Changing The World With PR: 4th Malaysian Invasion Mixed Martial Arts

A week after we got back from Bintulu for the TYT Cup, we had to fly to Kuching. Did i mention we prepared 4 of our clients for the Malaysian Invasion Mixed Martial Arts this time instead of our coach? :D


YES, WE PREPARED THEM TO FIGHT.

Instead of the normal training sessions that they paid, we gave them extra classes or we call it "fighter's class", where its a non-stop pad-work with the coaches, sparring and pure vigorous training.
We may not be sponsoring them in sending them off with paid hotels and paying for their fees in the competition, but the extra training sessions are something that any fighter in the world would regard as "consultant" standard, as our trainers are very experienced and well recognised. One thing that couldn't be bought or build from money was the time invested and bonding that was build during these sessions.

For now, we may not be able to measure the intangible goodwill asset this training centre has but this has definitely gave Topdog Factory, as a brand, a good image as a training centre that aligns itself with its motto "Keep Your Dreams Alive". In this process of preparing our client to fight, it has been their dream to compete in such event. MIMMA 4, is an event organised by Tune Talk and is increasingly popular in Malaysia. Clients were registered under our training centre's name and because we have our merchandise ready and prepared for this competition, Topdog Factory gain its popularity, and we made our presence known in Kuching!


The Fighter's Class



Topdog members lunching together.

Although it took me some time to warm up with the clients when i first joined, the consistent conversations and chats we have has made communication so easy. I can attest that they too have a heart for Topdog Factory to be the best training centre for Muay Thai and mixed martial arts. I can also now say that, i've achieved some pretty good customer relation skills (just to encourage myself)!

So far, work has been fun and also its such an adventure. Being able to travel and also meet new people, making new friends has been the best thing ever. People has been asking about our training centre as well. Its really amazing. We get to connect with other training centre owners and also get to know more of the key players of combat sports in Sarawak.



Our clients/fighters! They're all first timer!

Topdog Factory- Women's Day 2016 from Joshua Hajok on Vimeo.


Next post will be more media relations stuff!

Joshua Anthony Hajok
16342222

Changing the World with PR: Putting the name on the map!

Hi all.

Before i knew it, Topdog Factory is part of a competition in Bintulu (they're listed in before i entered my internship), held from the 9th to 13th of March, 2016 at the Old Airport, Bintulu. I myself never been to a Muay Thai competition or seen a proper Muay Thai fight (live) excluding the ones I watched on YouTube. I was anxious, excited and all, but i had a few task during this period, and it was

Media Monitoring!

Oh how great it was (honest!).

But before that, the organisers required some photos of our fighters from Topdog Factory, which was our coach and director. For a new establishment (less than a year old),  this was really an important fight to put our name on to the map of combat sports in Sarawak! They were being featured onto the buntings and posters for the event, all around Bintulu!



So i did as such like a list to crosscheck the papers, categorised by the language, and publishers.

Our trip to Bintulu itself was an engagement with our client. Our main support came from them, and we figured out that it'll be better for us to go to the competition together. So a week before the competition, I would talk to our clients after their training and plan something together for the trip. It was out of the ordinary. Although i've only been here for only almost a month, i sense there was a 'team spirit' behind the willingness of our client to come along and support our director and coach. The fact that all these clients are relatively new to Muay Thai, it seems like they're more than keen to come and support.
On the day itself, we had a few clients driving us to Bintulu and back. These act of goodwill and willingness from our clients just show how important the daily conversations we have, before and after their training. The things that we talked about does not have to be about training-related conversations, but even by asking how are they and greeting them in a friendly manner, i believed has made it possible. 


Our Director (left) and Coach.


PR is easy when your brand ambassador are natural being friendly with fans.


TYT of Sarawak.

Although we didn't win both fights that night, one thing is for sure, we definitely had Topdog Factory's name made known.

These are the Topdog Factory fight team together with our supporters! It was ecstatic. It gave a lot of insight to our client on how a Muay Thai fight is, and it definitely inspired many to up their game during training.

The fight has definitely impacted those that came to support as once we got back from Bintulu, our clients were so enthusiastic and refreshed to train harder and stronger.
Our likes on FB has also increased after the competition! What a great publicity it was! :D

here's a vid of the trip.

Topdog Factory- TYT3rd Cup Throwback Video from Joshua Hajok on Vimeo.

Signing off.

Joshua Anthony Hajok
16342222

Changing the world with PR: Muay Thai & Mix Martial Arts!?

As a PR student, it never cross my mind that i will have a chance to do something different besides the main PR applied industries such as hotels, logging companies, oil and gas corporations, etc. Perhaps in other cities, yes, but not in Miri.

Currently, i'm interning at a martial art training centre. Topdog Factory- Muay Thai & Mixed Martial Arts Training Centre, located right in the heart of Miri City.

That's right, a martial arts training centre.

This is definitely not something i expect from my previous semesters studying in Curtin on PR, but the principle remains the same. Its about applying those PR knowledge and skills. I'll be updating my journey as an intern here at Topdog Factory, and hopefully it'll give an insight of a different industry, where PR is a necessity and not just a luxury for big organisations only. I did a bit of research on combat sports and this might be the next big thing in the sports world. Perhaps, it already is.

I will update more from my first day here at Topdog Factory. Its already my 9th day interning but it felt like a month. There was a lot of work to be done and what is interesting about organisations such as this, or i would say in this industry, there's plenty of space for creativity in doing things. My knowledge in media creation (videography, photography, design) definitely helped me in the early stages of our PR strategies. From there, we will be moving towards creating more buzz on social media and the local newspapers for our upcoming events. I'm also monitoring the trend on social media.

For example, the hashtags used on Instagram can make a lot of difference. Some users search for related posts through Instagram search function and words that relates to mixed martial arts, the hashtags, or Muay Thai are essential to make sure we expose ourselves to the right audience. Its free, but its not as easy i thought it would be. It was a good reality check and not just something read from a book.

Do check out on Instagram and search for #jhajokinterning. Its more on a personal level type of posts, but definitely something i experienced and reflected regarding my internship. I'll be posting up photos on what i'll be doing for the next 2 months and 21 days. I'm excited. Hope you get to be excited too.

As a start, below is link to a short video on the organisation i'm interning at (guess who shot it?lol) . Have a look and drop a comment. Love to get your feedback. Till the next post, have a blessed week.

Cheers,
Joshua Anthony Hajok
16342222
Miri Campus.

https://vimeo.com/154629442

(CLICK THE LINK! CLICK THE LINK)