McCluskey International

Placement organization

Name of organization: McCluskey International
Town/city: London
Country: Groot-Brittannië
Website: http://www.mccluskey.co.uk/

Student

Name of student: Marloes Rademaker

Specialist area: ITMC
Placement period: 2013-2014

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Travel PR Company
Organization’s activities: McCluskey International is one of the UK’s foremost travel and tourism marketing consultancies, with over 20 years’ experience in providing destination marketing services and public relations to travel and tourism organisations, ranging from tourist boards and tour operators to airlines and cruise lines. Their services cover all key areas of marketing including PR, trade representation, MICE and business travel consultancy, consumer promotions and advertising and initiatives covering all elements of both online and social media networking and marketing.
Target group of the organization: UK market
Company culture: There is hierarchical tradition present in the company, you are the intern and thus given the least responsibility. You are not engaged in every aspect of the business and appointed to certain clients. The company culture is reasonable easy going but conventional manners are appreciated. There are all woman working at the office thus some female line of conversation is inevitable. The team is very engaged with your well being and experiences during your placement which makes the environment less formal and pleasant.
Number of employees: 7
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? no

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? PR & marketing
Brief description of your daily activities: – Collating research fro press releases and new business pitches
– Drafting press releases and distributing to media
– Drafting responses to media requests
– Assisting with event coordination (making name badges, amending guest lists, etc)
– Compiling monthly coverage reports
– Compiling weekly Market Intel reports
– Contributing to all social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook and MI website blog writing)
– Mounting, scanning and filing coverage
– Monitoring media for relevant news stories and coverage
– Attending meetings, seminars/webinars and writing notes (themes like: measuring social media activity, WTM workshop, Customer engagement, PR cooperation with Journalist)
– General admin (get coffee, cleaning up the dishes, booking tickets for colleagues, etc)

Brief description of your company assignment: I had to compose a Brochure Analysis for two of our clients Kyoto Tourism Council and Maldives Tourism Board. I searched for all the UK tour operators that offer travels to these destinations, order them and then analyse which places, tours and hotels are offered in their brochures. This provides them with insight on how Kyoto is represented in the UK market. Additionally I was asked to research the Maldives and perform a SWOT analysis including their environmental developments.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: In regards to my orientation tasks there have been minimal encounters for assistance and support which means you will need to gain information independent because everyone is continuously busy. As required we did have our two mandatory Skype meetings with my tutor and supervisor half way the placement and at the end. If you needed help or advise you really had to book in an meeting to get them to sit down with you. Your study related assignments will need to be prioritized by you. Finally if you want to get to know more on a subject or client you can ask for a mini workshop by one of the team members. In my opinion there was little importance given to my personal development and learning goals related to my studies.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Flexible, good time-management, good communication skills, independent, good writing skills, organized, stress proof,
Additional company requirements for this placement? Excel. Words and advanced level of English
English: Advanced
Spanish: Basic
French: Basic
German: Basic
Italian: Basic
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: By bus and underground

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Facebook and friends
How did you go to work every day? Public transport

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? No
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: nvt
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? two weeks
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes
How long in advance? nvt

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? No
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? No

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € €200
Accommodation (monthly): € €600-800
Local transport (monthly): € €100
General costs of living (monthly): € €500
Costs of visa: € nvt
Costs of work permit: € nvt
What did the company pay for/to you? Financial compensation for transport expenses and meals, up to €120,00 per week

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I didn’t prepare for the country’s culture but if you are not familiar with English culture I would definitely recommend to visit London prior to your travels and see whether you like it or not. It is a big cosmopolitan city that is fast pace and individualistic.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? Yes

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: marloesrademaker@hotmail.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Do try to live close to your work, commuting every day is exhausting, however living in a neighborhood will give you the opportunities to enjoy your precious leisure time more.
Do try to go to as many social events as possible, it is the best way to meet new people and experience the great things of London.
Do not choose for an accommodation that is too expensive, you will mostly only sleep there, but do look for nice roommates.
Do not
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: You have yoga studios, many nice restaurants and coffee shops in Chiswick. Additionally there are many shops and supermarkets. The city of London you have all the leisure activities you could think of. I always read the TIme Out London to see what’s on every week(end).

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link