First Public Relations / Represenation Plus

Placement organization

Name of organization: First Public Relations / Represenation Plus
Town/city: London
Country: Groot-Brittannië
Website: http://www.firstpr.co.uk

Student

Name of student: Tessa van Barneveld

Specialist area: ITMC
Placement period: 2012-2013

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: PR, marketing and representation agency
Organization’s activities: PR and marketing related activities in tourism and leisure sector for clients such as Malaysia, Antigua, Lithuania, Poland, Miami, Seattle, Manitoba, Oman, ANTOR and PATA.
Target group of the organization: UK and Ireland market
Company culture: Informal atmosphere, students are treated as part of the team and everyone is very willing to answer any questions you may have.
Number of employees: 10
Dress code: formal: no blue jeans!
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? Two companies under one roof; marketing (Representation Plus) and PR (First Public Relations), joint forces in spring 2012, one director, both ‘departments’ have their own clients.
I worked in all departments. I started as sales assistant, then did PR and ended my placement doing marketing for Oman.
Brief description of your daily activities: Look for coverage on the destinations, write monthly evaluations, evaluate press cuttings, write forward features and articles, write newsletters and press releases, call trade to invite for events, organize an event for tour operators, handle enquiries, take phone calls, respond on emails.
Brief description of your company assignment: Set up an action plan for next year including an annual budget and consumer promotional ideas for one client
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: I had two supervisors, an account manager and the director of PR. I did not get a proper training, so you have to be very independent. Account managers are only a few days a week in the office. During events some employees will not be in the office at all.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Independent, teamplayer, stress-proof and very very flexible
Additional company requirements for this placement? Microsoft Office
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane (British Airways)

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Spareroom.co.uk
How did you go to work every day? Bus, Train, Metro

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

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

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? n/a

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 130,00
Accommodation (monthly): € 640,00
Local transport (monthly): € 120,00
General costs of living (monthly): € 200,00
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? GBP 100,00 per month for local transport.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I did not
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? Not very different from Dutch culture. They are more focused on themselves.

Future students on placement

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

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Take initiative. Make sure you always have something to do. Read the intern manual. Read previous work of former interns in database. If you get bored, ask if you can work for another client.

London is expensive, so make sure you have saved some money before coming here!

Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: London is a great city to live in. Too many leisure options to describe. Bring a destination guide book to not miss out all the highlights. (e.g. Lonely Planet)

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link