What I Wish They Taught In Class

Hey all,

Having been there and done that as an intern, there were many times that thoughts of “I wish the school taught me this…” came to me. I believe we have all had our fair share of boo-boos at work and would like to bury our head into the ground every time that happens.

As I mark my last post on this blog, I would like to share the 10 “I wish they taught me…” that went through my head at work in my three months with Touch Communications. Who knows? Maybe one of the lecturers might catch upon this and make it a point to kindly share these trade secrets for potential PR393 interns before they dash off into the real world.

1.       I wish they taught me what a media drop is.

2.       I wish they taught me how to reject cordially.

3.       I wish they taught me when the deadlines for SPH, Mediacorp and other media outlets are

4.       I wish they taught me when the media centres published their publications

5.       I wish they taught me how to squirm out of a tight situation

6.       I wish they taught me how to make intelligent conversations

7.       I wish they taught me how to hold those conversations

8.       I wish they taught me how to introduce myself without a namecard

9.       I wish they taught me the different ways to network during a social event

10.   I wish they taught me how to cope with difficult situations (e.g. low event RSVP even as event is nearing, zero turnout for press conferences, etc.)

Personally, I feel that the theory we learnt in school (except for techniques) is not as useful  for the internship as compared to if the lecturers took time to share with us on more practical examples such as the 10 listed above. It would help to ease transition between school and work, especially for an intern in a fast-paced industry where time waits for no man. 

While I eventually managed to find out how to deal with the above, it is not without hard lessons. If I had the slightest inkling of what to expect, it could have been better handled and consequences may be less dire!

Signing off,
Grace Ong
15230928
Curtin Singapore

A Letter from Cosmopolitan

Hi all,

One very fine morning a few weeks back, I sat down at my desk with a coffee in toll. While conducting my daily routine of clearing the morning emails, an email from one of my managers jolted me awake. Titled "Woah", the email contained nothing but the following link:

http://cosmopolitan.sg/2012/08/07/open-letter-5-things-we-really-want-prs-to-know/

Have you read it? I did. What did you think? I thought, "Woah", indeed. Cosmopolitan Singapore, the magazine for ‘fun and fearless women’ as their tagline suggests, takes fearless to a whole new level with this story.

The article kept me occupied for a good 30 minutes as I scrutinized every word, studied every tone and analysed every sentence of the article as well as the comments.

If you're not an avid reader, the article titled OPEN LETTER: 5 THINGS WE REALLY WANT PRS TO KNOW tells of well, an open letter from the people of Cosmopolitan Singapore to the PR practitioners in Singapore. In a nutshell, it lists 5 things that Cosmopolitan wants PR people to know and the message they wish to bring across:

1. Don’t ever ask, “Is this a good time to call?”

- There is never a good time to call, so do not ask.

2. Media tracking is your job

- They have better things to do than be a PR practitioners’ intern.

3. We are not our colleagues’ secretary

- Everyone is responsible for their own schedule

4. Friday evening is a bad time for events

- We’ve already worked hard all week, what were you thinking?

5. Find out if a journalist prefers to be contacted on the phone or via email

-  Keep a spreadsheet that details every single journalist’s personal preference.

Needless to say, the article sparked off a heated debated amongst the writers and PR practitioners. Having interned for over two months, some of the arguments raised were especially close to the heart.

In school, we learnt about how important media people are key to reaching our PR targets and KPIs as they determine whether there will be coverage or not. To do so, we will need to impress the media with good press releases, build relationships, etc. Yet, in the real world, PR practitioners have a job to do too which involves calling journalists, sending them multiple press releases on behalf of one too many clients as well as following up with them. The above mentioned problems arise when the journalists are unreachable or refused to be reached.

An extremely valid point brought across by a PR practitioner was that ‘it takes two to clap’. Just like how Cosmopolitan wants PR practitioners to understand their grievances, the same applies when roles are reversed too. No PR practitioner enjoys having to entertain the media over the weekends or work overtime just to accede to a last minute request by writers.

I believe that the saying – ‘Do unto others as you want others to do unto you’ would be appropriate in this instance. Journalists and PR practitioners should recognize that working alongside each other (and having a little more bearing towards each other) would be more beneficial than taking sides.

Till the next,

Grace Ong

15230928

Curtin Singapore

PR: The Real Deal

Hi all,

In my previous entry here, I shared about my dilemma in deciding whether I wanted to join a local boutique PR agency or an established international PR firm. Today, I'll be sharing snippets and pictures about real world PR from a greenhorn's perspective!

A Press Conference is not just a Press Conference

We learnt a lot about press releases and press conferences in school which is an integral part of PR. I was fortunate to be able to get involved in organising my first press conference in my first week! Held in conjunction with a regional futsal finals competition, I embarked on my first of many 'firsts' for sure - first press release, first media blast, packed my first media kit, printed my first CD labels and the list goes on for behind the scenes work. 

I even had to manage a media futsal team so as to ensure that they went for their sponsored gear fitting, attended the press conference eventually so that we could get coverage and was well enough to play a futsal match! This was when I realise that a press conference is really, not just a press conference. There are many details to plan and work through which goes a long way in making a press conference successful.

