To be, or not to be, that is the question....

Thirty days ago when I started my internship at PPR – I set out in search of an answer to a question which has plagued me since the beginning of my degree – ‘To be or not to be a PR consultant?’ I am happy to report that after my finishing my last day at PPR on Friday – I am now a whole lot closer to finding that answer.

The world of PR consultancy is an exciting one to say the least with a multitude of clients that subsequently come with a multitude of different projects, experiences, deadlines and demands.  It is because of this versatility, that in the past month at PPR, I have had the privilege and the opportunity of working on a range of different projects for different clients. I find this versatility to be a very attractive characteristic of working in consultancy and one that I will attempt to explore more when I begin my search for employment in July.  Having said that, there is still a large part of me that is curious about working in corporate PR and I think that I will need to experience this before I can confidently choose the path that appeals to me the most. Have any of you ever had experience working in both fields? And if so, which one do you prefer?

As I write this, I can’t help but also smile at the fact that in only 20 working days, I can say that I have done everything from media clippings, reports and releases through to invitation drops, research, phone interviews and writing for some of PPR’s professional publications.  When regarding the writing I have done in particular, three pieces of my work were officially published in my last two days at PPR – which I think was such a great way to end what I would definitely call a great internship!

One of these pieces of writing was a media release entitled ‘Dalwalinu Channels Its Own Rottnest Swim’, which was published in a regional WA newspaper that you can read here.  As some of you would know, that feeling that you get when your work is published in a public space is like nothing else and has certainly given me the confidence and self-assurance that I need to believe in myself as a professional writer and PR practitioner.

Another thing that I have learnt throughout my time at PPR is that though Uni definitely has its place in teaching us the fundamentals skills required in the PR industry, there is still nothing quite like applying and refining these skills in a real working environment. I am thankful for the opportunity that PR Professional Practice 393 has given me in this regard as I have been able to use what I have learnt and expand on what I have learnt in all my classes in a way that I believe will serve me well when I graduate and begin my career.

Thanks everyone for following my updates over the past month and it's been wonderful reading all of yours. Though these entries have been useful for reflecting on my own experiences, I’ve also learnt a lot about other aspects of the industry through reading yours. I wish you guys all the best in the remainder of your internship and your degrees, and best of luck in your careers.

From Intern to the "Idea(l) Woman"

Throughout my internship at Linc Integrated (a marketing and communications consultancy) I have learnt so much more about PR and its application in the real world. As this is my third blog I thought I’d give a bit of a run down on some of the more exciting things that have happened and the new concepts which I have learnt along the way.

One of the most exciting things that happened has resulted from some work I have been doing for Linc’s client, AMP Capital (who own Karrinyup Shopping Centre and Garden City Shopping Centre in Perth). I got asked by one of my supervisors to develop concepts for a competition the client want to hold in order to promote tickets to watch a screening of the AFL Grand Final. I ended up coming up with a few different ideas in order to target children to enter the competition and got quite creative trying to incorporate sport and Facebook in order to help create awareness.

It so happened that my idea for the competition ended up being the one that the client wanted to run with! How Exciting!

Ever since then the team at my internship got me more involved in brainstorming for clients and coming up with concepts that address briefs that Linc have been given. Each of the briefs I have been given usually involve a very specific outcome for the client. For example, I was given one where I had to come up with an idea that would increase Facebook “likes” on the client’s website by 5000, within two months.

 

As I got given more creative work, I then became known as the “idea woman” around the office and got to be involved in more team brainstorms and even developing ways to promote events, such as the spring/summer fashion launch for the shopping centres. I have also been invited to attend meetings with clients such as Pro Subi to join in on developing ideas for rebranding Subiaco, and I later got to follow up this progress a few weeks later. It was really interesting getting to meet and work with clients and then seeing the progress of the initial ideas develop into stronger concepts.

I’ve also learnt a lot more about everyday PR work. In all our units we have to apply the theoretical concepts we have learnt into our assignments and even pick out in case studies the application of PR theory. We all get told to make objectives that are S.M.A.R.T, media releases that must follow an inverted pyramid, frameworks of communication and how a crisis should be dealt with. But are we actually going to use this when we enter the real world of public relations?

I’ve found that during my time at Linc, particularly working in a consultancy, that there really aren’t any stringent policies inferring that I have to follow the methods of application I have learnt throughout my degree. The main focus is always on achieving what the client wants, and this really varies according to the work they require. I’m not quite sure if it’s the same case with in-house public relations, but I am sure there would be a strong focus on following the organisations internal goals and values, ensuring that all work done through the public relations department really aligns with the organisation itself.

One concept that has really stood out to me throughout my internship is “PR Values”. And I am very thankful that my supervisor took the time to explain to me the importance of valuing public relations work and why it is really important once you are a PR practitioner.

