Internship Final Paper ‘Graduate Intern at Dynamo PR’
London, United Kingdom 4th Nov. 2014 — 30 th Jan. 2015 Supervisor:
Heather Delaney Head of Department Business to Consumer Technology & Crowdfunding
Student name: Amin Lemrini Department of Strategic Communications
Lund University Campus Helsingborg, Sweden
TABLE OF CONTENT 1.0
Introduction 1.1 The aim of the paper 1.2 Three Subjects to present
2.0 Dynamo PR 2.1 Corporate History & Background 2.3 Organization Structure & Culture 2.4 Internship Placement – B2C Tech & Crowdfunding
3.0 Strategic PR & Communication Management 3.1 The Agency & Public Relations Consultant 3.2 PR Specialism: B2C Tech & Crowdfunding 3.3 Media Relations & Social Media 3.4 Client Management 3.5 Research & Technical Aspects of Daily Work
4.0 Internship Reflection & Experience 4.1 The Value of Practice 4.2 Duties and tasks 4.3 The Internship & Future Career
5.0 Summary
6.0 Reference List
7.0 Appendixes
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Module: Internship Paper (SKPM07) Supervisor: Heather Delany Head of Operations: Emma Cross
1.0
2015-01-20 Dynamo PR London, United Kingdom
INTRODUCTION
1.1 The aim of the paper
The aim of this paper is to discuss and elaborate on the experience, insights, value, and practical training gained throughout my internship i nternship at Dynamo PR London, UK. Heretofore, strategic public relations and communications management academic discourse, scientific knowledge and perspectives will be presented, incorporated and related to the different diff erent public relations components in consultancy public relations on international level. While writing this paper, I am still working at the firm finishing my internship on 30th January 2015. 1.2 Three Subjects to present
The paper is divided in three sections. The first section provides an overview of the company ‘Dynamo PR’ e.g. history, background, structure, culture, PR specialism and the department I interned for. The second section will provide a more in-depth analysis of the public relations field and its nature, combining different academic theories and scientific knowledge to establish a consensus between practice and theory while providing examples from my internship experience. The third, and last, section will highlight the experience gained throughout the internship and provide a personal reflection on the process to gain further insights into the field from a graduate perspective. The reflections, ideas, elaborations, and discussions throughout the paper are all based on my personal experience and academic knowledge, which represents my views only and not the agency’s, nor the institutions I am enrolled in.
2.0
DYNAMO PR
2.1 Corporate History & Background
Dynamo PR is a London, UK based public relations consultancy agency established in 2011 that provides strategic thinking and creative campaigns by delivering “high impact results for consumer technology brands” (Dynamo, 2011). Dynamo PR has an international reach with approximately 40% of its clientele based outside the UK in combination to well-established relationships on global level with stakeholders and media gatekeepers from Singapore through to Silicon Valley. Dynamo PR mainly
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focuses on the Consumer Technology industry providing services for Mobile & Apps, Gadgets & Accessories, Digital & Online, Crowdfunding, Wearable Tech & Smarthome, and Design (Dynamo, n.d.). Furthermore, the Crowdfunding division has since its establishment raised over $11 Million in total for their clients. In less than three years, Dynamo PR has received over 30-award industry nominations whereas 15 have been awarded to Dynamo PR with the latest award “Best Small Consultancy” (PR Week, 2014) since the establishment of the firm in 2011. Dynamo PR consists of 20+ team members, some working full-time, part-time, and freelance, with all coming from vastly different cultural backgrounds and practical experiences e.g. Sony, HTC, Google, Samsung, Activision, Wii, Red Bull, MTV, Virgin Atlantic, Three Mobile, Microsoft, Pinterest, Independent, Bank of England, O2, BlackBerry, Apple, Nokia. In addition, they bring academic backgrounds from PR, Media, Photography, Literature, Fashion, Politics, Economics and many more. 2.2 Organization Structure & Culture
Organizations and their cultures all have their individual systems and different worldview with no system or culture superior to another. Organizational culture according to L’Etang (2008) includes “values, relationships, power and politics, formal and informal behavior and relationships in meso, micro and sub-micro levels depending on the size of the t he organization”. The reproduction in organizational discourse, rituals, routines, jargon, values, and symbols are co-created through the fundamental component, communication, through conscious and unconscious levels. As L’Etang (2008) puts it, “the organization is not not just a workplace and a social domain, but a space for the psychoanalytic” (p. 192). There are two main alternative frameworks for organizational culture, one is the instrumental that is created through the objectified management to be used as a tool to control (Wright, 1994b). Second is the interpretative, which represents the culture through lived experience within the organization by its members e.g. “the organizations life, as expressed through its members’ behaviors, values, rituals and patterns in their entirety, is its culture” (L’Etang, 2008, p. 192-193). The organizational culture at Dynamo PR draws attributes from three different models: Mechanistic, Organic and Project based organizational culture that I have
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Module: Internship Paper (SKPM07) Supervisor: Heather Delany Head of Operations: Emma Cross
2015-01-20 Dynamo PR London, United Kingdom
