Week 9

I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were preparation either in regards to considering sponsorship for an organization, individual or event, or preparation in regards to planning an event is integral in order to have success and succeed in a public relations career. As the author of this chapter, Susan Boyd states,
“There is no doubt that a well-managed event can turn a public relations professional into the star of an organization- at least temporarily. Poorly managed events, on the other hand, can have disastrous career results.”
Hence, it is very important to be conscious that the way you handle a task can ultimately effect how you may be perceived as a practitioner.
When considering sponsorship for an organization, individual or event it is important that the sponsoring organization is suitable and that ultimately the partnership will benefit both parties. To make an informed decision about who to chose for sponsorship a public relations practitioner should do sufficient research about the company and address ways in which the public may view the partnership.
I found it interesting that these two important areas in public relations are coupled together in one chapter and not dedicated two separate chapters, but I guess I realised that in relation to planning an event, it is difficult if not impossible to organise one without any sponsorship involvement. For when planning a successful event you need to have an expendable budget sufficient enough to cover any last minute crises. Thus when planning an event it is important to consider all the things that may go wrong and plan resolutions for these problems if needed to use at the last minute.

The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that there is a lot of background tasks that need to be done when planning an event that many people do not even see or acknowledge when considering your job. You need to always be switched on and a good problem solver whilst juggling multiple responsibilities with sometimes limited resources or limited staff.