HRDRI advertisements

Hi all,

I thought it might be a good idea to put up some of the advertisements which are part of the campaign. Each ad (both television and radio) directs people the website www.visithunter.com.au (which was essentially the main port of call for the entire campaign - where people can plan and book their holiday).

Another week down

Hi all!

Well I've just completed another week of my campaign placement (now one third of the way through!) and it just occurred to me that I never actually mentioned what the Hunter Region Disaster Relief Campaign is all about. So basically, Hunter Tourism (alongside Tourism NSW) obtained $600 000 from the state and federal Governments to restore 'tourist consumer confidence to the Hunter Region after the June long weekend storms' (I've lost count of the amount of times I've rattled that little spiel off to people). It's basically a marketing campaign that has been launched throughout NSW (and I'm pretty sure Melbourne and Queensland too). So there you have it!

Anyway, back to this week. On Monday I spent a large part of the day working out who came to the launch of the campaign and then drafting and finalising thank you letters for all fifty of them. I also spent time helping Kate sift through media releases and product information various companies had sent Hunter Tourism. We picked out ones which we thought were 'newsworthy' and then I was left with the task of summarising them into nice neat bundles of good, interesting information. These would come into use today. So today I worked my half day and spent most of my time making up a "pitch" for tourism NSW - detailing the upcoming developments/products, events, media, facts, personalities etc to do with the five main regions in the Hunter which HRTO deals with (in case you're wondering: Barrington Tops, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Upper Hunter Country and the Hunter Valley). I had to integrate a lot of the media release information that I did on Monday into this document. Having to plow through all the information on the Internet was pretty time consuming but I'm gradually learning to better my research skills.

I'm not sure what I'm doing for the campaign next week, so until then!

- Vicky

The launch

Hi again,

Today was the launch of the Hunter Region Disaster Relief Initiative! It was held at the Hunter Valley Gardens (very lovely) and went smoothly (thank god).

I was still helping to organise the launch on Wednesday, which pretty much consisted on finalising the media releases and ringing up media, government offices, and partners of Hunter Tourism etc to make sure they could attend the event.

Back to the event - I went up to the gardens early with Kate (a marketing/PR girl) and helped her with setting up the amphitheatre. I then got the job of handing out media releases and other information to people as they entered the theatre. The event itself was short and sweet, with Bob Baldwin and Frank Terenzini (in place of Michael Costa) giving speeches.

It was a good turnout, over fifty people (including local media) turned up, so Sheridan (the marketing manager) and Andrew (HRTO CEO) were pretty happy.

Overall it was a really good experience - I was able to see and experience how an event (however small) comes together. I met some really lovely people from Hunter Valley Gardens, including the General Manager (who was Irish and very funny). I also got to meet some people from Tourism NSW which was really good.

I think I would really like to do some work experience with Hunter Valley Gardens during the holidays or maybe first semester next year.

I feel like I’m already learning heaps about the world of PR – mostly through talking to heaps of people about the work they have done throughout their PR careers (and through the ‘hands on’ stuff obviously). Everyone has been really friendly and full of advice.

Anyway, I’ll be able to get into the campaign properly next week (advertising is officially starting on Sunday).

Until then!

- Vicky

Day one

Hi there,

I had my half first day at Hunter Tourism (working on the Hunter Regional Disaster Relief Campaign) yesterday and it all went pretty well!

Before I start, I should probably mention that the entire campaign has already been planned out in its entirety - Hunter Tourism, along with associated partners have already had a number of meetings outlining the exact communication and implementation tools which will be used. Anyway, back to my first day.

I got straight into it as soon as I arrived and began updating their local media database - this pretty much consisted of ringing up lots of local media outlets (think newspapers, radio stations, televisions stations) and making sure that we had the right information on the editors/media managers etc. This needed to be done pretty quickly so the invitations for the launch (on Friday) could be sent out.

I also spent some time helping Kate (another of the marketing/PR girls) chase up some of the media contacts. I'm already starting to learn some things from the experience - like the fact that journalists hardly ever answer their phones.

They had me prepare a media release later on in the day to promote the launch of the campaign. I'm pretty sure it will be sent out later in the week.

I go back there tomorrow and will once again be helping Kate confirm the guest/media list for the launch on Friday - this will mean ringing people up once again and confirming whether or not they got their invitations and if they will be coming.

I also get to go to the launch of the campaign on Friday (it's at the Hunter Valley Gardens). This should be a really good experience as I will be able to talk properly to the media I've been ringing all week. Bob Baldwin and Michael Costa will also be attending, so it's all quite exciting.

More from me later on the topic...

- Vicky