observed throughout the internship. However, these are the technical structure of the organizational culture not representing the cultural aspects of behaviors, values, norms, beliefs etc. These models are only observable if one works within the company, hence, looking up the team on the website will not provide the insight to differentiate between the various structural models listed li sted above. I myself looked up the team members and yet it took me time to figure out the dynamics and different models. Dynamo PR’s culture in general draws characteristics from the horizontal structure, which usually reflects few or no levels of middle management between staff and executives. This is something I experienced throughout my internship due to the open office space environment but also the integration of different team members’ knowledge and expertise. In other words, it is very beneficial for the entire members of organization and their development to interact with different level of management expertise in an open office space environment. The Mechanistic model has its centralization of authority and formalization of procedures and practices with specialist functions that are comparatively simpler and easier to organize, however, they find it more difficult to cope with rapid change (L’Etang, 2008). In comparison to the Organic model which has a more flat communication approach in interaction with specialization as a l ow indicator and rather positioned in wherever it is most useful with a great deal of informal and formal participation in decision making. These characteristics are derived from the horizontal structure where the challenges lays in the complexity of forming the structure, however, it is highly adaptable, flexible, and more suitable where external environments are unpredictable and rapidly changing. Lastly, the project based model, which is derived from the “production of organization, innovation and competition” in private manufacturing enterprises is also deployed in public and private organization e.g. legal professions, marketing, film industry, advertising, and consultancy (Hobday, 2000, p. 875). Hence, Dynamo PR and its operations in a fastpaced ever-changing market that requires cross-functional business expertise and consumer focused knowledge of the innovation market and its technological uncertainty to succeed.
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Figure 1: Mechanistic Model: Regulated, clear roles and functions f unctions
Figure 2: Organic 2: Organic Model: Responsive, adaptable, taking and seeking feedback
Figure 3: Project Based Model: Fewer levels of hierarchy
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Module: Internship Paper (SKPM07) Supervisor: Heather Delany Head of Operations: Emma Cross
2015-01-20 Dynamo PR London, United Kingdom
The observations made of Dynamo PR’s culture through attributes and behaviors have a strong link to Maslow’s theory ‘Hierarchy of Needs’ that entails managers to “understand employees' needs in order to further employees' motivation” (Boundless, 2014). In Boundless (2014), Maslow’s theory provides managers with the different levels and importance of human psychology and physical needs to gain better understanding on employee motivation and behaviors in a workplace. For instance, the physiological needs in Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs’ include, food and clothing, safety needs (job security, social needs (friendships), (fri endships), self-esteem, and selfactualization. These needs relate to the organizational operations in theory and behaviors to explore the motivations of team members to authorize higher quality of managerial practices and higher satisfaction amongst the team (Boundless, 2014). As Boundless (2014) argued, argued, the managers must be perceptive perceptive and empathetic to their team members through listening to what the members of the organization needs and fulfill them. For instance, at Dynamo PR, “every new team member is asked what they want their “Don Draper” clause to be”, whereby, the member will r eceive a monthly gift within the theme of their choice. Furthermore, Dynamo PR offers “competitive packages, comprehensive training and career development, as well as attractive premium benefits designed to attract and keep the best staff, at all levels” including annual pay reviews commission on new business introduction, staff bonuses linked to personal and company performance, unlimited holidays, company share options, gym memberships, trips abroad, and regular company socials (Dynamo PR, n.d.) while supporting the organizations members charity causes. Hence, Maslow’s final psychological development that is self-actualization, which is achieved when all the basic and mental needs are fulfilled such as the examples presented above (Boundless, 2014). Dynamo PR organizational culture has provided me with the impression that it reflects the new era of how business operates, integrates and values all members in the organization such as the Silicon Valley corporations where formality is slowly dissolving especially in the technology, creative and innovation sectors. That is why I believe that Dynamo PR values the hiring process as an important factor in shaping the organization, by selecting team members that fit into the culture. For instance, Dynamo PR states on the website “We believe that our most important asset are the staff,” and another aspect I observed throughout my internship is the choice of
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discourse when referring to members, instead of employees, co-workers refer to each other as team members, which makes the agency a complete set of individuals contributing with different strengths, expertise and experiences because everyone is equal (Dynamo PR, n.d.) While writing this paper, PR Week announced that Dynamo PR is selected as a finalist for one of “PRWeek UK’s Best Places to Work” (PRWeek, 2015). 2.3 Internship Placement - B2C Tech & Crowdfunding Division
I received an internship placement with the Consumer Tech & Crowdfunding division under the Head of Department, Heather Delany, who has more than 10 years of international experience in account management, public relations, sales from Silicon Valley, California, healthcare PR and B2C campaigns for science-based companies (Dynamo, 2011). However, throughout the internship, I’ve have had the opportunity receive daily feedback, training, and guidance by the entire Consumer Tech & Crowdfunding team while simultaneously receiving feedback, education and support from the other divisions and the dominant coalition. While being an intern, Dynamo PR launched a new division ‘Wearable Tech and Smart Home’ (PR Week, 2014) to further specialize and capitalize on the fast growing market which powered the wearable electronic business sector with over $14 billion in 2014 and is predicted to to reach over $70 billion in 2024 (IDTechEx, 2014).
