Odysseus: Discovering New Horizons at International Level...

A big hello to you awesome PR peeps...

This week I've completed my 25^th day interning at Odysseus… & I've got some more days to go as they've assigned me on a new project.. Basically today I will dedicate my 4^th post on International Public Relations.

Working as a Public Relations professional involves doing much more than draft press releases and build relationships with key media representatives. As a PR professional, you must also be familiar with the attitudes and concerns of consumers, employees, public interest groups, and the community in order to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships.

While some companies keep the function of PR entirely at a national level, others like Odysseus opt to work offshore.

“There is no upper limit to what individuals are capable of doing with their minds. There is no age limit that bars them from beginning. There is no obstacle that cannot be overcome if they persist and believe” — H.G. Wells

This quote by H.G Wells clearly suits in Odysseus way of operation. While at Odysseus they were already working for well-known international clients like Emirates, Porsche, Radisson Plaza and amongst others... 

We are now targeting a new European market - Russia.

International PR is full of challenges in terms of differences in languages, laws and cultures. It can therefore be difficult yet interesting for a PR person to create or maintain a reputation with the public of other nations. It is easy to carry this out when dealing within our own nation and culture, however, when dealing with a foreign audience – it is vital that cross-cultural differences are recognized.

Odysseus has perfectly understood that a good relationship and a good understanding of the culture of the targeted nation is vital. As a business, it is your responsibility to go according to the targeted nation's style of living and culture if you want to succeed.

 What was done?

Odysseus therefore research on the Russian market - their cultures, their way of living, their interests and so on before deciding to create a website in Russian to promote the agency.

It is important to highlight that the international PR jungle is a vast and varied one. There are traps where you least expect them but there are guides to get you through and they are certainly worth investing in.

My personal experience

Working for Odysseus has been a real asset for me both in terms of personal and professional development. I had the chance of working at national and international level. I realized that when you work in an agency, Odysseus for example, you get to know that PR is not only about writing media releases, newsletters, doing media clippings and so on... But you get a real insight of how it works in a PR agency, what is really PR and what it takes to work in this field.

Communicating to Communications experts at a Communications Trade Show

Hello Awesome People!

Today, I’m going to give you a little insight of how the first communication tradeshow of the Indian Ocean went on...

When 'THE' dream becomes concrete…

The ‘Salon de la Com’ was that time of the year! The time for the PR, Communications, Event and Marketing World to look at the challenges and opportunities ahead. It was the time to determine what’s in store for their businesses, industries and way of working.

The first Communications Trade Show of the Indian Ocean major aim was to bring together under the same roof the agencies and professionals of the communication, advertising, branding, media, event management, audio-visual and web production family. This event was a means to attract decision makers of local companies and those of the Indian Ocean region, with the objective of familiarizing and educating them on the services and products offered by the agencies.

The exponential growth of media and technology is changing the world we live in significantly. While some are already embracing it fully, others have yet to exploit its full potential. The ‘Salon de la Com’ was an opportunity for agencies to increase their visibility, to establish new business relationships and networking in Mauritius and in the Indian Ocean.

This initiative of Odysseus has allowed experts in various disciplines to present their ideas or to initiate debates surrounding new trends, recent communication techniques and technological advancements. A platform was set up and used for interviewing agency managers and representatives present, the idea behind it being… to communicate well!

Communication in a changing world…

It has been observed that changes in the PR and media landscape distinctly reflect the changes in human behavior that we have been observing and experiencing in ourselves over the past few years – changes brought upon by new technologies. Just think how you consume information nowadays, as well as what you expect from the creators of this information in terms of presentation and access. Think about how you as content creators aim to share and spread this information in order to gain maximum exposure and engagement. 

Today, Social media has become an exceptionally powerful promotional tool. Social media is the personal relationship that gives your company the chance to engage your audience in the informal and friendly way that creates long-term customer loyalty. In order to develop your brand’s online personality, you need to have a clear idea of who your audience is and how to engage them. Remember that it’s the day-to-day aspects of your brand that customers will respond to most.

My experience…

Personally, working during the two consecutive days at SVICC have been full of amazing experiences. I won’t start by enumerating all the Communications/Advertising experts I've met, networking or the things that I have accomplished during the ‘Salon de la Com’ but I can say what I have been learning during the past three years at CTI finally made sense at the end of those two days.

I couldn’t dream of a better opportunity to gain a real insight of how the real PR world function. Public Relations involves hard work but at the end of the day, it is a really challenging and exciting job!


