Welcome To Waimania's E Portfolio

Week One: Kelly Bennett PR Industry Managing Director of One Plus One Parnell

Bennett specializes in ‘Corporate PR’; This involves crisis management and corporate Image. The One Plus One website features, “Broadly, we work in communication situations involving business growth and transformation, brand and culture building, issues management and innovation. We offer a range of services directed towards the needs of clients requiring strategic and tactical integration of communications.” Bennett has been in the PR industry for 20 years. He is brash, confident and audacious.

 

Kelly's five tips are:

Hard work

Empathy (consideration)

Networking

Curiosity

Ambition

Advice to Communication Students“Your career starts now, not when you graduate” (Bennett K 2015)Bennett recommends absorbing as much information/ media(news) as possible, so that you may develop a well rounded world view. He talks of the importance of building your profile, this included the practice of, ‘Search Engine Optimization’. This involves getting yourself ahead of the cue with Google search engine, a practice both John Eyles and Kelly Bennett reccomend; The four media avenues called ‘PESO’.

 

                                     Paid Media- Paid to own message.

                                             Earned Media- Liaising with journalist.

                                                               Shared Media- Social Media.

                                                                     Owned Media- Building brand or icon.

 

Tips on Client Management

Do your research, find out about your client, and what they have previously done.Initial meeting with client, find out what client wants; establish time frame, then report back to client on progress. (Keep your client in the loop.)

Key client advice: Write a letter and phone, do not email. Cold calling, and the personal touch is important. Your website is crucial, you must establish what you have done, and what you have to offer your client. Kelly Bennett concluded his talk with a key piece of advice: “You need practical experience, work/ volunteer or intern. This could be self directed, as well as tertiary qualification, if you want to leap ahead to employment."

 

Week 2: Guest Speaker Andrew Tui from the Unitec Careers Centre

Andrew Tui is an empathetic born communicator. He talked to the class about personality types in relation to the work place. There are different types of people in the workforce and interactions in the workplace that are affected by the various personality types. As Andrew talked about various work situations and personal anecdotal case studies, it became clear that no particular type of personality was superior to another, and recognizing what each personality type brings to the table, is potentially and most likely to encourage a broader focus, on any problems or issues that need working through. In other words, ‘It takes all sorts’.

 

Maia Biggs Personality Test: Waimania Wallace ENTP:

Key attributes: Extraverted Intuitive Thinking Perceiving

The class was introduced to this test and all took the test. The one thing that I have learn't, is that it is never just one thing that is learnt. Being an “Extraverted Intuitive Thinking Perceiving” person, means that I am constantly weighing up and analyzing a given situation.

 

 I have spent a large part of my working life, self employed; This is because of my need for autonomy, and freedom to express myself. I found the the analysis of my personality type, to be both correct and useful. Many of the insights contained within the test, were traits I have not always been aware of in my younger days, as hindsight’ all very well, but foresight is even better.

 

 ENTP people work well in a group situation, this is an important skill that I find challenging. Ignoring the feelings of others in a group situation is touted as a potential difficulty, I believe this to be of particular importance. Equity in the workload, and sharing responsibility, is a continual hazard, when working together on a group project.

 

“Fairness is valued above kindness”, was mentioned as being typical of my type, I would like to add that, fairness is kindness, and that a sense of justice and equality is the motivating factor behind this trait. There is definitely a balancing act necessary when working on group projects. Stress behavior in this type is summarized as being prone to absentmindedness, overanalyzing and succumbing to withdrawal from the harsh realities of life, as a response to fear of failure. Another unedifying ENTP fault was, easily bored and having a tendency to start projects, and leave them unfinished. Unfortunately, I recognized stress behaviors elaborated on in this test. The tips recommended for reducing stress, such as looking at the big picture and recognizing achievements, is a learned behavior that I have been working on.