3.0
STRATEGIC PR & COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT
The public relations practice and profession is vastly diverse depending on agency, in-house, sector, and position one withholds within a company, however, the practice itself has a consistent management approach to the t he activities the company performs daily for the whole public relations field. As L’Etang (2008) suggested, it is good to understand a variety of management theory, discourse, and perspectives that are developed through case studies, academic research, and applied organizational research because it provides the public relations practitioner an insight to the assumption generated throughout the research, which will shape the professional relationships and habitats of the field. Therefore, the field itself, on all managerial levels, requires competence derived from practical experience and discourse of concepts and techniques as any other business. As L’Etang (2008) puts it, “at a deeper level it is also important to understand managerial priorities, managerial terminology and jargon, managerial mindsets and orientations, and managerial
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Module: Internship Paper (SKPM07) Supervisor: Heather Delany Head of Operations: Emma Cross
2015-01-20 Dynamo PR London, United Kingdom
ideologies to understand those with whom they work so closely” (p. 158). Furthermore, practitioners have to elaborate, interact, present, and relate to managers, dominant coalitions, clients organizational agenda, managerial concepts, theories and fashions, media gatekeepers, influencers and the cultural aspects within the arena the business operates in. Hence, practitioners have to manage time, budgets, relationships, and projects, sometimes, in cross-cultural dimensions on global level. In addition to co-create, manage, and lead creative people (e.g. art directors, graphic designers, web designers, software developers etc.) while taking into consideration the business aspects of annual reports, integrated i ntegrated marketing communication (IMC) campaigns, advertising, promotional publications, exhibitions and events (L’Etang, 2008, p.159). It is obvious that public relations and communication managements theories can be and in fact draw attributes and perspectives from disciplinary fields, like social psychology, mass communications, interpersonal/speech communication, economics, sociology and different school of thoughts e.g. functionalistic, constructive, feminist, Marxist or cultural schools (Ihlen & Van Ruler, 2007). Hence, the public relations practice itself first derived from the journalistic and psychological fields. Historians generally acknowledge two fathers of the modern public relations, first Ivy Lee and then Edward L. Bernays (McBride, 1989), however, the unusual comparison between these two public relations pioneers’ decades apart. For instance, ex-newspaperman Ivy Lee founded the first and commonly credited true public relations firm in 1904 and he was the first practitioner to turn objectivity to his corporate clients’ advantage through press. However, the outcome of the practice Ivy Lee aimed for was as Goldman (1948) puts it “Public-be-in-formed” a one-way symmetry of communication, in comparison to Edward L. Bernays who was one of the most influential figures in the 20th century that changed the practice aim to “public-be-understood” a mix of one-way and two-way symmetry in communication (Lamme & Russell, 2010). Edward L. Bernays significant contribution to the t he public relations practice drew its influences from the social psychology field combining ideas of from ‘crowd ‘ crowd psychology’ with the ‘psychoanalytical’ ideas from his uncle, the pioneer of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud (McBride, 1989). Edward L. Bernays invented the
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techniques of “third party authorities” to advance his clients’ causes by influencing the public opinion indirect through refining r efining and popularizing the use of press releases, which was first invented by Ivy Lee (Vos, 2011). The ideas generated from management discourse have been crucial for the development of public relations, hence, the Swedish researchers Sakin-Anderson and Engwall (2002) suggestion on the process of creolization which management knowledge goes through while drawing sources of knowledge from diff erent domains “with blurred boundaries” e.g. academia, practice, consultancy, media, and overall business management discourse (L’Etang, 2008, p. 160). The definition of Creolization is according to Cambridge Free Online Dictionary “a language that has developed from a mixture of languages” it is the inter-relations between two language communities within the same society, where one is usually European due to its it s history of colonization, hence creating a new language through inter-mingling with the native language. The same patterns are visible and continuously demonstrated throughout the practice conscious and unconscious by practitioners whom they daily interact with, in addition to the academic field where a student acquire undergraduate/postgraduate undergraduate/postgradu ate degrees in other disciplines and brings it to the public relations practice (L’Etang, 2008, p. 160-161). For instance, Dynamo PR team members brings academic backgrounds in Music & Audio Technology, English Literature, Fashion, Politics, Economics, Public Relations, Graphic Design, Media, Photography & Art and many more. Throughout the observation made on the managements interactions and decision making processes with clients. I came to t o the conclusion that the public relations practitioners’ role and functions must be “empowered as a distinctive and strategic managerial function” to maximize organizational effectiveness. This is through being a member of the organizational dominant coalition including the client one represents by having access to the “powerful group of organizational leaders” to execute strategic organizational decision (L’Etang, 2008, p. 162). Therefore, in most cases practitioners must be provided with considerable autonomy from unrestrained clearance rules to play their strategic role, however, with that come big risks during decision-making processes, hence, only seasoned practitioners are equipped with the knowledge and experience to operate on these grounds. Hence, the autonomy !"#$ +,
