New Beginnings

Hi everyone,

Welcome to my blog! I am 2 weeks into my placement... Finally I have my first entry!


I am from Perth and have relocated to Sydney for a month to complete my placement and I am working for Qantas in their Corporate Communication division.


Working in such a large and diverse organisation, means there is always something going on. For the past 2 weeks I have been a part of event organisation, writing media releases for new product launches and policy changes, compiling media coverage reports for major incidences, monitoring the airline's social networking pages, dealing with the media and assisting with internal communications.


For those of you who haven't heard of Qantas, (I doubt that is the case, as there is NEVER a day when we aren't in the media!) it was founded in Queensland in 1920 and is Australia’s largest domestic and international airline. The Qantas group employs 37 000 people and offers services across a network spanning 182 destinations and 44 countries in Australia, Asia and the Pacific, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.


I am working with a wonderful and talented communications team. It is divided into events, media relations, internal relations, a speech writer and social media. I have been fortunate enough to get a taste of what every role entails.


I have written a number of media releases including; one concerning customers and their luggage, one which detailed some awards we have recently won and another was to announce a new Qantas ambassador. Qantas is very committed to communicating with its stakeholders in a timely and effective manner and the media team have been a wealth of information in teaching me how to get the job done right!


The airline has recently begun to interact with it's stakeholders via social media channels. Although a traditional organisation with an older market, it has realised the need for a Facebook and Twitter account. I have had the role this week of answering our customers' requests as they vent on Twitter- something to really think about, as we need to be 100% sure we are giving them the correct information!


I have been given the task to compile a Press Coverage Report for 2 separate recent events that attracted a lot of attention. Although a timely task, it's amazing to see what the media is interested in and how much monetary value can be added or lost for a company.

I am looking forward to keeping everyone in the loop with what's happening at Qantas over the next couple of weeks!

Courtney