We all know how teachers used to always used to say things like: ‘this isn’t an assignment you can start the night before!’ and your mum used to say, ‘you have to get organised, Natasha, this is getting ridiculous!’...or ... or was that just me? The point is I’ve always been quite good at organising other people, but myself? Not so much. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never handed in anything late or unfinished but I just seem to perpetually be stuck in a rush before deadlines. I’m sure you know it’s never fun. However the way things are going I think I those times might be coming to an end.
My internship is at a national spray tan company called TechnoTan. I felt that this would be a good opportunity to learn internal PR and to prove to myself that PR theory can be practiced in any business and in any industry. TechnoTan is not at a PR firm, a charity or even a company with an extensive PR department. Before I arrived, when PR work was done it was often completed by the marketing girl or the consultant that comes in one day a week. This means that there is no one telling me what to do and no one sharing their contacts or passing on projects to me.
It turns out that this has been just the push I needed to get my working priorities in order. Just because no one is assigning me projects or babying me does not mean that there is nothing for me to do and learn. There was very little PR work being done when I arrived which means that there are fundamental gaps that I can get to work on immediately. It means that I will gain real-life experience on company analysis (swot analysis’ are my best friend!) and what it is really like to implement public relations initiatives from scratch. There will be no coasting through on anyone else’s ground work here.
Falling back on the fundamental PR theories learnt in class, I begun with a situation analysis. I researched using information from the office manager, company manuals, online and promotional materials, casual interviews with customers and even through studying competitor’s materials. I also interviewed the managing director when completing a gap analysis to really get an idea of where the company wanted to go. I also made a special point to note the writing style and tone adopted by the company, as it is very important to maintain and cultivate the correct 'image' of the company when writing for it.
Then, with still no work incoming from my boss, I drafted, and then got to work on a series of projects that I could complete to help bridge the gap between the head office and its various publics.
It just so happened that yesterday the office manager approached me, after having worked by myself for days, and let me know that they were thinking about interviewing customers to see how to better serve them and would I like to write up a survey?
‘I have one right here!’ I said, having written one up to aid my swot analysis.
He also mentioned that after hearing about my idea for a seminar series, it would be good if I could provide a mock-up of a presentation.
‘I can send it to you right now’, I said, having drafted them as a part of the campaign.
He then mentioned that the Managing Director wanted to improve the vision and mission statements.
‘I’ve already sent him some options to look over’, I said.
It turns out that being prepared and conducting extensive planning really pays off and can look quite impressive to your supervisors (not to mention it feels pretty good too). This is definitely a lesson I will take with me, in both my career and life: planning pays off.
Natasha Smith
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