Module: Internship Paper (SKPM07) Supervisor: Heather Delany Head of Operations: Emma Cross
2015-01-20 Dynamo PR London, United Kingdom
gives senior practitioners the power to influence managerial thinking in relation to the organizational societal role and impact, the social responsibility and expertise in forecasting, predicating, and evaluating the operations conducted by the represented organization and client both internal and external. The dominant coalition arena the senior public relations practitioners operate in is regarded as the strategic PR management and or strategic communication management because it goes beyond the publicity and media exposure due to aligning the practice and objectives with the organizations’ goals and strategies to their societal/stakeholders values and norms on macro/meso/micro levels (Steyn, 2007). The outcome of the practitioners positioning and operations between organization, client, and public stakeholders in society on whom it depends to meet the desired goals and objectives, the organization and or represented client acquires legitimacy, builds trust, and a good reputation. Hence, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) definition of the practice “Public relations relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics,” (PRSA, 1982). Furthermore, the dominant coalition benefits from the insights, expertise, and knowledge a senior practitioner possesses because members of the dominant coalition often do not see or are aware of the communicative dynamics operating in the public sphere. Whereas, they have to take into consideration the entire relationship to public stakeholder from all aspects, therefore, the contribution from practitioners to strategic management assists the dominant coalition to look at the field from several perspectives or so called ‘helicopter perspective’ (Sung, 2007). One of the key factors to regard in the public arena is the t he moment an organization disseminates a message it automatically produces a specific component in the public arena through presenting meaning and construction of frames amongst t he public debate by representing the organizational agenda and “truth” that generates trust in return (Ihlen & Van Ruler, 2007). Therefore, gaining trust from each arena is a central factor and one that public relations practitioners regard as the number one objective in their agenda because it is the mechanism to reduce uncertainty, complexity and legitimize organizational actions but also to keep the organization alive through attracting new business and establish media relations to position and fulfill the social
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responsibility towards the diverse stakeholders represented and interacted with throughout the cycle of consultancy (Ihlen, 2009). The process of trust is gained and lost consistently throughout the interactions in the public arena because there are plenty of components interacting through the discourse disseminated from dif ferent stakeholders, however, public relations practitioners and media gatekeepers play a decisive role in the establishment of trust in the public arena. The collaboration between public relations practitioners and media gatekeepers can be r egarded as “trust intermediates” through collaboration and sometimes against each other that makes both disciplines bound to each other in i n an inescapable way (Bentele, 2008) (Ihlen, 2009, p. 353-354). 3.1 The Agency & Public Relations Consultant
There is no typical agency because there are thousands of them out there, hence, the typical job may might not even exist. It is as if I would say the typical driver, however, there are common factors and characteristics that are adhered to in driving similarly to the public relations agencies. For instance, agency life is fast-phased, exciting, demanding, and challenging. The size and structure in agencies differ from agency to agency however, they all have in i n common one or more public relations professionals whose purpose is to consult e.g. businesses in their communication and relationship-building activities in-exchange for a fee (Hinrichsen, 2001, p. 551452). Furthermore, corporations approach public relations consultant for several reasons e.g. internal and external communication, crisis management, campaign implementations, media training, and more which the agency or firm has expertise in that the client have no access to internally or no acquired knowledge for them to be able to engage with stakeholders within the arena. Sometimes companies seek fresh ideas and an objective outlook while others appreciate the prestige of being affiliated affi liated with a respected firm (Hinrichsen, 2001). In Heath (2001), firm and agency is used interchangeably, with some objecting to the use of agency because it refers to a place where advertising accounts are held and that public relation is a management consultant function, which cannot be delegated to others, as the term agent or agency implies. It is also thought that Edward L. Bernays was the first one to use the term counselor to describe his services, which the term consultant is derived from (Cutlip, 1994).
