Re-learning the basics: Finding PR in an advertising company

My office Desk at FCB Cread & Co Ltd

The good news is I have finally manage to complete my first week of internship. The bad news there is no Public Relations department present and I have no experience in marketing as to speak. 

This was the tale of my first day of my internship which was apparently dull and uneventful in regards to Public Relations experience.

The next day I get to do a translation, trying to understand the language technicality use in the company and the various words use for commercial applications

Shortly after I am ask to do some media monitoring, ask to contribute in a media plan, ask to participate in the media advert booking and participate in the proof-reading and text correction before sending it to the company client.

How is that related to Public Relations one may wonder? 

In fact it does not but it helps to applied the discipline knowledge acquire during Public Relations Practice classes.  As Media planning, media monitoring, media booking at some point, proof-reading and validation are fundamental concept of Public Relations officer daily routine. 

So how is the internship related to Public relations?

"Excellence is not an act but a habit." - Aristotle

Apart from discipline knowledge, it is hidden, like if it is playing hide and seek throughout the various department of the Advertising Company.

The luck that I have is the FCB Cread & Co Ltd is a communication and advertising company which is among the top 3 best agencies in Mauritius in its industry. They are very well equip and also have a small staff dedicated staff that are very generous as to speak in terms of providing help or provide knowledge.

One of the most obvious PR related works is copy-writing in this company from translation of brief of client to a comprehensible formatted document, to script writing for adverts, radio commercial, radio messages, Television spot, Thematic ideas, Facebook post, blog post and website update. The copywriter job in the company does not end there, there are newsletter, annual reports, Brochures and flyers all waiting the copywriter to write for them, from small story to formal writing, it requires a certain level of dexterity and knowledge of the client activity.

So what did you do then?

My first work was to convert a commercial email into a formatted document, a little research and put to use the knowledge of segmenting stakeholders or publics later, I have created a detail document that the company can use by other staff members like designers, copywriters from the creative and design department, strategic marketing development department and highlight the misunderstanding point that the email may have. 

From this small document, I was able to participate to the naming of the product to be design and have 3 potential names that the client may choose from and develop a potential theme for each, writing a small storytelling experience about them and learn to implement it into the integrated marketing mechanics.

Newspaper storage

Yes, my internship may not be like the other students and to be directly integrated in a Public relations department but I am grateful enough to realise that Public relations is not only what one may have imagine to be. 

One thing is that have strike me the most is how advertising clients completely disregard the work of the integrated marketing process and how public relations in Mauritius is not view as an avenue for promotion tool or as a means for publicity.


It is present in every communication department from Visual literacy, design, copy-writing, planning, negotiating with clients or the media and with the task of Key Account officer I have manage to re-learn the basics of Public relations.

Stage Fright - How to Deal with Nerves!!!

So you've finally nailed down the dream job/interview/presentation/meeting, how do you manage those inevitable butterflies when it comes to crunch time??

I started my internship at Perth Theatre Trust (PTT) this week, and boy was I nervous! I remember being a little nervous for an interview with my potential supervisor, but that was nothing compared to this!!! I woke up anxious and fidgety after an restless nights' sleep - not necessarily conducive to making a good first impression! Luckily, my background is in theatre and performing, so I have a whole raft of tips and tricks up my sleeve when dealing with nerves.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who was faced with a few butterflies on my first day, and it certainly won't be the last time I feel nervous before attempting something. Hopefully these tactics are useful to some of you, even if it's only one or two. These methods are drawn from my many years performing in live theatre, but can be applied to anything - an interview, your first day at a new job, an important meeting or even those dreaded in-class oral presentations!

