The Beginning of Something Old

Hello to all Public Relation companions. Better late than never to throw out my first blog and get the ball rolling. Roughly two months ago I started my Public Relations Internship workplace at the West Perth Football Club. Since walking through the door on my first day, I have thoroughly enjoyed every moment. Why you may ask? Well firstly, all staff members of the club are incredibly respectful, always happy to get to know you and make you feel as though you are one of the team. This is certainly off to a good start for my work placement; having a great team determined to achieve success for the club. Too cheesy? I think not. 

All steam ahead. Straight away my supervisor assigned me a major task for the club. This specific event is extremely important for the club, as it is the largest event for the season. In previous years this event was titled the West Perth Banquet Auction, however this year the whole event required a transformation. My supervisor threw me the reigns to essentially revamp and reinvigorate a night that had been on the decline in the past few years (obviously seeking comments and thoughts along the way). I was partnered up with one of the Board of Directors of the club, which is fantastic. It enables me to get an understanding of the clubs directions and future aspirations, but also to know that any ideas I have will receive the appropriate reaction as to whether it reflects the clubs direction or not. 

After the introduction with this Director, we got stuck into the concept. Remembering we want to completely change something that has been the same in the last three years or so. So the two of us went into a private room and we started brainstorming. Before we knew it, an hour had passed of just throwing ideas back and forth deciding what we believed would be a game changer and attract a wider community. Don’t get me wrong; the two of us continually acknowledged and reiterated two major issues associated with our ideas – change and financial capabilities. 

We understood the damage change can have to people, especially considering the previous years were based around the same idea – complacency settles in and when that takes hold, so does the restriction for people to accept change. In relation to change, a lot of guests that attended in previous years are more of the older age range (no disrespect intended), which from the clubs experience results in a lot of negative response. Change however is essential when things aren’t going too well, especially when the club is just passing through to the positive side of the accountant’s book. Therefore we decided that change is a necessity and therefore existing guests will just have to adapt and accept the new concepts. 

However, these wonderful and great ideas that kept rolling off the tongue also hit a crossroad – the budget. Of course there is a budget, this is the case with every event for every organisation (obviously varying depending on the type of organisation). We had a budget that isn’t of great numbers, which is expected for a not for profit organisation. So after listing and swapping our ideas, we separated them into ones that were reasonable and ones that were far beyond the price limitations. We of course still had to remember the main purpose of this event, make as much money as possible for the club. Being very optimistic for the events potential prospects, we ensured that certain goals and objectives had to be written down. Establishing a clear framework will enable us to reach certain objectives and targets on time, which will hopefully eventuate to a successful outcome – an outstanding Gala Dinner Auction (our new name for the event). 

So only after a couple of hours of establishing new and improved ideas, narrowing them down to fit within the budget as well as the direction of the club, we were able to provide a brief run down of the event with our CEO and my supervisor. Both seemingly impressed by our progress and ideas. There was also the tentativeness of how effective this change will be towards the existing members who attend on a yearly basis and whether the new ideas will encourage more guests. Important questions were directed at us as to why the need for change and the type of set up we desired, as well as how it aligns with our aspirations; The main reason for this was to answer the question, will it encourage a greater audience for Gala Dinner? And of course the ‘money’ question, how much is this rough plan costing us? I guess we shall find out. 

After day one, progress had been substantial. Walking out of the administration doors feeling like I have accomplished something and felt very positive and excited for this new challenge. Getting to know all the staff in the office and receiving that sense of trust and acceptance was also a great feeling. Setting a platform for this project was penciled in, now to just make it all happen.   

Till next time,

Samuel Money.