Behind the scenes at one of Malaysia’s top PR agencies – Lah!

I arrived in Malaysia with no idea of what to expect. Beyond our pre-departure information session (which informed us of general country information such as the population, weather and how to dress), our insight into the Malaysian Public Relations industry and the country itself was embarrassingly limited.

I decided to take an internship overseas for two reasons; 1) Staying in one place is a difficult task for me (AirAsia and I have formed a pretty tight friendship over the last couple of years), and 2) It’s been suggested Gen Ys will have five different career changes over their lives (Metcalf 2014)  – so who knows where each of these professions will take place? A little international exposure seemed to be an appropriate platform for getting a taste of professional settings, whilst satisfying my urge to travel.

I was lucky enough to be selected to work with GO Communications, a leading communications firm in Malaysia and South-East Asia. A gentleman named Michael de Kretser - a name renowned amongst PR circles for left-field creativity and doing the undoable, leads the company with his son Peter. About 25 people form the entire team.

My first week at GO was enlightening and full on; Hannah (another Curtin PR student) and I were split into two teams covering different clients. Straight away we were shown how to do media monitoring and clippings (something I thought we’d never do – sorry Karen Kerlin! (PR Media lecturer)) There was an immediate emphasis placed on teaching us the ropes and getting us settled in, which I was really thrilled about after having visions of being a bona fide barista by the end of my first professional placement.

It’s interesting to note at this point that GO calculates the Advertising Value Equivalent (AVEs) of generated press. When doing media clippings, the size, colour and publication are all used as inputs to calculate the amount of exposure a client received from the work. I found this to be an unusual standard for a leading firm, particularly after being taught in first year uni that AVEs are often the subject of considerable criticism. PRIA even regards it as a total ‘no no’ in the world of PR (Macnamara 2014). I discussed this distinction with a colleague; she proposed the disparity may exist, as most Malaysian clients want to see how much bang they’re getting for their buck in real, measurable figures. Australian firms, however, may be more concerned with seeing an effect created from their investment, which in turn would create a monetary return.

So far Malaysia has been a blast, and I really like the down-to-earth and chilled-out environment at GO. I’ve been told to expect events, client pitches and creative strategizing in the coming weeks, so I will report back with updates soon. I hope my blog can provide a chuckle, an insight into the Malaysian PR industry and a taste of home for all the Curtin Malaysian students abroad. 

Good luck, everyone!

Macnamara, Jim. 2014. Advertising Values to Measure PR: Why They Are Invalid. PRIA. Accessed 2 March, http://www.pria.com.au/sitebuilder/resources/knowledge/files/1868/advaluestomeasureprpaper.pdf

Metcalf, Fran. 2014. Working with, not for, the boss. Career One. Accessed 2 March, http://career-advice.careerone.com.au/career-development/professional-development/working-with-not-for-boss/article.aspx

PR should be experienced, not just taught

Hi future PR practitioners,

This will be my last post and it will wrap up some of the things that weren't taught and experienced in previous PR units. I firmly believe that a PR degree is just a starting point and as Harrison (2011, 15) has said, “Graduation is not an end to study. It is the start of a lifelong process”. By now, I can tell that only a portion of what I have learnt at university will be useful in the workplace because not only I will always be learning new things as a PR practitioner but also some of these things have to be experienced. Likewise, PR is a fast-evolving profession, so every PR practitioner has to constantly adapt to the changes in this demanding profession.

Things I didn't learn and experience at university:

1. Drafting media releases and communication plans in French (Written communication is mostly done in French in Mauritius and most PR Practitioners need to have an excellent grasp of the French language)

2. Media monitoring – Writing and sending daily Media Alerts to clients on positive and negative articles about them.

3. Calculating Advertising Value Equivalency (AVE) for media coverage of PR generated news stories by measuring the dimensions of these articles and multiplying to the newspapers’ advertising rates.

4. Assisting in Press Conferences – Greeting journalists, marking their presence, noting down their contact details and distributing goodies/media kits to them.

5. Contacting and following up with journalists – confirming if they have received invitations for event/media function/press conference/round table and calling them again to mark their presence.

