You Won't Always Win

POLICY CHALLENGES

Choose Your Battles.

One of my first tasks as an intern, was to assist with the creation of Public Relations materials. I was very excited because I had been looking forward to testing out my creative skills with a graphic design program, called Canva. I was given two weeks to do the draft but I had it done by the very next week. I met with my Supervisor and presented the e-flyer that I had created. We made more changes to the content and layout, before sending it away for second-level approval. When word came back, we were told that my work was rejected because of a photo that I had used, of our Bentley campus. I had sourced the photo online and initially thought that the photo was owned by Curtin University, because it linked back to Curtin’s website. I hadn’t perceived any issues with using the photo, because I could see that the photo was copyrighted by Curtin. I would have been happy to take my own photo, but I didn’t want to disadvantage the team by taking an ugly photo which could have made our marketing materials look unprofessional.

I soon learned that using photos for anything Curtin-branded, is actually a very complicated process; so I clarified with my supervisor whether or not we should just submit the content to the University’s official marketing team, who could design the e-flyer and present it in the manner which they felt was best. My supervisor asked the question, but the response we received, was that it was our responsibility to create our own marketing materials. The second time around, we had to use Curtin’s logo and select our photo from the cloud-database, Google drive. My Supervisor was given access to a Google drive folder, which was full of photos that were specifically available for our School to use. 

We were allowed to use these photos because they had not expired yet, which is something that had never occurred to me; photographs can have expiry dates!

In an effort to make sure our work was approved this time, I decided that we should take inspiration from the existing handbook. We imitated the colour scheme so that there was consistency between our marketing materials and how Curtin had already branded the school. This time, our final draft looked much warmer and more personable. We used a photo of an elderly woman and a smiling carer. The smiling carer in the photo, was actually one of my Supervisor’s colleagues. It was nice to learn this, because somehow, it softened the experience of having to redo our e-flyer all again. Again we sent it away for approval and again it was rejected. This time, we were told to abide by a template which we could download from the Curtin communications toolkit. I was fairly distraught, but at least now I know that some organisations keep template-toolkits. 

After one final attempt, we sent our content within the exact confines of the template. They sent us back the approved version. Oh, but both our photos had been replaced. One was replaced because of image quality (okay, fair enough). The other one was replaced because I guess they didn't like the one we chose - and didn't realise the damage that they were inflicting on my soul by replacing it unnecessarily.

 In essence, you won't always win - but don't feel defeated, demoralised or like nothing you do is good enough. Choose another battle, and keep going. You can do this.

- Mivalaa

Onward, Noble Steed.

The People Who Really Leave Their Mark

I am now officially half way through my internship at PPR which is so crazy, because it only feels like it was Monday yesterday. This week has been another busy one, but I guess the aspect of it I would most like to reflect on is the new experiences I have had and the impact they have had on me. I have been drafting up a lot of media releases for clients and conducting several over the phone interviews this week. It is so warming to know that some of the people you call up have their day made when you tell them they have the opportunity to be in the local paper. 

I have done a lot of work for Coles and their team member anniversaries this week. It has been a wonderful experience hearing about their lives and their time at Coles. It is interesting how much you can learn from someone  in a fifteen-minute phone call, that’s for sure! Everyone I interviewed has such a love and passion for their job, even if it was a simple job such as working on the checkouts. It is even more amazing to think that they have been working there for 35+ years and still have this passion for the role and a commitment to their employer. That was something I will certainly take away from this week, and I aspire to be like those individuals in 30 or 40 years time who still have a bottomless passion for what they do. 

A highlight of my week has definitely been finding out a story I had written and pitched  to one of the local papers  is  going to appear either in print in the newspaper next Tuesday or appear on their online news website. I know this is would be such a small milestone for some, but for me it is so exciting knowing there are people out there who care enough about what I am writing  publish it! 

The even more exciting thing for me though is knowing that the local who I interviewed for the story and is so pleased to be getting their story in the paper, and by getting the story approved to be run, I feel like I have done well by them. This is just one thing I have gained from my experience as an intern so far and one thing I hope all of you get to experience too, whether it be in your internship or in your career after Uni.

I really feel like this internship has made me fall in love with the PR profession even more. I guess sitting in class at Uni, you take in all the information, but you never get to experience it and become emotionally involved with it, so I can see now why this internship is so valuable!

I feel like the following quote would be the most appropriate way to finish this blog post. 

‘Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it.’ -Steve Jobs 

Thanks for reading, and I hope all of your intern adventures are going well! 

-Helen 

On to New Beginnings

Reflecting back on my journey at Global Hand Charity, it has definitely been a roller coaster ride. I have had my fair share of ups and downs. Public Relations has its good and bad sides.

Interning for a not for profit organisation that has no Marketing or Public Relations department was a BIG challenge. If there was one thing I would have done differently,I would have created a PR Plan to provide more guidance and reach its goals and objectives.

Learning about how there are individuals living in third world communities that do not have the opportunities to education like Australians do. It did make me realise how lucky I am have the chance to go to school and freedom to choose my career path.

I did go through a period where I felt like my motivation and purpose interning at Global Hand charity was at a lost. Not knowing what I was doing was actually helping the charity or if the work I was completing was indeed PR.

Public Relations is something that organisations should view as a professional service.They do not understand the nature and benefits of what it can do. You can work on any budget or no budget, and get the same results if you approached an advertising or marketing agency.

This was a great opportunity to see how I could apply my theoretical knowledge to the "real world." And it is safe to say I NEED MORE EXPERIENCE. I would love to experience life in public relations consultancy.