How to Deal with Stage Fright
1. Be prepared.
This is my number one, most important tip. I know from my experience on stage that the worst cases of stage fright come from feeling unprepared. If there is anything you can do to make yourself feel like you a totally prepared, do it! Whether this means reading up on notes before a presentation, practicing your interview answers or doing a test run of the drive to work to check out traffic, being prepared will help calm the butterflies enormously.
2. Get a good nights' sleep.
This might seem like common sense, but it is SO important to be well rested. Personally I find that I have a tendency to get a little cranky if I'm tired, and that's not what I want a potential employer or my supervisor to see on my first day! This might mean skipping something fun the night before, but at the end of the day we all have to decide what our priorities are. I was in bed by 9pm the night before my first day at PTT!
3. Arrive early
This goes hand-in-hand with getting a good nights' sleep - if you've managed to get to bed early, you'll have more chance of waking up the first time the alarm goes off instead of pressing 'snooze'. Nothing makes a worse first impression than arriving late. It's an easy way to make you supervisor think you are lazy and uninterested! In the world of theatre, if you aren't fifteen minutes early for rehearsal, you are considered to be late, so even being 'on time' isn't enough. And consider this: when you arrive late, subconsciously you are saying to the person you kept waiting that your time is more important than theirs - is that really how you want your supervisor/future employer/person marking your work to feel??
4. Take a deep breath
This tip is the simplest to implement, but a really important one to remember. When I get nervous, I have a tendency to race my speech and end up blurting out whatever pops into my head at an unintelligible speed. The best way I've found to combat this is simply to stop and take a deep breath. This usually gives me enough time to slow down and gather my thoughts so that I stop myself from saying anything unnecessary.

At the end of the day, nerves are a very personal thing, and some people deal with them better than others. My parting advice would be to try some of these tips for yourself, as well as anything else that keeps you calm, and figure out which works best for you. Maybe you perform better after a run first thing in the morning - something to burn off all that nervous energy. Maybe you need to have a leisurely breakfast in order to plan your morning so that you're ready to face the day. Or maybe you're like me, and you just need a few minutes to collect your thoughts and take a couple of deep breaths. Whatever method works for you, once you've found it, make sure you don't forget it! Nerves are designed to make our bodies function more effectively, and they can be extremely useful once you've learned how to manage them. Good luck!

Professionalism: More than Meets the Eye

"Being a professional comes naturally" is a statement said by very few people on this Earth.

I've been at my internship with Guide Dogs WA for five days over a five week period -- and I love it. It's everything I could have possibly wanted in a PR internship.

My two main supervisors are teaching me all kinds of skills: how to call clients and fundraisers, how to use the various specialised programs they're subscribed to, how to lay out an e-mail, how to generate a contact list...

It's safe to say I'm learning the kinds of necessary hands-on skills I should know as an almost graduate.

Of course, I knew I'd be flexing these skills to give them a good workout. I hadn't anticipated, however, how much my professional skill set would change over such a short space of time.

Image via ken yee / Flickr / Creative Commons

I've always assumed I was quite professional -- but I never knew 'professionalism' meant more than just dressing for the office and keeping my (hilarious) jokes to an appropriate minimum.   

The main area professionalism has shown itself recently is in client and operating confidentiality.

I love to talk about things that excite me, whether its something new I've learnt online, a random book that has fully engaged me, or an interesting insight someone has brought up in my presence.

I'm like an excited puppy (which is highly appropriate given the location of my internship), but now I'm being forced to 're-train' my reactive sharing. 

What's saved me is my ability to keep necessary private information private; what's challenged me is my expanding definition of the word 'private'. 

In a peer-to-peer situation, or personal situation, this has meant identifying delicate information which needs to be handled discreetly. Whether it's information that could harm the person (or someone else) should it be found out, or information that is just best left unsaid, the distinction between private and public handling has always been straightforward.

In an office, the distinction is much more complex.

I've been privy to exciting meetings, stories, and other insights which make me want to run around and share the fantastic news, stories, and thought processes. Knowing that information has to stay in the office is sad, but the lessons I've learnt on professionalism and discretion have been invaluable.

Regardless, I'm proud of what has been has been a very impressive show of restraint!

About to enjoy reading everyone else's blogs, so will see you in the comment sections.

- Elena 

Lack of communication can have very embarrassing consequences...

My experience at Pirate 88FM so far has taught me some very invaluable business lessons, mainly related to the importance of communication, and being organised.

Allow me to reflect. I recently attended a networking function along with two of my colleagues, and was asked to attend as a representative of Pirate. I was excited the team felt highly enough of me to represent the organisation among other business professionals. I should have, however, been a bit more cautious and far more inquisitive when I realised the event was only two days from the time I was asked. I had no involvement in organising this event, no idea what the event was for, and had no idea who would be in attendance. I of course happily accepted the invitation, however when I asked exactly what the event was, I was simply told it was a networking event run by The Fremantle Chamber of Commerce, being held on the iconic Leeuwin Ship at B Shed Fremantle, and Pirate was co-hosting the event.