6. Working without a proper brief – Sometimes, we are not given a written brief for a particular task while at university we always had those for every PR assignment that we had to submit.

7. Implementing a PR Plan – We've been writing a few PR plans for real life clients at university although we've never executed any of these and this is the most complex part.

Although this internship is just a foretaste of the real thing since it was relatively short and we didn't experience everything, it actually prepares us to join the workplace confidently. Moreover, I do believe that I've done quite a lot in one month and learnt many new things. If it wasn't for the PR 393 Professional Practice unit, my knowledge and understanding of PR would be limited to only general PR concepts and guidelines. So, kudos to Curtin for having introduced that unit a few years back because it certainly allowed us to put some of the teachings of the other PR units into practice.

Okay fellow PR 393 students, now that most of us have already completed our internships and we are nearing the end of this semester, it's time to move on to other things. It felt great to share my internship experience with you and to read about yours during the last few months. I would like to seize this opportunity to wish you all best of luck with the report writing and for your future endeavors.

P.S: Do you guys have any anything else to add to the list above? You’re most welcome to do so in your comments :)

Much love,

Houmaira Ramjaun

15102108

CTI, Mauritius

References: 

Harrison, Kim. 2011. Strategic Public Relations - A practical guide to success. South Yarra: Palgrave Macmillan

Valuable Experiences

Hi PR393’s,

This is my 2^nd post since I last updated you with my progress. I cant express how valuable this experience has been to me, it has definitely cemented in my mind that PR is what I want to do, I am so drawn to the ever changing environment and the thought of doing a job where no one day is ever the same as the next excites me!

The past 5 days at Magenta saw me completing a range of tasks that I had hoped I would be exposed to throughout my internship, putting skills and theory I have learnt throughout my degree into practice. Such tasks have included:

1.        Writing a Media Release: I was asked to write a Mothers Day media release for a client, even though Mothers Day isn’t until May, publications requiring longer lead times need to be contacted up to 3-4 months in advance.  I looked over some previous media releases that had been written for the same client and did some extra research on the product; looking particularly at past media coverage to ensure a similar news angle and story wasn’t pitched. The MR layout and format used was quite similar to how we had been taught in PR Media however a “Media Opportunities” section at the bottom of their releases outlined any interview, picture or video footage opportunity the media would have. I thought this was particularly important when trying to get TV or Radio coverage as Media outlets interest would be heightened if they knew they could get visual footage or an interview with an individual.

2.        Editorial Opportunity meeting: I was lucky enough to be able to sit in on an “editorial opportunity” meeting with the client service team. Basically a collection of National and State newspapers and their lift outs and magazines were presented and we went through them all pinpointing target sections, columns and special interest categories where we could pitch or do similar stories or get a product placement in relation to our clients. I found that exercise really insightful as it exposed me to Eastern States newspapers and their lift out magazines and introduced me to some vital skills needed when pitching stories to the  media.

-           In order to gain free publicity look for chemistry between your story and the publication. It is important to match publications that focus on your industry, topics, and content. No matter how good your media release and story if it is pitched to the wrong media it won’t be picked up.

-           The PR girls all knew the editors of the certain publications and featured journalists. Public Relations is all about networking and WHO you know. Start building relationships with the media and become a lead source for media publications.

3.        Compiling a PR Report: I was given the opportunity to complete a PR report for one of our clients. Since completing my first one on day 3 I also compiled a 2^nd report for another client on day 5. The reports are given to the client to show media coverage results achieved during a particular campaign or over a period of time. I was given a quick run through on the font and spacing used and the headings I needed to include. The report consisted of a Publicity Schedule in the front which outlined the date of the media coverage, the publication, the headline, the readership and the Advertising Value Equivalency. The value of an article is calculated by weighing it against the cost of related advertising space. Evaluating the ‘real’ value of the media coverage is largely subjective, it is difficult to assess how effectively the message was communicated and if it reached the intended target audience. Advertising Value Equivalency was a term I was introduced to at university and I am now seeing how AVE is used to communicate success and results to clients.  I then had to collect all the media clippings for that time frame and photocopy 2 copies, one for the client and one for us to keep. I also made a heading for each clipping that stated when it appeared in the media, the publication and the headline. The report was then compiled by photocopying the clippings onto the headers, obtaining the cover page from graphics and binding all the pages together.

