Prep, Set and Action!

Written by Candace Sharpe
PR Internship - Blog Post Three
Date: 20/10/2016

Hi there!

Wow, there's been a bit of a gap between posts, there's barely been time to sit down and write about everything that's been happening at my Internship. #hustletillmylastbreath

I'm approaching the last few weeks of my Internship and looking back, it feels like just yesterday that I strode up the stairs and into my department for the very first time. Although I am still very aware that I am at the bottom of the organisational food chain here as an intern, I am feeling so much more comfortable and confident both in my Supervisor's department and in all the others. After this post, I'll have one more and I'm thinking that I'll dedicate that last one to everything that I've learnt, how I'll apply it all in my future career and how closely related my PR degree has been to the expectations of the 'real world'.

This post will be all about the event displays that happened over the weekend in Hillarys. In the days leading up to the event, the Timeline and the Checklist that I'd prepared a few weeks earlier to keep us on track with these events were brought out and studied to make sure that Danni and myself hadn't forgotten anything. Instructed to wear comfortable shoes and not my usual sky-high heels, majority of the morning of the event was sweated out in the Storage room, pulling out the technical equipment as well as the signage, flags, posters and banners. Grand Toyota is a large organisation, so they have the means to purchase and keep all of this equipment in storage, so they don't have to continuously hire it for events. This also makes it easier for Danni, she doesn't have to budget in these for every event because they are always available for her. When all of this equipment was pulled from storage, collected in our department and checked off, they were moved into one of the company vehicles for us to deliver to the event. Armed with all the necessary stationary, balloons and promotional material, we piled into the vehicle and headed to the site of the event. Upon arrival, we were the first ones there.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent setting up, appraising and then re-arranging. It had to look perfect. This was something that I really enjoyed, making sure that everything was exactly where it should be and not an inch out of place. The events side of PR is now my favourite part of the industry; I thrive under pressure and deadlines and these type of events never fail to provide that. If everything wasn't ready on time, then that was on you and no one else. We didn't have any volunteers to help set up, so Danni and I did it all ourselves. There was definitely some improvisation when it came to securing the higher banners in the ridiculous wind, as Danni and myself are quite small but we persevered and made it work #verticallychallenged #workingharderthanRihanna

The highlight of prepping and setting up the event was the satisfaction of seeing all the hard work paying off once it was all set up. It was a good feeling to look around and know that you played a part in making it all happen. My least favourite part about it, which is so incomparable considering how much I enjoyed it was the natural elements. It was terribly windy and unpredictable, if I had a do-over, I probably would have accounted for that in the set-up part of the day.

Helping out Danni with this event has inspired me to look into the event side of PR more, as I really enjoyed it. I now have a strong interest in pursuing this specialised field of PR, as I feel like it matches my personality and strengths as a person. It was also just really nice to spend some time outside of the office to apply for knowledge in a hands-on way.

Talk soon!