"Before anything else, preparation is the key to success"

I found a really good quote this week about preparation from Alexander Graham Bell, who said, "Before anything else, preparation is the key to success." Prior to my internship, I would definitely have agreed with this statement, but after six days of interning at Devahasdin PR, I practice and preach it 100%!

It came to me today while I was working on another database that working on client accounts in a public relations consultancy is like a PR plan in itself - you have the overall goal which is to produce an amazing plan that gains as much media coverage as possible and impresses your client, and you have smaller measurable objectives to reach that goal, which are to produce databases, write media releases and contact journalists.

This week, in my second block of three days, it's been reiterated to me day in and day out that preparation in public relations is absolutely everything, and that includes doing your research, knowing the client and having a strong foundation when working on client accounts. Last week I put together a database for a client that I didn't know very much about nor did I know what Devahasdin was doing for that client, but regardless, I worked hard to produce a very thorough and detailed database. Fast forward a week, and my supervisor asked me to write an email pitch for that client, attach the media release to that pitch and get it sent out to all the relevant contacts in that database. That's when I had the lightbulb moment, that without the good foundation of the detailed database, we wouldn't be able to achieve our ultimate goal, which is to achieve the best and most amount of coverage, and make our client happy with our work. The database is only one step in the process of achieving a big overall goal, but I would argue that it's probably the most important step, because without that vital information, no coverage or public relations would be generated.

Having worked on this client account from the start, it's really exciting to see it progress from the ground up, having originated as an excel spreadsheet database and now moving on to actually contacting media and generating excitement about our client and what they have to offer. I can't wait to see how the campaign ends up, and can't wait to see the coverage it generates!

Besides that, I've had another great week at Devahasdin - it's surprisingly made me really excited to graduate and start working, as I'm really enjoying the work that I'm doing, and I love the people I work with. Each day I'm working on different clients which is good for me, as I get bored easily, and there's always something to do. Today I was working on a couple of media releases and pitches for various clients, stopped and changed to put coverage in our monthly clippings journal, then changed again to prepare and work on an event for another client, so it's really enjoyable and fast paced. I think now I want to find work in a consultancy upon graduation, as each day is as unpredictable, different and enjoyable as the last one, just have to go and find somewhere now that will hire me!

Until next week!