Doing my internship there was very challenging for me since it is a big company which is well reputed in Mauritius and is contributing to diverse sectors in Mauritius, including the Seafood, Pharmaceutical, Agro cultural and Electronic appliances to name a few. The company has a communication department which is found at the Head Office and the latter is specialised in public relations and CSR... This is why I found it exciting to work there, as I would not only put in practice the Public relations aspect but also learn more about CSR, helping others in difficulty and change at least one aspect of the lives of many people coming from a poor background.
As we learned through our degree, PR is really a two-way process whereby the professionals help the organisation to deal effectively with various publics and ensure a proper flow of information, but feedback from the publics is very important as well...
The main challenge I faced there was to learn about the other sectors of IBL which are concerned about very different fields. It is not like working for a small organisation where the aim and tasks of the latter are clearly defined. Therefore I spent much time doing in-depth research about the multiple sectors IBL is involved in to be able to understand how the communication department is contributing to the good functioning of the branches, which are the main "clients" of the department. Besides these clients, the department has to focus on those of the CSR part for which it is responsible as well.
Therefore, the messages we have to transmit are very different since they are directed towards two types of clients. In fact, the PR department feel very concerned about the poor and especially the children as it goes with the logo and motto of the company which is : IBL brings value to life.. and at the start of life there are children, children are those who usually bring value to life of parents and people are very sensitive to everything that relate to children, especially those in difficulty.
I was there for the start of an advertising campaign designed to change people's perceptions about IBL and help them better understand what the company caters for. I contributed by giving ideas about the messages and the use of words for the campaign... This one has been very effective and gain widespread coverage through the press and billboards. The images portrayed children (showing innocence) and they were photographed in postures that translated growth, achievement, ambition and a sense of togetherness and freshness... These in fact shows what the company is doing and its objectives. It was a 3 months campaign and each month a message was transmitted to ensure that this one stays in the mind of the receiver.
I think that it is an effective way of touching people.. the department has been deciding to play on the emotional aspect of it since emotions are what people usually remember the most... But I'm not sure about the ethical part of it... Do you think it is ethical to "use" children to attract people's attention? One of my PR lecturers told us that using children to promote a product or company was not ethical
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