from tutors and lecturers had been put into practice and paid off. It was the end of 2011, I had already cemented my placement for second semester 2012…and then it hit me, it was the experience and volunteering I had completed the past two years that assisted me in landing this placement.

IT ALL BEGINS…

I commenced my placement on the 9^th of August and my first two weeks (I had one week off) have already flown by. The corporate environment at one40william is warm and welcoming, with all employees presenting such experience and knowledge.

I began my experience by reading and reviewing past Marketing Plans and Public Relations Plans. This essential information provided me with a cement understanding and knowledge of the direction of the 140 brand. To ensure that I gained a further insight into 140’s brand values I studied past newsletters, the website (http://www.140.com.au/) and social media channels (http://www.facebook.com/140Perth).

A regular role that I conduct each morning when I arrive is to collect media clippings that are about or mention one40william, competitors (enex100, Carillion City, Claremont Quarter or Forrest Chase) and details on the retail industry. The clippings are collected from newspapers and then strategically displayed and filed in an organised manner.

Liaising with the retailers within 140 has become a consistent role that I conduct. This is to ensure that the retailers receive important and relevant information regarding the re-development stage that 140 is about to enter.

I attended a social media meeting with Kristi regarding the development of 140’s Instagram photo feed. The meeting reviewed the goals that are to be achieved and the specific requirements of the photo’s that are to be posted. I was then given the opportunity to venture out and take photo’s of the retailers products and the 140 building.

THE DIFFERENCE IS 140

After my first two weeks I have been exposed to amazing experiences and practices that I could only learn through an internship. I have gained a larger insight into the 140 brand, realizing it is not only a retailing driven sector of one40william but a brand that promotes itself and its values. The promotional avenue taken by 140 is creative and innovative, thus highlighting the 140 brand tagline, “The 140 Difference”.

Experience is the key to knowledge and understanding, and this experience is worthwhile!

More 140 adventures next time!

Alexandra Wheeler

Events to make the Events

I am starting my blog a little late but at least that gives me more to talk about!

I started placement at the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation, working alongside the events team four weeks ago and could not of chosen a better place to do my placement!

Most Western Australians have had some contact with PMH in their lives, whether it is associated with themselves, friends or family. This is one of the main reasons for me to ask the Foundation for a placement opportunity, as I myself was once a patient there. Many associate the Foundation with Telethon, but the foundation is completely separate from large-scale event and is also separate from the Princess Margaret Hospital itself. The foundation is set up alone as the sole fundraising body for the hospital to help acquire donations for future research, maintenance and equipment. Even though it is not apart of the hospital, the team at the foundation work alongside many of those inside the hospital to help reach future goals.

A lot of what the foundation does I found is highlighted in the weekly Monday morning meetings. These meetings help start off the week with what is currently happening at the foundation, what is coming up for the foundation and what the foundation is aiming to achieve as well as continually reinforcing the main goal of getting those donations and funds. Issues the foundation carry always emerge in these meetings, which I will discuss later on. These weekly meetings may seem like another sleep inducing discussion, but to me it is actually the thing that gets me buzzing in the morning, as it is informative and interesting to see what the foundation actually does and what I could potentially help and make a difference in (with a coffee in my hand of course).

Even though there is only four of us in the events team and only one being full-time, the team still appears to be a major part of the foundation as it appears to be the sources that gain large amounts of funding and donations. The events that the foundation creates appear to be extremely successful within Western Australia and manage to acquire well-known sponsors and guests. Events that are established by the foundation include the “Bear By Night Ball”, “Urban Descent” and “Wear a Bear Day”. The upcoming months appear to be busy months ahead for the team as all these major events are placed in the first half of the new year and as PR professionals, we all know there is a lot of planning when it comes to events.

To prepare, the events team (including myself) have been gathering information on past donors and sponsors in hoping to recruit further donations, sponsorships and guests to these upcoming events. The main event we are focusing on at the moment though is the Melbourne Cup Luncheon that is to take place on the first Tuesday of November of course. This included gaining a full page in the STM (Sunday Times Magazine) as shown to the right. It is not as large scale as some of the foundations other events, but it still manages to acquire large donations due some of its affluent clientele. Attracting sponsors and donors for the auction who match the clientele guest list has been at the top of the agenda for us. Gathering information on these past sponsors and donors had included using the foundations database (Readers Edge) as well Excel to dig out this information. This may appear tiring for the eyes, sitting on the computer hours on end searching, but it is all worthwhile and vital! Sending out chain email invitations to previous guests as also been achieved and appeared to be successful. So at the moment I have not been using many of the practical PR tools, but the basic teachings such as networking, professionalism and technical work that have been drilled into our minds is coming into good use.

That is all from me for now, but I shall be back soon for more updates!

A Once In A Lifetime Experience. .

Hi Everyone!

For my placement I am interning at 32 Degrees South Group (32dsg), a Perth-based events and communications agency that also review luxury goods, travel destinations and concierge choices. My main project consists of working on a curtain initiative, the oZAPP Awards, a a competition to identify Australia’s best mobile app concepts.

From the first day this placement has been amazing! The staff are lovely and I get along with all of them really well. Going into this placement I thought that I wanted to go down the PR Consultancy track and after only one day I knew that this was the industry I wanted to be in and the work I enjoyed doing. Its a perfect fit for me I think and its been great to know that my supervisor can see my passion for PR and the 'natural' flair I have for it. I can definitely see myself doing this as my career- and I think realising that is the best feeling and outcome that could have happened. 


Ive found doing this placement an amazing experience as I've had to establish a PR strategy from scratch and have also developed a media plan and presented it to a journalist at The West Australian. The biggest thing I've found is that completing a strategy for an assignment is so different to completing one for a client as you have to ensure that the strategies you suggest are realistic, achievable, and fit the clients needs and budget. Its been an invaluable experience and its good to know that I have the ability to develop a plan for a client that is both realistic and completed to a level that can be implemented straight away. 

I can't believe I'm only eight days in! So far I've completed a PR strategy, media plan, media database, presented to the company director, been present at a media meeting and had my PR plan presented to the client at the monthly board meeting. To top it all off my supervisor has moved back to France so I am working for her in the office through weekly calls. This is definitely a once in a life time experience! 

Until next time. . 

Erin.