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Module: Internship Paper (SKPM07) Supervisor: Heather Delany Head of Operations: Emma Cross
2015-01-20 Dynamo PR London, United Kingdom
There are a couple of advantages working in an agency such as the opportunity to work on larger budgets that would be cost prohibited in other settings e.g. in-house practitioners. Budgets are allocated to different programs e.g. media tours, presentations and trainings, video productions, photo shoots, publications, large-scale events e.g. Dynamo PR recently attended the worlds largest Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas, United States representing two of our clients 3Doodler and HEXO+. Furthermore, the greatest advantages and probably the best one is the ability to work with colleagues who understand public relations because there is always something to learn from someone from the “top-dog” to the “newbie” which is very stimulating and motivating for the t he individual and collective development of the practitioners and agency as a whole. For example, Dynamo PR’s open-space environment and “horizontal culture” provides one the opportunity to interact with the entire team from the dominant coalition to entry-level practitioners. 3.2 PR Specialism: B2C Tech & Crowdfunding
As mentioned previously, my placement placement was with the B2C Tech and and Crowdfunding division. Being able to participate and observe the daily tasks and operations within the B2C tech and Crowdfunding industry I came to realize that running a Crowdfunding campaign is more complicated than having an amazing idea and project to upload on the Crowdfunding platforms, which many Crowdfunding projects have had but failed to reach their desired goal in funding (Strohmeyer, 2013). The number one key component for a project to succeed is to influence the community to believe in the entrepreneurs’ idea by investing capital to reach the desired goal if not more. That’s where public relations consultants come in i n to influence the public beyond the founder’s network to raise capital by operating behind the scenes pre-, during- and post-campaign. The strategies and tactics laid out for Crowdfunding campaigns involves everything from consulting on promotional videos to film, social media, press releases pre-, during- and post-campaign, SEO, website discourse, digital content, Crowdfunding platform discourse, product placements and testing, media kits, journalist outreach/responses/req outreach/responses/requests, uests, press conference, interview preparation/training, crisis management, events attendance and networking to maximize the success for a campaign (Belleflamme et al, 2014). Each component is carefully taken into consideration and integrated in a cycle to strategically provide the
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public, media gatekeepers, Crowdfunding community, and stakeholders with a solid and coherent picture to reach the t he funding goal meanwhile positioning the campaign organically in the online environment utilizing SEO tactics and other digital tools throughout the campaign to secure an overall credible and reliable presence both offline and online (Belleflamme et al, 2014). For instance, at Dynamo PR the digital and Design team are frequently consulted in-house and now and then referred to existing client accounts as an extended service to provide a holistic support in all communication channels. 3.3 Media Relations & Social Media
A key aspect in everyday work for public relations practitioners is the interaction with with media gatekeepers and the relations established throughout their career. The main aim in media relations is to create understanding and agreement by co-creating content for the represented client, a win-win situation for the journalist, client and public relations practitioner. The mediated and published content f rom journalists is processed through media research, evaluation and monitoring as part of the practitioner’s job to perform on daily basis and sometimes off work hours due to the technological advancement in new media and the 24/7 operations of social media action by all parties globally. As L’Etang (2008) puts it “media evaluation and research method” e.g. content analysis – “analyzes what is reported and what is not, and how that is reported and portrayed” (p. 126) in the public domain. For instance, throughout the internship, one of the main task was to monitor, reports, evaluate, and analyze the media coverage the agency secured for the client but also other related r elated content e.g. competitors, sector news, comments, social media platforms, and forums both negative and positive. This was continuously reported back to the managers who then reported it back to the clients. 3.4 Client & Account Management
The corporation a public relations agency represents is known as the ‘Client’ and the project or campaign is called the ‘Account’. It most cases public relations practitioners refer to client as the company they represent but also the contact persons of that company. For instance, throughout t hroughout my internship at Dynamo PR, I’ve I’ ve been supporting the B2C Tech & Crowdfunding team on several clients e.g. 3Doodler, Native Union, The Last Film Festival, Zero Desktop with pre-during-and post programs and campaigns within the different accounts. This is one of the many
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Module: Internship Paper (SKPM07) Supervisor: Heather Delany Head of Operations: Emma Cross
2015-01-20 Dynamo PR London, United Kingdom
advantages agency public relations practice provide because it gives the practitioner opportunities to work on a variety of accounts where either the accounts have a short-term project timeline with continuous variations or a larger account with programs that changes little from year to year in combination to smaller accounts (Hinrichsen, 2001). One of the important aspects in being a consultant is the devotion to client service by keeping the client’s best interest in mind while sharing the client’s passion, goals, and objective for its business. However, the representation is equally important to the agency the practitioner works for while simultaneously the consultant have to be representable off the job too because any action taken off work nonreflecting the values of the t he businesses can harm the consultant, agency, and client. Consequently, the consultant team has to constantly impress the client with “savvy, industriousness, brainpower, wisdom, and field expertise” (Hinrichsen, 2001, p 456). Clients pay huge amounts in consultancy fee’s requiring in return excellent service through flawless execution better than what the client is capable of doing internally, therefore, even minor errors can weaken the confidence in the agency and ultimately loose trust. As Hinrichsen (2001) puts it “the best agencies are those that can provide excellent client service while operating as successful business and providing enriching work environment” (p. 455-456), which from my point of view and experience at Dynamo PR, the agency, has fulfilled f ulfilled Hinrichsen’s statement on all aspects due to their continuous successful results on global and local level. Creativity is another important component in public relations especially at Dynamo PR where it is a fundamental core element. The shift into the digital world has bolstered the creative economy that has led to a must for managers to become creative while managing creative people. It is part of the team and process management rather than a skill of an individual genius (L’Etang, 2008). The creativity management practice is another angle to approach or describe alternative business processes e.g. strategy formation, organizational change, campaign implementations, and product development. However, one has to understand that the creativity process of public relations differs from the advertising industry because it employs the idea of creativity rather than being a creative industry in the sense of
