Internship Report

Pauline Ng Wan Ching | Lee Kong Chian School of Business | Class of 2009

This report is written for the SMU Office of Career Services for the grading of Pauline’s internship at Waggener Edstrom
Worldwide. It consists of details of her responsibilities, training, accomplishments and reflections during that period of work.
Date Submitted: 29 October 2008
Contents
Execu've
Summary
.................................................................................................................................... 3
About
Waggener
Edstrom
Worldwide .......................................................................................................

 3
Descrip'on
of
Responsibili'es 
................................................................................................................... 3
Technology
Clients ..................................................................................................................................

 3
eBay
..................................................................................................................................................... 3
EMC
&
RSA
.......................................................................................................................................... 4
Infor
..................................................................................................................................................... 4
Consumer
Clients ...................................................................................................................................

 4
AbboH
................................................................................................................................................. 4
Asian
Talent
Conference
..................................................................................................................... 4
Jimmy
Liao
.......................................................................................................................................... 5
Burns
Bridge
SweeH
............................................................................................................................ 5
Wacoal
................................................................................................................................................ 5
Natureworks .......................................................................................................................................

 5
Business
Development
&
Research
........................................................................................................ 5
WE
In‐House
Training
................................................................................................................................. 6
Major
Accomplishments ............................................................................................................................

 6
Lessons
learnt
applicable
for
future
........................................................................................................... 6
Personal
Development
............................................................................................................................ 6
Professional
Development
...................................................................................................................... 6

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Execu-ve
Summary
The
company
where
I
did
my
internship
is
called
Waggener
Edstrom
Worldwide 1,
and
it
was
applied
via
Ontrac.
I

was
 interviewed
 and
 hired
 by
 Julia
 Lai 2,
 the
 Deputy
 General
 Manager
 of
 the
Singapore
 Office
 and
 also
 the

Director
 of
Consumer
 PR
 in
 the
company.
My
internship
started
on
 the
9th
 June
2008
and
 lasted
for
20
weeks

un'l
the
17th
 October
 2008,
with
the
official
working
 hours
star'ng
 from
9am
to
6pm.
During
the
internship,
I

was
 straddling
 between
 2
 departments,
 under
 2
 Directors,
 namely
 Julia
 and
 Yen
 Ting
 Chan
 (Director
 of

Technology),
repor'ng
mainly
to
Julia.


About
Waggener
Edstrom
Worldwide
Melissa 
Waggener
founded
the
company
25
years
ago
in
the
US
and
made
Pam
Edstrom
was
made
partner
a
few

years
later
and
the
company
 became
Waggener
Edstrom.
Now
an
interna'onal
 firm
 with
the
headquarters
in

SeaHle,
it
is
the
2nd
 largest
independent
Public
Rela'ons
firm
in
the
US.
It
employs
more
than
800
people
in
their

15
offices
around
 the
world,
achieving
 revenue
 of
 more
than
 US$100million
3 in
 2007.
 Coupling
 with
 their
 14

strategic
 alliances
 globally
 they
 are
 driven
 towards
 their
 mission,
 which
 is
 “To
 share
 our
 client’s
 passion
 for

discovery
and
innova'on
and
give
their
ideas
a
powerful
voice
that
spans
con'nents
and
cultures”.


Descrip-on
of
Responsibili-es
To
more
accurately
convey
my
roles
and
responsibili'es 
during
this
period,
I
have
categorized
them
by
“Clients”

and
the
works
I
have
done
for
them.
On
top
of
it,
there
is
another
category;
“Business
Development
&
Research”

where
they
 will
contain
 all
the
work
 that
I
 have
 done
that
are
 not
 pertaining
 to
any
 specific
client,
but
more

towards
the
business
of
Waggener
Edstrom.



