Well after four months of my Internship I have finally finished!
I must say that I was both glad to finish and sad at the same time. I will definitely say it extremely hard work and quite stressful, but at the same time so rewarding. The last three weeks were definitely the highlight where all the hard work and preparation paid off with the events we organised. Leading up to these events I was working up to 5 days a week getting these events organised. Firstly I will talk about the first event Myer Basement presents Shopaholic that was held as Fashion Festival event .
I have probably not had a more stressful week than the week leading up to the Shopaholic event. It could only be described as sheer madness! In the lead up there was model fittings, confirmations with make up artists, hair artists, confirmation of Cassie Davis and finalising the contract, the lighting, media releases, PA announcements, dressing rooms, goodie bags, prizes, invitations being sent out to VIPs, food for model (yes they eat). Pretty much organised chaos. The actual day was the most stressful as every thing happens at once. You are doing five jobs at one time with your mobile ringing constantly, with people asking questions. I was co-ordinating backstage to make sure all models were there, that people were where they were meant to be, organising Cassie Davis and liaising with her management. After setting up for countless hours I went front of house where I ushered VIPs to their seats and helped the media get to their spots. The fashion parade went so well and we had a full house with most media there. Watching the parade was so rewarding.It's so good to know all your hard work paid off which was a great feeling!!
The week following the Shopaholic parades was also busy as we had the Myer in store parades featuring Jennifer Hawkins. This was so much fun to help with, as we got to help pick the location for the media interviews and shots with Jennifer Hawkins and coordinate outfits. I was extremely lucky to have the opportunity to go to the shoot with my supervisor to assist with a fashion shoot for Jennifer Hawkins. It was us, Jennifer the photographer and journalist all at private location. It was so much fun to see how a shoot works and how relaxed every one is. After the shoot we went back to Myer for the parades. This included me ushering all media to the media pit, getting models organised and making sure they were back stage at the assigned time, which was harder than you may think! After the parade I spent an hour taking photos of fans and Jennifer Hawkins, which was interesting. After the event was over we finally realised how successful it was and how much media coverage we would get which was so exciting.
So this was the last three weeks of my internship which I think will be so valuable in the future. I am so grateful I had such an amazing supervisor who gave me so many opportunities to learn and experience difference aspects of Public Relations. I have learnt that events are not as glamorous as I once thought nor is fashion. I also realise you rarely get any breaks when you have an event on which means carrying snacks with you! There is so much hard work that goes on behind the scenes to make a successful event happen.
I have also realised that PR still has a long way to go in large corporations to be fully appreciated. It seems many in management levels do not understand the value PR creates for a company, something I hope changes in the future.I particularly enjoyed liaising with the many editors in Perth and found they all cooperate together. I have found my understanding of the media and how each publication works will definitely assist me in the future along with realising the importance of building strong networks. Networking in Perth is a huge part of public relations, the relationships you build with other PR professionals and the media will greatly assist you.
I hope every one enjoys the rest of their placements!
3 comments:
I definitely understand when you are going through when you said that events are not as glamorous and you rarely get a break. I have to carry a bottle of mineral water in my pocket with some yogurt bars because so much things is happening around that I forgot how time had passed and also food are not always accessible on the event ground. At the end of the day, I realized that I haven't even once when to the washroom.
A question. Who prepare or provide the goodie bags and what are inside those bags? Goodie bags here in Kuching where I am interning are mostly boring stuff like pen, papers, brochures or flyers and if lucky, a keychain.
Hi Coby,
Your comment about the hectic nature of events was helpful to me, as, while I have helped with an event so far, this weekend I will take on a more important role for another event and have been unsure as to what to expect. I realise now to be prepared for a busy day and be prepared to put the work in!
I completely agree with your comment about PR having a long way to go before it is fully appreciated. I think an official PR department in the organisation I am working for (which it doesn't have yet) would be so beneficial for the organisation, as there is a lot of media liasing, etc. that is done.
Apart from that, your work experience has sounded amazing, especially the fashion shoots. I am very jealous of that! :)
Arainking Myer is very lucky to have good relationships with big companies and good sponsors so goodie bags were quite high standard, hair products, make up, food, beverages, I prepare them so that can be quite repetitive preparing 200 goodie bags!!. I completely agree I wasn't actually allowed a break, not because my supervisor was horrible, simply because there was not a single 5 minute break I could have got any thing to eat. Luckily I bought lollies at the start of the day and that was it! I definately made sure I had snaks in my pocket the next time!
Post a Comment