PR Values are essentially the monetary value attributed to a piece of coverage that has been attained by the PR team for the client. It is used as a measurement tool for coverage by considering the dimensions, size and advertising rates. Basically if I gain a column in a newspaper then PR Values help to explain to the client how much the coverage is worth, which ultimately helps to determine the effectiveness of PR activities.

I’ve been working quite a bit with PR Values and have ensured that I regularly media monitor and then up-date the value of the coverage into the appropriate monthly report. This also involves making sure I get the circulation rates for the particular medium so that I am able to determine its advertising value. The PR Value is then calculated as three times the worth of the coverage if it had of been a paid advertisement. Check out this article here which helps to explain the difference in value between advertising and PR.

I do remember hearing something about PR being worth more than advertising in one of my lectures, but I never knew there was an actual formula for this!

My supervisor did note to me that although they use PR Values the formula is more just a way of demonstrating the worth to clients and that it’s actual accuracy and how it came out is not exactly certain (kind of fitting I thought considering PR itself is hard to define by many). But I have done a little more digging into these “PR Values” and found that it is quite a criticised method as discussed in this article here, released by the PRIA.

Throughout my internship I have continued to make sure all coverage gets valued, including online and ensure it is listed by its date, source and the topic it promoted. This ultimately helps the client to see what has been achieved and I guess it’s a really good evaluation method as well, particularly to determine the most effective media for the client and particular story angles, as well as how effective the consultant has been in attaining coverage. Linc itself is very much focused on demonstrating results to their clients, particularly as clients themselves are very orientated towards monetary achievements. Overall I do think that PR Values are a good method of demonstrating results in a way that is easily understandable to the client. I’m just a little unsure as to how accurate the actual method itself is.

In addition to becoming the “idea woman” and learning about PR Valuing I have also been given a lot more tasks at my internship, including the opportunity to work on developing more media releases for a range of clients. This has been really enjoyable, as I love writing and I’ve got to mark a lot of my work for approval by the client, with some pieces even getting published! This was very exciting and one of my first published pieces was a release for Amana Living, a not-for-profit providing aged care in WA. It was such a great feeling knowing that my work had actually resulted in coverage and that it turns out to be quite a valuable achievement (according to its PR Value).

Well, that’s a few of the more exciting tasks that I have been given and really enjoyed. Developing ideas is such a great opportunity to be creative and I’ve learnt that working in a consultancy definitely provides you with the chance to think of ideas for a range of different types of work and clients.

Until next time!

Laura x

The joy of being published!

Hi everyone,

 

This is my third blog post, and I am just over half way into my placement. I mentioned in my last blog that I had been preparing a media release to encourage members of the community to become Puppy Raisers. After I had gotten approval for the media release by all departments involved, I sent out the media release to MANY community newspapers. After about 3/4 days, I hadn't heard anything from any of the outlets I had sent the media release to, so I thought back to what our tutors had said about media release distribution (I was once again happy that I our tutors are full of relevant and practical information) and decided that I would ring each of the contacts I had sent the email to and follow up, asking if they need any further information. This was a daunting task, especially as an intern because I lack experience and reputation, and I felt like I was annoying journalists by ringing them. However, once I had rung everyone and left messages with them about needing further information or photo opportunities, I realised the importance of this task. Following up with journalists allows us as Public Relations representatives to show that we done all that we can to get our messages out.

 

Well my efforts paid off, because that afternoon I received an email from the Canning Examiner asking for photos to go with the media release to create a story for their next edition. I was so excited about the response, but knew that I needed to act promptly to ensure they would still use our story. I was so excited and proud when I saw the story in the Canning Examiner Newspaper. It was probably the best feeling knowing that I was the person who had spearheaded this story! Below is a copy of the story that was published.

 

 

 

The radio station 6PR also contacted me to arrange an interview with a 'sensational talent' to go on air for their night program. Again I was pretty pleased with myself, but had to act quickly because I had to find a current puppy raiser for the interview, get them approved by all relevant departments, prep them and let 6PR know their contact details all before 5pm THAT DAY! Again, the interview was a success and went to air the following night!

 

Finally, another newspaper contacted me back, asking if they could interview and photograph a puppy raiser that lives within their area. After finding a person living within their jurisdiction, I once again sought approval from the departments and contacted the talent. I am still waiting for the next edition to be published to see if the story made it in, but fingers crossed!!

 

I have learnt that trying to get stories into newspapers isn't just about writing and emailing out media releases. It involves a whole lot of approvals to ensure messages and information is accurate, following up, acting promptly to provide further information and scanning newspapers to see if the story has made it. It may be a full on process, but it's definitely worth it when the media release creates a story that has been published for your organisation. You really feel like you have contributed to the organisation!!