To those who are just starting their internship enjoy every moment, even the bad times.


Thank you kindly,

Maria
15508764.

If It's Not Newsworthy Or Interesting, Don't Bother

Writing a press release is something that every Public Relations practitioner knows how to do.

Interning at a not-for-profit organisation that does not have a Marketing or Public Relations department. Writing and distributing press releases became an important part of my journey at Global Hand Charity.


The difference between a good press release and a bad press release is that good press release ALWAYS GET NOTICED. You may get a phone call from the journalist or publication it was sent to, or stumble upon an article that is similar to a press release you sent out.


I would love to say that my press releases got published, but that was not the case. This experience made re-analyse the current situation of charities and not for profits in Perth. October is the month for Telethon and Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So for a small, lesser known charity it was hard to "compete" with these other charities being more prominent in all media publications.

Every day journalists and newspapers are receiving hundreds of press releases. Only the most interesting and newsworthy ones are chosen.even then if there is no space for a quick story, BAD LUCK.

Although it would have been great to have a press release that I wrote get noticed from a journalists, I did receive get advice from a reporter that changed my focus and look at MY WRITING and see how it can improve.


Until next time,

Maria
15508764.

Building An Online Community

A community is made up of individuals and groups of people who all have a common interest, as either a stakeholder or general public.  A group of people with a common interest in a not-for-profit organisation are:

• Committed to the cause of the not-for-profit organisation;
• Believe in the core values of the not-for-profit organisation;
• Wanting to be more socially responsible; and
• Wanting to give back to their community. 

This is why it is crucial as public relations practitioners to be able to create an online community in today's digital world. Whether its through social media, its own website, phone apps and digital newspaper publications. 

In my second week interning at Global Hand Charity (GHC), I was going through the website looking for information on a media release that I was preparing, when I noticed it had "NO HISTORY SECTION. " 

I was quite shocked by this discovery. 

How are stakeholders and the general public supposed to know the origins of Global Hand Charity and why the charity was established in the first place...

So I made it my mission to create a History page for GHC. 

After having a meeting with the Founder and Vice Chairperson, and asking a load of questions about the history of Global Hand Charity.  I took a couple of  hours to look at the content and style of the site, as well as competitor website's to grasp an idea of what should be included in the section. Being in charge of creating a new page for the site was a new learning skill for me. So it take me a few days to fiddle around with until I was happy with the final product. 

Global Hand Charity History

The page is brief, but enough for any one to understand the origins of GHC. The charity has not been around for six years, so they do not have a longer history compared to other not-for-profit organisations with similar services. As time goes by and the years pass, more content will be added to the page. 

Global Hand Charity does not have a strong online presence in regards to its social media. They do have a Facebook page with more than 300 likes. One third of all their posts are reached but each like is most likely to receive less than 10 likes. GHC post content at least twice a month, depending on current projects taking place in Laos. The challenge as a PR practitioner is to figure out how to engage those who are aware of GHC to like and share the post. Thus, creating more buzz and awareness among the Perth community. 

It is crucial for the Global Hand Charity to be able to create and maintain an engaging online community.  If an organisation wants to increase its brand awareness and knowledge among its intended audience, this is a must. It may take a while and carefully thought out strategic communication, but it will pay off in the end. 

Public Relations = Being Versatile, Polymath and Multitask!

Today was the 8^th day of my internship. I actually cannot believe it, I feel like I have started months ago. Indeed, those 8 days have been quite demanding and stressful but I have to admit it was worth it!

During those two and a half years at university I have learnt that to be a good PR one will have to be versatile and often multitasking. However I never really realized how true this was until now. I always thought that in ‘real life’, I would only be dealing with the journalists and writing several press releases and kits, while designers and event planners would be doing the rest. The past days proved me wrong; I have learnt that the role of a PR is much more than that! 

Sunday 1^st of August, 12 Monkeys (My organisation), organized a charity event called the ‘Charity Run, Ride, Walk by SKC Surat’. Before the event, I wrote the media releases, called the press and helped for the Facebook page. I thought that as a PR, my job was done.

The track for the races was in the sugar cane fields around the Bagatelle Mall of Mauritius in Moka. On the day of the event, at 6:30 a.m. we went to put the markups in the sugar cane. I came back full of mud and dust and was now posted at the registration table as to take more candidates. At the end of the event I said to myself, ‘maybe the person in charge of this was not here’.

On the Monday morning, I started my PR task, which is Media clipping, when my supervisor called everyone for a meeting. One of our clients, Permoglaze (a paint manufacturer) was sponsoring a major sport event and needed an idea to attract people on the day without proposing paint (as it was not really relevant). There I was, giving ideas about how to design the Permoglaze tent! We came up with an idea of ‘photo booth’, where the participant would be able to take a picture and print it directly. It was a great experience to see the brainstorming during the meeting and I was proud as one of my ideas was approved. 

I spent the whole week juggling between designing banners, newsletters, bibs for coming sport events and Facebook pages. I am actually planning and organizing two different event at the same time, a press conference which will be held this Tuesday and a sport event which will be held on the 24^th. In the meantime, I am helping on photo shoots for newsletters.

To resume, it has been 8 days, and I worked as an event organizer, a PR, a receptionist, a designer and a photographer, all of these, in the office as well as on the field.  One might think that my supervisor just wants me to touch a bit of everything, but this is not true as even she is doing every single job. I thus realized that all of these forms part of a PR job. 

To be a good PR, one must be versatile, polymath and multitask!!

Isabelle