 

Week 3: Senior practitioner, Lucy Collins of the Clemenger Group: Production Assistant for Brandworld

It was a pleasure to listen to Lucy Collins share her career story. Lucy has been with a company called ‘Brandworld’ for 2 years. There are always useful tips to be gleaned, when meeting a speaker in person, as opposed to reading a power point or reading biographical information. Lucy told the class about the ‘Grad Program’, and how she got her foot in the door, with the ‘Clementine Group.’ Brandworld is an advertising company that advertises a large range of inexpensive commercials. Lucy shared work stories on the changing Mediascape, that really made me question my decision to major in media.

 

Networking and the Importance of Emotional Intelligence Lucy talked of the importance of emotional intelligence, “Its important to be real.” Also mentioned was a family connection that helped, in terms of experience; Once again the importance of networking is apparent.

 

Tailoring your Degree and Applying it to the Workplace

Lucy candidly offered what she termed as key advice for PR roles, “You need to be able to write well, and you have to be clever and quick.” Lucy admitted that she wishes she worked harder at her writing studies while she was at University. Further, Lucy wishes she had broadened her scope of learning. Lucy went on to talk of the importance of being engaged in ‘Social Media’, and its importance in todays changing ‘Mediascape’, she talked about how competitive it had become in the advertising industry these days, and how large companies like farmers were now doing their own in house commercials.

 

On a Personal Note

As Lucy talked about the everyday aspects of her role, for me, there was a demystifying of work involved that made it seem more attainable. In concluding Lucy’s talk, she admitted to us that as a result of the direction she took her degree in, she feels as though, she is a little hemmed in, "I can’t rise much further than I have”. It was at this point Lucy mentioned how tough the wages are; Many in the class, were taken aback by this admission; It was sobering. I truly appreciated Lucy’s candor, she is indeed a real person.

 

Week 4: Event Manager, Jessica Sweetman from Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development(ATEED)

Auckland Tourism is tasked with the job of marketing Auckland for the council. Last year Jessica did her internship with the ‘Event Manager at ATEED’, and after graduating with a Communications degree majoring in ‘Public Relations’, Jessica was offered the Māori graduate position, as a ‘Project Coordinator’. She works across all of the ATEED Māori initiatives. Since taking on the role, Jessica has been on a very steep learning curve, as she has to juggle multiple roles and events. Jessica is hosting a Māori business networking conference next week.

 

Politics and Learning on the Job

“It was a real eye opener, seeing how many opportunities there were, when I started my internship” Jessica had to learn how to deal with all of the politics, both internally and externally, with various stakeholders. Budgeting and project management is a large part of the job, rather then the expected communication roles. She feels she is more of a gate keeper of information, she has to attend many events, important for networking and spreading your message. Jessica works with Māori youth and Employment. ATEED provide assistance with marketing and opportunities by linking small Māori businesses with project development agencies such as ‘Callahan Innovation’, and potential clients and contacts.

 

Māori Politics and Initiatives

When Jessica Sweetman was at Unitec, she took Māori language and culture to add to her degree. While at Unitec, she also founded Matatupu,for an independent Maori voice, which was absent. This sort of work was vital for obtaining her graduate position. Jessica discovered that Iwi must be consulted when initiating projects at ATEED, (difficult terrain to traverse at times). Conversely Jessica has found that working within the Maori world, once the introductions are done, there is less formality.

 

Networking has helped her enormously; Both of her managers are fluent Māori speakers. Jessica has been well supported in her role and mentored by her fellow Maori caucus. Lucy found that having internal Maori events within the work environment has led to good spirits in the workplace.

 

How Jessica’s Communication Degree has Helped

Jessica feels the foundations for event management were already there, when she started at ATEED. The professional writing and digital learning from Unitec was very helpful when starting out in the workplace. Budgeting was a skill that would have been handy and Jessica found she could have done with more media and press release training. OMD and Borderless are good for social network training. Jessica stated that the smaller classes at Unitec helped her as they enable you to get to know the lecturer, who in turn gets to know your strengths and weaknesses.

 

PR Management and Networking

Jessica feels very fortunate to be well supported by her colleagues and mentors in council (AT). She has a committed design team at her disposal to work with InDesign and Photoshop, and a face book team of two called what’s on in AK. She has been put forward for roles, this has led to her name being known in the right circles. She has been in the ‘Communications team’ and is now in the ‘Tourism and Growth’ team, they have in fact supported each other as roles. Jessica wanted a broader role, and has found that, "it is all about networking and leveraging.” I learned crucial details from Jessica’s story. I feel, I would be suited to working in a role similar to Jessica's.