There are lots of Perks to the Job!

What they do not teach you in school, is that there are lots of perks to your job as a PR practitioner!

For an entire week, I was given a pressing (and delectable!) task of tasting the dishes of all the tenants of a F&B corporation and find out their business history. This was so as to put together a backgrounder which will accompany the main release for the new food atrium launch. While I got to interact with many tenants which deepened my appreciation for hawker food, I also got to binge on many local delights which made going to work extremely desirable.

In another event for a makeup brand, the client accorded a bag of cosmetic goodies to show their appreciation for our services rendered!

Getting Physical and Dirty is Inevitable

As a greenhorn, you must always be prepared to get physical (and dirty!) on the job. Think - lots of walking, carrying boxes of heavy stuff, etc. Part of my job requires me to do sourcing, set-up, packing of media kits and media drops which can get physically intensive. Coming from a boutique PR agency, there are resources constraints hence manpower will have to come from within. I find myself having to carry dozens of boxes, walking distances to source for a specific kind of jar, knocking on one too many doors to deliver media kits, peeling off price tags and labels till the fingers blister, etc.

The above are pictures of some of the media kits I have packed. Some media kit were fairly light but some came up to almost 5kg in weight! I had to deliver 40 boxes of those which came up to 200kg in weight!

PR Comes in Lots of Forms

PR really does encompass a variety of tasks and services. Here are some forms that I found out PR can take: 

 Media Presentations

 Product Launches (Media/ Bloggers Invite Only)

 Blogger Workshops

I have come to appreciate the dynamic qualities of the job. In fact, I find myself falling in love with the unpredictability of each day! I hope you are too!

Till the next,
Grace Ong
15230928
Curtin Singapore

International for some, local for me!

Hi everyone,

My name is Grace and I'm currently in the midst of completing my undergraduate degree in Curtin Singapore. Having completed all my academic PR modules earlier this June, I'm so glad that it is now time to put my knowledge to the test in the real world. 

As I pen my first entry, I am also pleased to share that I've already completed two of three months with my internship company of choice, Touch Communications. Touch Communications is a boutique PR agency specializing in providing companies with the finest, most personal touch to their media relations, events and copywriting. Specialising in beauty, F&B, sports and lifestyle industries, their area of expertise reaches beyond traditional media and encompasses social media, web development, media training, overseas media junkets, crisis communication, events management and advertising.

The last two months have been a nervewrecking but nonetheless, enjoyable journey! While I'm eager to share everything in this one post, let's not jump on the bandwagon as yet. Instead, I would like to tell you about a meaningful struggle I had when looking for my internship placement.

I knew I wanted to start my internship search early as I was afraid it would be difficult to get a place.While many wonder about the question of doing in-house or consultancy, that was never an issue to me as I have always known that I wanted to gain some agency experience first. Instead, I recall a vivid memory as I questioned myself if I wanted to start my PR career with an international PR firm such as Hill & Knowlton, Fleishman-Hillard, etc. or a local boutique agency. Getting this right is important to me as more than one has advised me earlier that it will determine a large part of the course of my career path going forward in terms of exposure to the right contacts, starting remuneration, scale of work, scope of work, etc.

The default was that many urged me to try for international companies because of the boundless opportunities it may present, a stellar on my resume and of course, not forgetting a fatter paycheck. However, I have also heard of horror stories from seniors about unrealistic expectations, limited learning (everyone is too busy to teach and in a larger company, job scopes are usually more defined) and people constantly jumping at your throat.

On the other hand, there was a nagging thought that tugged at my heartstrings to tell me that I should join a local boutique agency as I wanted to take things slow and be exposed to as many aspects of PR as possible first. Having sat through lectures on the different types and sizes of PR firms, I knew that being in a boutique firm would mean fewer accounts to service but more exposure in terms of work responsibilities as there are fewer employees and job scopes are not entirely defined. 

I made the decision eventually, to send resumes to only local boutique agencies. After all, this is an internship and my first experience with hands-on PR. I would prefer not to let fear engulf my passion in my first job. I am glad to say that I managed a few interviews within the week and by May, secured a three months internship with Touch Communications starting 18 June 2012.

Interning with a local boutique agency turned out to be everything I thought it would be and more. Indeed, job scopes are not defined as servicing a client account meant taking care of their every need, those including PR and those that don't. This can be exceptionally taxing. However, I have a small but supportive team behind my back as well as a very kind boss who constantly acknowledges my presence and work contributions. Deep down, I give myself a pat on the back for making the right decision for me.

Busting the myth of bosses jumping at your throats in international PR firms, my classmates who are working there tells me that they too are enjoying their internship and have good bosses. They did share though, that they have more accounts to handle and more overtime to do. I guess this means that there is no one choice that is more right than the other. Ultimately, it boils down to your personal preference and what you are looking for in your internship.

For those who shares my dilemma, I  hope this entry helped you in some way or another!

Until the next,

Grace Ong

Curtin Singapore

15230928