 

My first published article...

The World In An NGO
It is very difficult to work in an NGO as we constantly face the difficulty of under-staff or a lack of finance, however it is an occasion to prove what we can do in different ways. We learn that in the field of work sometimes are pushed to do things we are not paid for in order to make the organisation work properly. Through this process we can broaden our knowledge and develop a lot of new talents

The first time i wrote the article for the previous event, a more formal journalism style was used to make it look professional. However the organisation wanted a more personal view of the event. My first published article was written for the association to describe its previous fund-raising campaign as a trainee but also a volunteer. This article was published on the PILS website and can be access by anyone. It was written so as to give an overview of someone who is new to the organisation and how he sees them as a team. The objective behind this is to send a message to all the people to volunteer in making the PILS campaigns a success as they will benefit through this experience.

Then my second article written was about HIV/AIDS symptoms and signs which is an article which was meant to be published in a newspaper. However the newspaper has changed the subject and took another article from another organisation before seeing my article. However this article will be kept for later as the information is relevant to the cause of the organisation. The right message to be sent to the people about what is HIV/AIDS via the media so as they would not publish wrong information.

Here is my article which was written in french as it is the language used by the association.

Supertote Red Ribbon Trophy : Un samedi au Champ de Mars…

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Ma première expérience en tant que stagiaire et volontaire pour l’organisation PILS (Prévention, Information et Lutte contre le Sida) commença avec l’édition 2012 du Supertote Red Ribbon Trophy au Champ de Mars, le 04 août dernier. Cette journée - je l’ai appris un peu avant – est un événement annuel conjointement organisé par PILS, le Supertote et le Mauritius Turf Club (MTC). Un évènement de levée de fond qui s’insère dans la lutte de PILS contre le VIH et le SIDA.

Le temps était couvert et venteux alors que je cherchais le chemin vers les stands de PILS, suivant les indications du chef d’équipe de l’unité de Prévention, Information et Communication de PILS, à qui je n’avais jusqu’ici parlé qu’au téléphone. Après plusieurs appels, j’ai pu localiser les stands de l’association sur le parking du Champ de Mars.

A ma première rencontre avec l’équipe de PILS, je me suis demandé quel rôle je pourrais avoir. Je me suis dis qu’avoir un T-Shirt de l’évènement comme les autres volontaires pourrait me permettre de me fondre dans la foule.

Ma tache m’a tout de suite été assignée : la quête. Finalement vêtu de mon T-Shirt et ma boîte de quête en main, j’ai rejoint des membres de l’association AIESEC venus officier en tant que volontaires. Ces derniers, pour la plupart des étrangers de passage à Maurice sous l’égide de cette même organisation internationale, recevaient des instructions en anglais, notamment sur les façons de s’attirer la générosité de la foule.

En gros, l’astuce était simple : un beau sourire et l’affaire serait dans le sac ! Mais pas si simple pour nous les garçons, car les jeunes demoiselles faisaient visiblement fureur auprès du public du Champ de Mars, majoritairement masculin !

Avec un autre volontaire, nous avons commencé notre tournée du Champ de Mars. Au début, nous avons essuyé quelques refus et grognements. Pas très encourageant… Mais cela faisait rire mon coéquipier, apparemment toujours de bonne humeur ! Quelques autocollants distribués en échange de dons, et quelques « Merci beaucoup et bonne journée » plus tard, nous sommes finalement entrés de plein pied dans l’ambiance de la journée.

Une fois notre boîte remplie, nous sommes retournés aux stands animés par PILS pour profiter des jeux et animations et apprendre un peu plus sur la sexualité et les méthodes de préventions.

Au début j’ai été très gêné par la boite à plaisir, un jeu visant à démontrer l’utilisation correcte du préservatif, mais au final le jeu s’est avéré très instructif ! J’ai aussi joué au jeu de fléchettes et comme j’étais en plein jeûne pour le Ramadan, j’ai aidé comme j’ai pu à tenir le stand pendant que les autres sont partis manger.

C’était un moment amusant où j’ai appris pas mal des choses tout en donnant un coup de main. C’est un peu à ce moment qu’un homme m’a arrêté pour me dire qu’il avait écouté mes conseils et avait fait le test de dépistage dans le stand qui était spécialement aménagé à cet effet. Il a ajouté qu’il avait gardé mon visage en tête pour me remercier.

Nul doute que cette journée a été riche en rencontres et je suis heureux d’avoir intégrer une équipe aussi dynamique même si ce n’est qu’en temps que stagiaire. J’espère être à la hauteur pour faire du prochain événement un succès dont je serais fier.

Ahmad Bundhoo