Behind the scenes at one of Malaysia’s top PR agencies – Lah!

I arrived in Malaysia with no idea of what to expect. Beyond our pre-departure information session (which informed us of general country information such as the population, weather and how to dress), our insight into the Malaysian Public Relations industry and the country itself was embarrassingly limited.

I decided to take an internship overseas for two reasons; 1) Staying in one place is a difficult task for me (AirAsia and I have formed a pretty tight friendship over the last couple of years), and 2) It’s been suggested Gen Ys will have five different career changes over their lives (Metcalf 2014)  – so who knows where each of these professions will take place? A little international exposure seemed to be an appropriate platform for getting a taste of professional settings, whilst satisfying my urge to travel.

I was lucky enough to be selected to work with GO Communications, a leading communications firm in Malaysia and South-East Asia. A gentleman named Michael de Kretser - a name renowned amongst PR circles for left-field creativity and doing the undoable, leads the company with his son Peter. About 25 people form the entire team.

My first week at GO was enlightening and full on; Hannah (another Curtin PR student) and I were split into two teams covering different clients. Straight away we were shown how to do media monitoring and clippings (something I thought we’d never do – sorry Karen Kerlin! (PR Media lecturer)) There was an immediate emphasis placed on teaching us the ropes and getting us settled in, which I was really thrilled about after having visions of being a bona fide barista by the end of my first professional placement.

It’s interesting to note at this point that GO calculates the Advertising Value Equivalent (AVEs) of generated press. When doing media clippings, the size, colour and publication are all used as inputs to calculate the amount of exposure a client received from the work. I found this to be an unusual standard for a leading firm, particularly after being taught in first year uni that AVEs are often the subject of considerable criticism. PRIA even regards it as a total ‘no no’ in the world of PR (Macnamara 2014). I discussed this distinction with a colleague; she proposed the disparity may exist, as most Malaysian clients want to see how much bang they’re getting for their buck in real, measurable figures. Australian firms, however, may be more concerned with seeing an effect created from their investment, which in turn would create a monetary return.

So far Malaysia has been a blast, and I really like the down-to-earth and chilled-out environment at GO. I’ve been told to expect events, client pitches and creative strategizing in the coming weeks, so I will report back with updates soon. I hope my blog can provide a chuckle, an insight into the Malaysian PR industry and a taste of home for all the Curtin Malaysian students abroad. 

Good luck, everyone!

Macnamara, Jim. 2014. Advertising Values to Measure PR: Why They Are Invalid. PRIA. Accessed 2 March, http://www.pria.com.au/sitebuilder/resources/knowledge/files/1868/advaluestomeasureprpaper.pdf

Metcalf, Fran. 2014. Working with, not for, the boss. Career One. Accessed 2 March, http://career-advice.careerone.com.au/career-development/professional-development/working-with-not-for-boss/article.aspx