Things do not
always go as planned. When organising an opportunity to promote a new event at
a University Campus I was responsible for many things and along the way
mistakes were made. I selecting a date and time to coincide with maximum
student presence on campus by researching other university events and different
common free times around Perth I eventually made a booking at a university that
I felt would be the best time to campaign and reach out to a desired
demographic of students aged 18-24.
However there
were complications along the way, changes to what the company proposed to do
with the space along with different power supply necessities caused some
confusion and constant changes to the event. I chose to focus on some of the
basic requirements that would work with or without power, this meant making sure
we had enough flyers for the day, branded shirts, staff and sticking logo
stickers on hundreds of condoms that were to be handed out on the day.
When the day of
the event came, we had several things go wrong from sick promotional staff to
absent equipment. Throughout the lead up to the event the constant changes had
caused mixed messages and confusion leading to several complications on the
day. I was thankful I had made sure to have the basic equipment with me even if
it had taken extra time to pick up from the offices the day before. Whilst attempting to contact set up crew
and chase up promised equipment like tables and popcorn machines I managed to
co-ordinate the promotional staff and get them suited up in branded shirts and
handing out flyers and condoms. I made sure to encourage them to take pictures
and videos to be uploaded via the brands snapchat channel as one of our goals
for the day was to create content that could be posted across social media in
the following weeks.
Another day another valuable experience during my internship.
Ash
2 comments:
I understand and can fully identify with this experience you had. The importance of preparation and planning in the PR industry is incredibly important in order to be organised. Currently at the internship I'm completing we've been planning one event for a little over a month now, and we've still got a month until the event takes place. I didn't quite realise how much documentation and planning it can take to get an event up and running!
However I do agree with you in the fact that there will always be things out of any organisers control that may go wrong. It is really good to hear that your event didn't go to waste in the end and that you were able to achieve something out of it!
Hi Ash,
Unforeseen circumstances are always the best teachers of life. I find it challenging and exciting to learn the hard way life poses in front of you. Just being short, I got a similar occasion where I was doing my internship and there were a lot of absences and lack of staff to manage the situations. At that moment, my manager asked me to perform to my best. It was a reality exam where I had to manage check- in procedures for 4 people consecutively as well as attend all the hotel guests enduring a great service. It was a lot to do as I was new by few days. But I outperformed. Whenever a plan does not stand , its best to react accordingly to the situations and give it your best. Well done for all the efforts you've put in to fill in the blanks and make event a success. I wish you good luck and always keep a plan B as to any circumstances might turn up.
Regards,
Tina
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