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being based on the “creation and exploitation of intellectual property” (L’Etang, 2008, p. 180-181). One of the favorable opportunities in agency public relations is the endless opportunities of new business on international level due to the lingua franca or so called bridge, trade, or vehicular language which makes communication possible between businesses not sharing a native language and to the advancement of the technological communication tools that have in the latest l atest year diminished the boundaries between global and local businesses (L’Etang, 2008). However, challenges have also come with these opportunity demanding public relations practitioners to balance local (national) and global (international) expertise through several domains e.g. cultural, economical positioning, political and ideological beliefs. (L’Etang, 2008). The greatest benefit in today’s age is the ability for public relations practitioners to set the agenda by two key inter-related functions, first, “protect and enhance corporate power”, second, “promote consumerist ideology and practice” (L’Etang, 2008, p. 237). For instance, at Dynamo PR 40% of our clientele is international from China to Paris to the United States covering the globe while influencing the consumer technology industry (Dynamo PR, n.d.). 3.5 Research & Technical Aspects of Daily Work
In any business the ground work “research” is fundamental to execute tasks backed up with solid information and facts. In public relations research is high regarded as the core component because every single client, account, media gatekeeper, media outlet, social media platform, and new businesses is researched and evaluated before being implemented. The research is in three stages pre-, during- and postany interaction to create a coherent and understandable picture for all parties involved. The researcher utilizes prior experience and knowledge of the field and other related domains in combination to online research tools such as Gorkana, BuzzStream, Magazine Newsagent, Pickanews, TechHubz, StatsMagazine, Meltwater, Social Mention, Social Bakers, Mention, Brandwatch, Google Analytics and many more including Social Media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Tumblr, Pintrest, Instagram etc. Each and every practitioner has its own style of conducting research and providing feedback to the agency’s in-house team and clients through qualitative and quantitative practices and measures. The more
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Module: Internship Paper (SKPM07) Supervisor: Heather Delany Head of Operations: Emma Cross
2015-01-20 Dynamo PR London, United Kingdom
seasoned practitioner the better research skills and efficiency in locating and crafting relevant content for the client.
4.0
INTERNSHIP REFLECTION & EXPERIENCE
4.1 The Value of Practice
There is nothing more valuable than practical experience in life. Without the practical experience it would not matter how many degrees, what level of degree one possess, or how many theories one know in this particular business. I always tend to compare my sports background in football with life in general and I’ve once again found that my football philosophy is correct in the sense of the practical dynamics of the sport. Football itself is dynamic, unstable and unpredictable, and it is only through practical experience and continuous games one becomes equipped with the right skillset that is required in this fast-paced sport. That is why it wouldn’t matter if you study the game, routines, tactics, running patterns, rules, cultural style of play, opponents, and history because if you never step your foot on to the pitch, you’ll never be able to produce any significant or relevant results to the game. Similarly to the public relations practice where the environment practitioners operate in is continuously unstable and unpredictable because the practice itself requires human interaction across all levels in society, and humans are unpredictable. Therefore, the practitioners’ development will only occur through trail and errors on continuous basis, it’s a never-ending circle. However, there is still a great advantage in combining the scientific knowledge gained through education in practice because it provides the practitioner with an extra set of lenses where the practitioner can select the fitting fitt ing concepts, theories, terminologies, or assumption within the practice or create their own if it provides significant results to the practice. I found it very interesting throughout my internship to observe the public relations practice in action but also through the communicative aspects of day-to-day work, organizational communication (internal and external), corporate culture, globalization, and cross-cultural interactions. The implementation of the internship course within the program was probably one of the most important aspects throughout the degree because it set things in
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perspective and motion. Especially for my upcoming dissertation, which I changed into the last minute because I realized that my first subject was only based on theory and assumptions that I forced myself to come up with and regarded as “interesting” without any reference bank to relate to from a practical point of view. 4.2 Duties & Tasks
I have been able throughout my internship to carry out tasks reflecting the Junior Account Executive that consisted of drafting press lists tailored to the market and audience for our different clients, which was then used to pitch journalists to gain press coverage. This task takes time to become quick and efficient in because it is many names and publications one have to research while also checking their social media platforms to make sure that they are still working for the t he same publication. In addition to adding relevant information to the press list, for instance, what does the journalist cover? What method is preferable preferable to be contacted by? What What articles did the journalist published recently? This This all has to be implemented to the press list to make make it easier for the team to approach the journalist with all relevant information at hand. Other duties included researching and monitoring coverage globally for our clients, research and networking for current clients and new business, press outreach, sending out product review units to press, taking part in company wide brainstorms and training programs. I have gradually been given more responsibility for each week throughout my internship period e.g. I have recently been invited to participate on client call sessions and meetings where I write notes and sometimes is given the opportunity to interact, provide feedback, and advice the client. One of the greatest benefits throughout my internship has been the opportunity of interacting with all team members and being provided with continuous feedback, support and training, hence, given me room to develop through trial even though I lack the experience required for certain task, hence, English not even being my native language. 4.3 Internship & Future Career
I decided at an early stage in my educational career to pursue communications with an emphasis in public relations studies, hence, I have been waiting a long time for this opportunity to be able to t o actually “walk the talk” because up until the internship, there has only been “talk the talk.”