The stunning Leeuwin Ship docked at B Shed, Fremantle

The whole situation seemed to be a bit of a mess from the word go. Long story short, I was asked to attend at such short notice as the manager needed to travel up north last minute, and 3 team members were required to attend. Pirate was asked to cohost the event as the date fell on the “eve” of Talk Like a Pirate Day, and as the event was being held on the Leeuwin ship itself (which remained docked), it was a fun novelty idea to have us involved. The event was also, as I found out on the day, focused around businesses in the local Fremantle area, so having Pirate involved seemed fitting.

As the day of the event arrived, I was excited to represent the organisation, and was eager to network with other business professionals with my new experience under my belt. I arrived at the office ready to start the day. First up, we were to collect the alcohol for the event, as arranged by Pirate. With the manager being away, all correspondence for what to do on the day was through email between my manager and my supervisor. Because of this, I had no reason to doubt the information my supervisor gave on the day. Off to the bottle shop we went.

Pulling up in the company car, we went to the register of Old Bridge Cellars in Fremantle, explained we were from Pirate 88FM, and said we were there to collect the alcohol for an event that evening. We did not expect to be met with the response, “I have no idea what you’re talking about”. After explaining the situation further and stating this was the bottle shop we were sent to, the staff remained adamant we had no such arrangement with them. We apologised and quickly left the store to avoid being seen as trying to steal alcohol! My supervisor rang the manager. “No no, not Old Bridge Cellars, you need to go to Liquor Barons in Fremantle!”. We had gone to the wrong place. My supervisor had simply assumed where to go, and did not think to double check before we left. Communication is key! We were already off to a bad start to the day.

After finally collecting the beverages, we made our way to Leeuwin to help set up the event, right on schedule for 4pm, just as we were told. You can imagine our surprise when the event coordinator rushed over to us, an agitated look on her face, asking “where have you been? It’s 4 o’clock!” Confused, we explained we were told to arrive at 4pm. As it turns out, we were meant to arrive at 2pm, and were an unacceptable 2 hours late. Lack of communication, again. We apologised and asked what we could do to help, to which we were told that nothing could be done at that time. As the event was being held on the Leeuwin ship (which looked spectacular!), all the sails and such needed to be checked and set up in order to be safe. The event coordinator sharply told us to “just leave and come back when the event starts”. Feeling uncomfortable, silly and downright useless, we waited back and tried to help where we could. We couldn’t just leave – the event started at 5.30!

When the event finally started, we felt a little out of place. Being on uneasy terms with the staff running the event, we awkwardly asked where we could help and served around plates of food to attendees, as an attempt to give the event staff a break. Although this was a great way to go around and talk to people (and give a bit of a plug to Pirate), we spent the evening feeling uneasy. At this point I still wasn’t entirely sure of the purpose of the event, despite my attempts to get information from my supervisor the previous days. My guess is that she didn’t really know either!

But wait, there’s more! Apparently a representative from Pirate was to give a speech at the event – something that was, again, not communicated to the team. Of course, this is something my supervisor should do – I had not been with Pirate long enough to talk about it to a crowd, and the other team member had come along to represent WAAM (affiliated with Pirate). Although I could understand being reluctant to give an unprepared speech last minute, I was shocked when my supervisor refused. The team member from WAAM ended up giving the speech, despite not representing Pirate, and I honestly felt quite disappointed in my supervisor.

As the event came to a close, there was a strong sense of embarrassment, disappointment, and discomfort. A lack of organisation and communication was more than evident in the lead up to this event. My excitement to attend the function quickly turned to a very uncomfortable feeling. I did, however, learn a very valuable business lesson. One, that communication and organisation is ALWAYS key. Should this have been better managed we would have saved ourselves quite a bit of embarrassment. And secondly, when something like this happens, it is crucial to remain professional. Despite being told to “just leave and come back” by a very (understandably) agitated coordinator, it was important for us to stay, step back, and help where needed, and make sure the staff knew how sorry we were for the miscommunication. We always say communication is key, but I now know this more than ever!

It was, however, a beautiful spring evening aboard the stunning Leeuwin Ship! 

The networking event on board the Leeuwin - beautiful weather!

Until next time.

Emma