Good morning. I am working at a up and coming Perth TV station, scheduled to be launched this October. There is a tremendous amount of work to be done! Including: media releases, sponsorships, grants, events, production and so much more. Fortunately for me I've been allowed to be in control of the radio and newspaper sponsorships and have made some contacts, while learning a lot. So glad I paid attention and contributed in class, as all I'm really doing is putting the theory I learnt at uni into practice.
PR & Events are so hand in hand. We have our Pre-launch Benefit at His Majesty's Theatre coming up, with a guest list of 150; including ministers, politicians, celebrities, producers, media and government officials and other high profile figures. I've been in charge of the guest list and media releases, plus being an assistant to the senior PR coordinator. Networking and having contacts is definitely an advantage, in order to get things completed at a much faster pace. Events take so much organisation! The to do list for an event is never ending and you really have to work fast and keep to the schedule. Disasters and hurdles are bound to challenge you along the way. We had one of our sponsors pull out last week at the last minute and have had to work hard at gaining a new one in time for the event. Due to the enormous amount of work, lunch breaks are kept to a minimum and working overtime has become the norm. However, it's all exciting!
My only advice is to become a superstar at networking, organisation, time management....and get really involved!
3 comments:
That's a really good experience. Be glad to have such an opportunity to be part of that! You'll learn a lot from it.
Just would like to post a quick one to you. Were there anytime at all that you feel that you wanted to bring the work home?
Also, in terms of looking for sponsors. How much of personal networking do you include or do you in a way start anew when u enter this organization? As in, do you rely on your 'own network' to liaise with people or do you start networking from scratch and coming under the company's name? I hope you get what i mean. Fingers X.
Hi Sam.
Well, in regards if I wanted to bring the work home, it was not even an option as I have had to bring work home regularly! Sometimes there are so many interruptions that I don't get a chance to finish what I am required to do and find myself completing it at home. For example, one of the potential cross promotional partnerships declined my offer. So over the weekend I have to write an elaborate proposal selling the idea again. My boss advised me I have to write it so well that it leaves them with no reason to decline. I have been procrastinating doing it because it's quite boring but really need to get it done asap!
In terms of sponsors it has been a little bit of both. The targeted sponsors had no idea who the organisation and myself were. So I really had to build a strong rapport when I first made that phone call. From there the proposals had to be great. Since beginning the internship my networks for this industry were nil, so it can be said that I did start from scratch but sold myself and the organisation at the same time. We actually had a pre-launch benefit last week and it was great to meet in person those sponsors I had required and continue with the networking.
Thanks again! :)
Hi Ashlyn,
Doing my placement at an events company I understand what you mean when you say that events take so much organisation! Events is the core business of LunchBox List Events so everything has to be done perfectly otherwise ticket sales can be affected and the success of the organisation can be at risk. While a similar process is carried out each time, events can be so unpredictable that even the best planning and preparation cannot ensure that things will not go wrong. Only last week a speaker became ill and was not able to present at an event. Guests come to LunchBox List events to see the women presenting so this was a major problem. Luckily another woman agreed to speak and we had three presenters as planned.
I think we have a lot more overtime to look forward to throughout our careers. It seems that it is extremely common especially when dealing with events! On one of my first days at LunchBox List I was at the Convention Centre until late at night preparing for an event the next day. While it turned out to be a very long day it was well worth the experience and the event turned out really well. So I guess it’s good to hear that there are other students out there experiencing the same long hours and is good in one way as it is preparing us for when we enter the real world!
Good luck with the rest of your placement.
Tana Gislingham
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