 

Week 5: Unitec Lecturer: John Eyles, Digital Footprint

“You want to establish yourself above the noise. You need to make sure your brand is clean clear and well connected.” John worked for 4 years in the States on a start up called Audio mobile. He talked about venture capital and the importance of reputation in relation to your digital footprint. Digital branding= managing what comes up in your online profile. If you have a poor brand, for example, a murky past rearing its ugly head on your online profile, it is very difficult to get financial backing.

 

The Importance of Domains

.com is the gold standard. You need to get ownership of a domain for your name. You want to establish brand continuity. Google’s, ‘Right to forget issue’, in Europe, has highlighted the need to control your brand. When you don’t have a website you are not controlling your brand. John seemed to be saying Brand equals influence.

 

Rebranding and Profile

John talked about rebranding, and manipulating your profile. A good example used was in relation to the wearing makeup, by questioning the class as to the reasoning behind wearing makeup, we were able to draw parallels in relation to creating an online presence. “You shape your identity, as we are all operating under an illusory world, and it is all a matter of emphasis. Best way to predict the future is by inventing it.” (Eyles 2015) My take on what John said was that by creating your ‘Digital Footprint,’ you are seizing control of your career and your destiny, therefore your life. I will take the examples John shared with the class and apply it to my ‘E Portfolio

 

Week 5: Leanne Frisbee: Director and Founder of Passion PR

“Be the change you wish to see in the world,” Mahatma Gandhi

After attaining a BA in Arts, Leanne developed an interest in organics and the environment. Frisbee took part in green issues such as GE and the smoky vehicle campaign. This is where her life in PR evolved.

 

Life in the PR Industry Mainstream

Frisbee became a communications manager for the police. The police were having image problems due to some high profile screw-ups, such as the ‘Alana Asher 111 scandal. Leanne’s approach was to front foot any issues that arose and admit liability for faults; She actively courted the media.

 

Mentor ‘Michelle Bogue’ advised Leanne to go to ‘Mango’, a PR Agency. Leanne’s success grew, with narrative campaigns such as, ‘Children skip around the country’, but she started to feel her career was "too much of a corporate empty dream, she was well paid for but left her with no time to live her life. Passion PR was born”.

 

Finding the Balance and Combining Passion with Work

‘Passion PR’ only works on projects with heart, where the workplace structure is flexible and harmonious. Health and wellbeing groups and organic industries are 2 examples of the sort of business she works with. “Its all about living the dream. Networking is a crucial part of getting work. Being up front is important when talking to clients and networking.” (Frisbee 2015) Leanne chased the sort of clients she wanted, most were flattered and she started to build up a client base.

 

Leanne’s 5 Key advice Tips:

Interns get jobs.

You must be brave and courageous.

You must have been willing to pick up the phone and actively sell your story.

The climate within the PR industry is changing and the competition is fierce.

Social media is changing the Mediascape.

 

Cautionary Advice for Those Starting Out in PR

"There is no money in the arts; Crowd funding is recommended for the arts. PR industry is not for the faint hearted, clients have huge expectations. You have to be thick skinned, and get used to rejection from media. Many clients are fearful when their high expectations aren’t being met. Events also have huge challenges; you must provide solutions for problems that crop up unexpectedly. The only way you can be successful is to not be afraid of failure. Multi tasking skills important. Good writing is a cornerstone for this area. Budgeting is a bonus skill to have in this area, awareness of budget constraints etc. Leanne said that she had a creative accountant, which one can imagine would be crucial in regards to PR work. The most important clients are staple retainers. (Regular clients)

 

Reflections

As Leanne’s talk came to an end, she said, “Working in a team very important, you need good people skills.” It was very clear to me, that you needed to be very skilled, and multi talented to run your own PR Company. There are safety nets when you work for council, or a larger corporate firm. PR practitioners in ‘Council’ are paid no matter how successful a campaign is, whereas in a small firm, the buck would stop with you. Having a personal powerful mentor like ‘Michelle Bogue would be of great benefit, once Again, networking is vitally important.

