Ageing Well Experience
During my internship at Agility Communication and Connections I was given the responsibility to promote a local project – Ageing Well in the Hepburn Shire. Having never worked with a client or never given the responsibility creating a promotional strategy I was slightly nervous about the role, however my nerves soon turned into excitement. I was finally able to apply something I learnt in the classroom to a real life situation, something I have basically been preparing for during the last 3 years.
Sarah Hines and Jessica Wood celebrate the conclusion of a PR Degree
After meeting with the director of the Ageing Well in Hepburn Shire and seeing the community involvement and passion behind it, made me even more motivated and excited to help the cause.
One of the very first tasks was to create a logo for the project, something that would reflect quality of life and positivity about ageing. Here I was able to use my networks in order to have a creative logo designed which was suitable for the projects website, social media, and advertisements. After collaborating with the Ageing Well director we chose the most suitable logo we felt was perfect for the project.
I then prepared a Facebook social media strategy which outlined important dates such as when the Ageing Well talks would be held and the dates of relevant causes. I also made a list of relevant organisations and communities to follow. From there I was able to publish the Facebook page – Ageing Well in Hepburn Shire – and began managing it. It has been published for one month and in that month the page has 44 likes with a level of engagement.
The Ageing Well in Hepburn Shire talk series events has given me the responsibility to liaise with the local media in order to gain media attention for the events. I have written up a number of media releases – something I was consistently practicing during my time at University – and distributed them to local media outlets which successfully produced an article in the local newspaper. It was really rewarding to see an outcome of my hard work published! The first event proved to be successful, with approximately 20 attending, all of whom gave positive feedback. This again was also very reassuring to see a positive outcome of my hard work.
During this time assisting with the Ageing Well in Hepburn Shire project I was under the guidance of, who I like to refer to as my mentor – Noelene. She encouraged me to take on a lot of the strategic responsibility for the project which gave me the confidence and the experience I was seeking as an intern.
Overall given this responsibility to promote such a cause, especially one involving heightened emotions is an extreme privilege. This experience has allowed me to see that a profession in public relations and communications can be extremely rewarding with compassionate outcomes. I feel my work and assistance is appreciated from all aspects and I have been able to contribute my skills to help with a wider community in need.
Jessica Wood PR Intern at Agility Communication and Connections