4.       Updating Artist Database: One of our clients is an Artist, I was given their personal database to update and check that we had the current contact details of all the collectors. This task like updating the master database and had me personally emailing or calling the collectors to ensure their details were up to date.

5.        Developed “My morning ritual”: Being immersed in the Public Relations industry through my current internship has heightened and broadened my interest in the industry and has led to the development over the past few weeks of a little morning ritual. Before I even get to work, I find myself actively reading a number of PR News websites like PR Daily, Behind the spin, and PR Couture (a PR news website all about Fashion, this is where my real passion lies). Not only do I get my daily fix of PR news, I log on to Facebook and look over the posts and activity on our clients Facebook pages and I have started following some PR girls in the Fashion Industry on Twitter. The PR girl at Oscar de la Renta, River Island and DKNY tweet daily and update Tumblr to visually and emotively stimulate their customers.

I found an interesting post on a blog called M-theory that I also frequent. M-Theory is a collection of progressive ideas, innovative designs, luxurious fashions, and forward-thinking companies that are making news, shifting trends and shaping industries around the globe.

The post highlights how luxury fashion brands are using social media platforms to engage and interact with their customers in innovative and creative ways. This gives DKNY that point of difference that is so important in this competitive and fast paced industry. I like that it is such a simple yet effective idea. I have posted part of the post below and included a link to the blog.

Creating Digital Love Stories Via Social Networks

From simple fan engagement on Facebook and Twitter to hosting fashioncasts on BigLive, DKNY’s strategy is socially flawless.

"Most recently, DKNY PR GIRL hosted an intimate scavenger hunt in both their New York and London stores where clues were announced via Twitter. “We’re always focused on ways to make our social media presence more innovative and interactive. By bringing a small group of my Twitter friends into our stores in New York and London to search for hidden chocolate eggs, we were able to use social media in a fun way that makes them feel even more connected to our brand. We got a great response, as hundreds of my followers guessed the clues along with the players, creating a real sense of community around our brand,” says Twitter personality DKNY PR Girl.

"Tumblr, the visually stimulating, content rich microblogging platform has become a favorite of the fashion industry. Tumblr’s swank fashion director, Rich Tong, points to Kate Spade and Oscar de la Renta as two of the strongest examples of fashion brands leveraging Tumblr to its fullest potential. “Oscar PR Girl uses an approachable tone of voice like a friend and Kate Spade NY utilizes its extraordinary design and content. Each brand creates original content that is specific to their Tumblr audiences.”

I cannot express how important it is that your client has a social media strategy in place and a strong online presence. Through out my internship social media has been one of the only areas where I haven’t been able to draw on my university education to help me through. I feel quite confident using particular social media sites, mainly due to the fact I am a Gen Y and have grown up through the social media craze but I am far from an expert! Maybe if the clients you’re working with in your placements don’t use social media this is something you could possibly suggest to your supervisor.

My time at Magenta so far has also seen me help mail out press kits and invitations. Having the Graphics Design Team working in house has definitely been an added bonus, it has allowed me an insight into the complete process of developing and producing a press kit, advertisement or invite for a client from start to end. The girls on the Client Service team will form an idea for the design concept and write the copy and then sit down with the graphics team to communicate their creative vision. The design team then makes it happen and the whole project is completed in-house!  Anything being mailed out has an expected time of arrival (ETA) and in PR deadlines are IMPORTANT! I experienced my first stressful close call, having to origami and mail 65 press releases in just 25 minutes. The press releases thankfully made it to the mail box by 4pm.

I have two very exciting events I am working next Friday and Saturday. Time to put those communication and organisational skills into practice. Stay posted for my next update to see how I go and to hear all about my experience from the events!

I hope you are all enjoying your placements and making the most of your opportunity, I know I am!

Until next time,

Tess x