 

Week 6: Sam Polwart: Event Manager for Auckland City Council

Sam started out as a young musician from Dargaville, he moved to Auckland and lived his ‘Rock n Roll dream’ with mixed success. The brief music career started his life in event management. When Sam started studying, he looked back at what he had done wrong in his musical career, and realized it gave him a definite point of reference that was useful. Sam left Unitec, he became an event coordinator for the Auckland city council for 6 months and then ‘Bravo’. Initially Sam felt like a coffee boy, 'Bravo', had very exacting standards. The projects were big events wielding large budgets, egg AK museum. There were times when Sam felt he was thrown in the deep end and expected to swim. Sam is with community development and arts culture, within the council, he has worked on the Arts festival and Matariki, to name a few of the projects; When they worked for ASB there was huge pressure from them. “Getting the job right can come down to standing your ground and being assertive.” (Polwart 2015)

 

Key Advice when Starting a New Job

When you start at a new company, get a look at company templates. There are times when you have to write a report, and you have to work with poor performers.

 

University Advice

Sam says get A’s early, take notes early, so that when you do assignment, you have the energized thoughts that your lecturer has engendered. Have a good relationship with your lecturers. Have your lecturers look at drafts, you can be on the wrong path with assignment and not know it. Do the research and apply for scholarships? Knowing how to write professionally was the most important thing Sam did. Sam did a double major, in Events and PR. Social Media: You net to get familiar with the various social network digital tools, you will need them in the future. “Your degree will get you the interview, your experience will get you the job.”

 

Sam’s Five Tips on Working in Event Management

1.If you don’t get the job right, getting the question right is important.

2. Don’t go into a new job, thinking you know everything, even if you think you know better.

3.Networking is important: Be friendly, but not too friendly. Get to know your colleagues.

4.Be honest, if you are really over burdened say so.

5.New Zealand is a small place, if you know what area you want to work in, get in touch with the people who work there.

 

Closing Advice

Sam goes on to say “Your skills are transferable; e.g. Project management, Human resource management. The skills are interchangeable. If you don’t want to be stuck in an office do events. It pays to be nuts in the industries, they appear do be big drinkers.”

 

Week 7: Event Manager Ethan Mc Caulay: Fresh Concept

Ethan and the team at ‘Fresh Concept, specialize in, ‘Creative Place Making’, the silo park area was one of his projects. “Fresh concept is about sustainability. They are about making events meaningful, energetic and awesome.” (Mc Caulay 2015) Ethan had an AUT Communications degree majoring in PR. He had initially thought university life a waste of time, he was interested in making connections for humanitarian reasons rather than money.

 

Ethan initially volunteered at Fresh concept. Networking is of vital importance, “Everything we do is related to community.” (Mc Caulay 2015) The concept behind Silo park was taking a space that wasn’t being used and activating it. If the community can take over what they do, their job is done. The Smale Farm outside movie project, was to make the space more human. Fresh concept tailors its projects to the demographic area of the space. Social media is a useful tool for finding out about the demographic. Community groups have taken part and got involved of their own volition. Sometimes events call for having roads closed off. Security is a necessity, but it is intelligently enforced in a friendly respectful way, that engenders good behavior.

 

Place Making Is About

“Creating a strategic and sustainable platform for long term use Understanding digital tools enables the conversation and programming to continue beyond physical space.Tailor to community (existing or aspirational)You can’t just move an event that works in a built up area, such as silo park, and move it somewhere else”. (Mc Caulay 2015) Ethan suggests using digital tools to connect people, as the reach is enormous.

 

Ethan’s top 5 Tips

1.Think of the objective you want to achieve.

2.Think small and big.

3.Think long term.

4.Don’t work in silos.

5.Intern, volunteer, try things, move jobs.

 

Ethan was a wonderfully articulate speaker. He had a way of framing ideas, that made immediate sense to me. There is something very intuitive in the way he works, and thinks, that I can relate well to. I felt inspired by Ethans vision.