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Module: Internship Paper (SKPM07) Supervisor: Heather Delany Head of Operations: Emma Cross
2015-01-20 Dynamo PR London, United Kingdom
This is also the beginning of my professional career and I am more than satisfied to work within the B2C tech industry & startups because I started an early age working within the B2C Tech industry as a salesman in combination to being brought up in an IT/Digital/Technical environment, which is frequently utilized throughout the day in the public relations field that has come in handy throughout my internship, and that is thanks to my father who introduced me to the IT field at an age of 10, recalling my first computer running on MS-DOS operating system. Something traditional education lacks in public relations studies is the availability in resources to provide students with the technical skills e.g. IT, digital and online research skills as part of the educational program. I luckily figured out at an early stage during my bachelor’s degree to also combine Communication and Public Relations studies with a practical degree in Visual communications where I learned to work on different software programs utilized to provide visual aid, operate video and photography cameras, production of media content, guidelines and rules in graphic design work, which I have been utilizing throughout my internship when evaluating clients content before going live with their campaigns. I also believe that a student must go beyond the program curriculum to acquire the specific knowledge one is passionate about because institutions cannot provide lectures on every single industry, however, there t here should be more guest lectures and case studies derived from the practical arena by partnering up with agencies so student can become exposed to different types of industries to assist them on the road in discovering their passions if they haven’t done so yet. Lastly, I myself strongly believe in continuous development through practical experience and theoretical knowledge in combination to staying up-to-date with articles published by industry influencers because learning and developing in any particular industry never ends.
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5.0
Summary
In summary, the major discourse of public relations “appears to have been based on intuitive or experiential learning rather than grounded in or drawing on academic knowledge” (Cornelissen, 2000, p.315). This we can see throughout the history of public relations from ex-newspaperman Ivy Lee to Edward L. Bernays who is the t he most influential public relations practitioner. The development of public relations is still occurring on continuous basis drawing experience from past practices by reconstructing and implementing new practices within the field. However, there is a major difference and clear distinction between scholarly research r esearch undertaken for academic and scientific purposes to understand the practice from a theoretical perspective in comparison to applied organizational research that is usually initiated by corporations for the specific purpose of policy making, organizational change, market analysis and evaluations to extract data and information for a specific outcome (Cornelissen, 2000, p.315). The, academic theories act as tool to often simplify the representation of reality, however, as Cornelissen (2000) argued “they are rarely capable of capturing reality in concrete terms” (p. 316). But academic theories can and are still utilized to provide a framework for practitioners to t hink about when coping with the daily task at work, hence, for implementations, basic planning, and evaluations of public relations program including business activities in general. Scientific and academic knowledge offers ideas, problem definitions, and interpretative formulas as a set of intellectual tools that are then available for t he practitioner to incorporate in understanding and anticipation of real-world phenomena (Cornelissen, 2000). Hence, the continuous generated scientific theories are just mere recommendation and rather indirect and long-term l ong-term effects of scientific expertise influencing the public relations practice throughout time with trials and refinements from the practical world. However, as Cornelissen (2000) argued “when scientific notions are used in practice, the notions themselves and their results change in their essential character,” meaning that science utilization in practice is not a matter of passive acknowledgment for practical purposes but instead an active procedure of interpretation and reframing by practitioners “within the context of professional understanding” (p. 320).
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Module: Internship Paper (SKPM07) Supervisor: Heather Delany Head of Operations: Emma Cross
2015-01-20 Dynamo PR London, United Kingdom
Practitioners possessing a scientific background in the field choose selectively by deciding which scientific insight are to be used and in what way through accessing their reference bank of academic knowledge acquired through studying the field indepth in combination to the practical experience, hence, this occurs unconsciously and consciously depending on situation and context. This is called the reflective practitioner that possesses the capacity to transform the scientific insights into information and solutions for solid situations in the practical world. For instance, the scientific approach to the practice will be implemented consciously throughout the spring term because I will be conducting a qualitative case study using discourse analysis to investigate the use of specific public relations vocabulary and terms used in Crowdfunding press releases and how that position Crowdfunding campaigns as a reliable project to invest in. There are several theories out there t here conducted by scientific researchers, however, as long as the theories do not entail practical relevance, practitioners will not adopt it to t o the practice because the produced scientific knowledge has to work closely and inter-changeably with the practice itself to generate significant results to profit the practice in further development. Hence, the reflexive organization itself has to change from taking “their own worldview for a given” (Ihlen, 2009, p. 348-349) to establish consistent development and advancements in the practice. Simultaneously, the academic discipline of public relations needs a better understanding of how the public relations practice functions, operates, influenced, and influences the social environment (Ihlen & Van Rules, 2007) before criticizing or point to ideal practices only from a theoretical ground. However, the practice in itself is a complex set of systems and interactions with different disciplines while simultaneously interacting with the public domain that is an unpredictable component, which continuously changes attitudes, and behaviours especially with the globalization and technological advancements in the 21st century. Lastly, the public relations practice itself it self is survivable no matter background because learning through the practice is it self education, however, to further develop and understand the continuous changes in the field from a helicopter perspective one have to acquire knowledge from scientific, academic and applied research from
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several domains e.g. mass communication, social psychology, economics, culture and globalization studies, rhetoric, philosophy and many more. But also through continuous training through the governing bodies of public relations such as Public Relations Consultancy Association (PRCA), Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), European public relations education and research association (EUPRERA), and/or Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). This is usually provided through the agency and paid for to further develop the organization members. Blogs, news articles, opinions and quarterly reports are also to be considered a source of knowledge because the public relations practice diversity and operations spans over all segments in society with a never ending cycle of development in experience and knowledge.