However, I should add that this week if nothing else showed me the importance of team work in the PR industry. The ‘Salon de la Com’ would never have been a success without each and every member of the Odysseus team! 


Public Relations + Team Work = Success!

[A mini clip of the event:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY9OPZzXops&feature=plcp] 

'Doing it all'… Multitasking prone to PR!

Hello World!

It’s Yashni, intern of Odysseus PR agency...

Time really flies when you are having fun or should I rather say when you are busy. I have already completed 10 days of internship and I can say that PR is a fun department to work in because it’s a mix of almost everything. I’m leaning that people in PR have to simultaneously be able to handle different tasks. 

I guess you must be wondering why this title? 
Well this week has been an interestingly hectic one for me, the event is tomorrow and up till yesterday I had to run after the catering company for confirmation, to ask for the menu/price lists, and look for quotations of wine for the cocktail on Friday. At the same time, I had to research and write for the new website that I’ve been assigned to do and also to contact photographs, diving centers, hunting companies, etc.. to persuade them to give the right to publish some of their materials without any compensation. And I can say that I’m proud of myself for I have successfully been able to persuade them. I have realized that multitasking is a must in PR – varied clients, work, deadlines, etc…, all necessitate the ability to juggle multiple disparate tasks at once.  

Come and join us at SVICC on 26th & 
27th July 2012 for the 'Salon de la Com'

The event is at the door and during the whole week there have been meetings, appointments, brainstorming, mailing – and I have been realizing that - you just learn as you go and you take it all in. I can say that right now at Odysseus, you don’t have a day, an hour, or a minute for yourself. 

 But still I love my internship! I’m always so busy currently, and each day has flown by so fast, but I’m loving the experience. I know maybe some could have expected to hear some negatives about this internship, but besides the lack of sleep and lack of social life, I could not be happier! It has been an amazing way to meet people who are interested in this field. I’m already SO glad I decided to do it and I just can’t wait for tomorrow!

What about you? How far are you into your internship? Are you enjoying it?

Let me know in a comment!

First week in the shoes of a PR intern

Hello everyone...
I am Yashni, a 3^rd year BA Mass Communication student studying at Charles Telfair Institute, Moka. I am actually interning in a PR Agency, Odysseus. The agency mainly focuses on public relations and event planning.

As I know that nearly all PR students would be doing an internship in the future, are actually participating in an internship program, or dream of some day working in the PR field, I am going to reflect on my weeks interning so that you can indirectly learn from my experiences.

What would I mainly be focusing on?

Surely not about my day-to-day clothing selection, the food and shopping I did...

 I will be mostly laying emphasis on what I have achieved in my first week as an intern and also about some of my responsibilities within the agency.

I can't really believe it's been a week already since I have started interning at Odysseus. It somehow seems longer, but all in all I am pleased with how the week has gone. The overall feelings I have observed in myself this week have, aside from a sometimes debilitating tiredness towards the end of each day, been mixed and often very exciting, stressful, nerve-racking but constructive.

Unlike the usual first weeks of work in any organisation, my first week has been quite hectic consisting mostly of managing the invitations by contacting all the PR, Marketing, Event and Communication Manager, and confirming the VIP lists in regards to the ‘Salon de la Com’, the first Communications Trade Show in the Indian Ocean which will open its door at Swami Vivekananda International Convention Centre on the 26 and 27 July 2012.

I cannot deny that it certainly took me some time to really understand what they are demanding from me and becoming more comfortable with the working place. However, my director was very understanding and flexible which eased me a bit. He did find some time out of his busy schedule to discuss the work with me, introducing me to the other staffs, which was great of him. By this point, I think I have met all the members of the team who without exception have been supportive, welcoming and encouraging.

My day at Odysseus normally starts with passing through all the newspapers of the day and looking for news for media clippings purposes. Currently, I am tasked to research and write for the company’s website whereby they are targeting a specific European market. I can say there are plenty of research work waiting for me this week. Will keep you guys informed on the details.

If I were to give you people an advice it would certainly be - When you walk in every day, just ask yourself how you can make the most out of this opportunity. It is high time for you to learn to accept criticism even though at times it can be a tough pill to swallow. Remember that only those who care will make the effort to guide you in the right path. You want to make PR as your career right? So take the maximum knowledge available from your supervisors and use this opportunity to the maximum to grow into a PR Pro!

Well, that’s all I have for today.

I will leave it to you now: Are you planning to do a PR internship soon? Have you started? What is your internship like so far? If you’re not interning yet, do you want to sometime in the future? 

Let me know in a comment...