The culmination of 20 days that transformed theory into practice

As the old saying goes: every good thing comes to an end…I finally came to the last day at Logos Publicity. Time for me to make a retrospective of the twenty days spent as a PR trainee. It might seem quite short but in just these twenty days, I was able to transform theory grasped throughout these three years into practice. I just cannot believe that I was able to do so many amazing things in one month.

Though, I must admit that the first two weeks were quite harsh. It took me some efforts to adapt to a new working environment and new ways of functioning. Getting to know new people was not that easy. The working place being a small community, finding a place into it was not an easy task as people always see you as the newbie who is not going to stay here for a long time. But anyways, beginnings are always frightening…

Fortunately, time turned strangers into co-workers. And I got to have an insight of the Public Relations world.  An abundance of possibilities was unfolding. Looking back, I think that if I was not that intimidated by this first experience of PR maybe I would have done more things. As when the days went by, I got more confident about my capabilities. I was even astonished when the boss came to ask us about our opinion on certain things.

I was no more scared about asking questions or voicing out my opinion about an issue. Being a trainee, you always have that fear that maybe you are not doing the right thing. Maybe your question is silly or your proposal does not count as you have no real experience. Why would your way of thinking matter?

I guess the training did not only give me the opportunity to turn theory into practice, but it also changed my personality. I am more confident now. I will always be grateful to Logos Publicity for giving me the chance to work there. It was a great experience and I have always wanted to know how it is like to work for an advertising agency. Maybe one day I might shift and opt for Publicity, for I have fallen in love with advertising. It is such a thrilling field. By now, you must have all finished your internship too. I hope you had an amazing experience.

Cheers,

Anne Marie Deborah Perne.

Charles Telfair Institute

Collision of assumptions and the new demand of the market

Nowadays, people are always talking about the evolution of social media. How it is changing our social norms and the way businesses are being promoted in this day and age. With the advent of social media, the experts are claiming that businesses cannot refuse to be on social media. I reckon having a conversation with an expert in social media (yes there are such kind of profession nowadays). He told me that some people do not know how to use social media.

I dare admit that back then I thought that he was exaggerating. I mean: who does not know how to use social media!? Moreover, why do you need experts in social media? I mean seriously!? I post statuses almost every day. There is no one who is as active on Facebook as I am. Does that make me an expert? Looking back, I think I took my use of  social media for granted. Assuming that because I know how to use that tool means that everyone knows as much as I do.

I was quite astonished when during my internship a client asked if we could give him training in Facebook. Yes training!  Imagine how dumbfounded I was. We were asked to update her Facebook page since she does not all know how to do. First I thought she was embellishing but when I did take a look at her Facebook page, I was like “Armstrong, we have a problem”!

 The client had Facebook's cover page showed  the director of the company in a compromising photo alongside compromising comments of the employees of the company. To sum up, everything on the Facebook page was just so inadmissible. It goes without saying that my colleague and I told the client that everything on the Facebook page had to be removed. Eventually, my conviction that everyone knows how to used Facebook was shattered. But anyway I just emerged   with a new perspective on social media…

Cheers,

Anne Marie Deborah Perne.

15636649

Charles Telfair Institute.

Delving into the public Relations world

Hi guys! It has been such a hectic week recently. I have been impatiently waiting for the day that I would be able to share my experience with you. I finally got the opportunity to assist to an event. And I dare say that it was quite an experience. Quite different from the experiences that I have acquired throughout these two years at the news group I work for.

Let me explain: I have assisted to many events, but I never had the slight idea about what had been done behind the décor and the press conference. How many months of preparations were being engulfed in a single event…An event which by the way is not sure to have many media coverage. The question I asked myself was:  these people who organize these events do not ever get discouraged when they see that media coverage is scarce?

As a journalist, it was never my concern the amount of time that people spent on an event. I just came and jot down the most important facts. If ever the press conference did not meet my expectations, I would simply not write about it. As simple as that…Sounds mean huh? But that is how it works…And that is the reason why the Public Relations world fascinates me so much.

Getting news is very easy for news is everywhere. You just need to open your eyes to everything that surrounds you and find an interesting angle and that is it. Okay I sound pretty optimistic. Yes deadlines are stressing and getting the news before rival news group is quite difficult at times I must admit. Still, it is easy compared to PR.

On the other hand, in PR, you have to always think out of the box, innovate to outrun your opponents and think of angles that will make journalist want to write about you. That is quite demanding right? But that is exactly what I like about Public Relations. It is a challenging field which is constantly booming. You always have to think out of the box. Create, innovate and have an impact: are the three words I would choose to define PR.

Getting back to the point, I really enjoyed assisting that  event. Though, it was quite awkward at some point meeting my colleagues there and not knowing whether I should be following them or stay with the people who organized it. But anyway, the event was very interesting. And I must admit that I kind of fell under the spell of PR. Hoping you are having an amazing time as me.

Cheers,

Anne Marie Deborah Perne.
15636649

Charles Telfair Institute.