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Reference List:
Belleflamme, P., Lambert, T., Schwienbacher, A. (2014). Crowdfunding: Tapping the right crowd. Journal of Business Venturing, 29, 585-609. Boundless. (December 8, 2014). Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Boundless Management. boundless.com, Retrieved 17 Jan. 2015 from https://www.boundless.com/management/textbooks/bou https://www.boundless.com/man agement/textbooks/boundless-managementndless-managementtextbook/organizational-behavior-5/employee-needs-an textbook/organizational-beh avior-5/employee-needs-and-motivation-46/maslow-sd-motivation-46/maslow-shierarchy-of-needs-171-7621/ Cornelissen, Joep (2000). Towards an understanding of the use of academic theories in public relations practice. Public Relations Review 26 (3): 315! 315!326. Everett, C. (2010, June). Computer fraud and security. Social media: Opportunity or risk?. Retrieved 8 June, from https://www.zotero.org/groups/wilson_commons_lab/items/itemKey/EX5TAMT3 Dynamo PR. (2011) Our Story. dynamopr.com. Retrieved 2 January 2015, from http://www.dynamopr.com/join/our-story/ Dynamo PR. (October 1, 2011) Our Story. Heather Delaney Account Manager. dynamopr.com. Retrieved 2 January 2015, from http://www.dynamopr.com/blog/post/heather-delaney-account-manager/ Dynamo PR. (n.d) What We Do. dynamopr.com. Retrieved 2 January 2015, from http://www.dynamopr.com/whatwedo/ Dynamo PR. (n.d) Working with us. dynamopr.com. Retrieved 2 January 2015, from http://www.dynamopr.com/join/working-with-us/
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Module: Internship Paper (SKPM07) Supervisor: Heather Delany Head of Operations: Emma Cross
2015-01-20 Dynamo PR London, United Kingdom
Heath, R.L. (2001). Handbook of Public Relations (1st ed). Los Angeles: SAGE Publications. Hobday, M. (2000). The project-based organization: an ideal form for managing complex products and systems? Science and Technology Policy Research, p. 871-893 IDTechEx. (2014). Wearable Technology 2014-2024: Technologies, Markets, Forecasts. idtechex.com. Retrieved 2 January 2015 from http://www.idtechex.com/research/reports/wearable-technology-2014-2024technologies-markets-forecasts-000379.asp Ihlen, O. & Van Ruler, B. (2007). How public relations works: Theoretical roots and public relations perspectives. Public Relations Review, 33, p. 243-248 Ihlen, O., Van Ruler, B. & Fredriksson, M. (2009). Public Relations and Social Theory; Key figures and concepts. New York: ROUTLEDGE L’Etang, J. (2008). Public Relations; Concepts, Practice, and Critique. New York: SAGE Publications Lamme, M., & Russell, K. (2010). Removing the spin: Toward a new theory of public relations history. Journalism and mass communication monographs, 11(4), 281-322. Macnamara, J., (2010). Public relations and the social: How practitioners are Journal, 11(1), 21-39 using, or abusing, social media. Asian pacific Public Relations Journal, McBride, G. (1989). Ethical thought in public relations history: Seeking a relevant perspective. Journal of mass media ethics, 4(1), 5-20. Paun, M., (2009) Perceptions on the t he Effectiveness of Communication between Public Institutions and Journalists through Social Media. Style of Communication Retrieved 4 June, from http://journals.univdanubius.ro/index.php/communication/article/view/145 PR Week (14 November, 2014). Dynamo PR launches l aunches Wearable Tech and Smart Home division. prweek.com. Retrieved 2 January 2015 from http://www.prweek.com/article/1321852/dynamo-pr-launches-wearable-tech-smarthome-division PR Week (19 January, 2015). Finalists Revealed PRWeek UK’s Best places to work awards. prweek.com. Retrieved 19 January 2015 from http://www.prweek.com/article/1329593/finalists-revealed-prweek-uks-best-placeswork-awards Schon, Donald A (1984 or later). The Reflective Practitioner. How Professionals Think in Action. The Perseus Books Group
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Strohmeyer, R. (2013). The Crowdfunding caveat most campaigns fail. pcworld.com. Retrieved 2 January, from http://www.pcworld.com/article/2049399/thecrowdfunding-caveat-most-campaigns-fail.html Vos, T. (2011). Explaining the origins of public relations: Logics of historical explanation. Journal of public relations research, 23(2), 119-140.
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Appendix
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