Technology
Clients
eBay
 Daily
Media
Monitoring
for
Singapore
I
will
read
through
 all
the
major
publica'ons,
 such
 as
The
Straits
Times,
Wall
Street
Journal,
 Lian
 He
 Zao
Bao,

Financial
 Times,
 Business
Times,
 Interna'onal
 Herald
 Tribune
 and
 all
 other
 online
 sources
 to
 pick
 out
 news

relevant
to
the
business
of
eBay.
 Regional
Coordina-on
Our
alliance
partners
from
Malaysia
and
Philippines
will
send
in
their
daily
news
reports
from
and
my
duty
is
to

compile,
format
and
do
QC
to
their
reports
before
sending
it
out
to
the
clients.

 Media
Calldown
Calling
all
the
publica'ons
in
Singapore
to
find
out
about
pitch
and
byline
opportuni'es
for
eBay.

 Monthly
and
Quarterly
Media
Repor-ng

1 www.waggeneredstrom.com

2 Jlai@waggeneredstrom.com

3 http://www.odwyerpr.com/pr_firm_rankings/independents.htm

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Daily
news
alerts 
will
be
compiled
into
an
excel
sheet
and
the
PR
values,
coverage
etc
will
be
calculated.
Other

than
doing
data
inpulng,
it
is
also
 my
 responsibility
to
calculate
the
values,
 prepare
the
charts
and
graphs
as

visual
representa'ons
and
also
to
vet
through
the
reports
from
Philippines
and
Malaysia.


On
 top
 of
 my
 assigned
 du'es,
 I
 took
 the
 ini'a've
 to
 re‐format
 the
 coverage
 repor'ng
 template,
 inser'ng

formulas
 when
 necessary
 such
 that
 the
 calcula'ons
 will
 be
 automated
 and
 therefore
 reduce
the
amount
 of

effort
required
to
prepare
future
reports.
The
new
template
was
accepted
by
the
Director
and
now
implemented

in
the
Singapore
office,
as
well
as
used
by
our
partners
in
Philippines
and
Malaysia.


EMC
&
RSA
 Daily
Media
Monitoring
for
Singapore
Other
 than
reading
through
 all
major
 print
publica'ons
and
 going
 through
Fac'va,
 I
will
go
through
 all
 major

trade
publica'ons
and
 websites,
such
as
ZDNetasia,
Computerworld,
Search
Storage
Asia,
 PC
 World,
SDA‐Asia,

MIS‐Asia
etc,
to
search
for
all
news
and
reports
relevant
to
the
business
of
EMC
and
RSA.
 Audio
Transcrip-on
All
 the
 interviews 
that
 we
 have
 conducted
 with
 the
 clients
 are
 recorded
 and
 for
 the
 first
 2
 months 
 of
 my

internship,
 I
 was
 responsible
 for
 transcribing
 these
 audio
 clips
 and
 provide
 a 
 word
 for
 word
 report
 of
 the

interviews
so
that
bylines
and
whitepapers
can
be
developed
using
the
data
from
the
transcrip'on.


Infor
 Audio
Transcrip-on
Same
as
EMC
&
RSA
 Press
Release
Our
 in
 house
writer,
Jesse,
taught
 me
 the
 basic
fundamentals
of
 wri'ng
 a
press
 release
 and
 I
 was
given
 the

opportunity
to
write
one
based
on
one
of
the
audio
transcripts
that
I
had
prepared.


Consumer
Clients

AbboH

 Isomil
Media
Event
–
Oct
2008
I
was
involved
in
preparing
the
media
list,
dissemina'ng
the
media
invites
and
following
up
with
the
media
for

the
RSVP
list
prior
to
the
event.
 During
 the
event,
 I
was
responsible
for
 introducing
the
media
to
 the
speakers

and
ensuring
 that
the
event
logis'cs 
went
well.
Aoer
the
event,
I
followed
up
with
the
media
who
did
not
turn

up
and
prepared
media
kits
to
be
sent
to
them.
For
the
media
who
turned
up,
I
followed
up
to
gather
the
list
of

publica'ons
that
will
be
covering
the
client
and
their
product.
Throughout
the
process,
I
was
also
involved
in
all

the
necessary
administra've
work
that
comes
along,
such
as
Timeline
and
Expenses
Tracking.

 Media
Monitoring
&
Coverage
Repor-ng
For
 this
 client,
 I
 am
 fully
 responsible
 for
 the
 media
 monitoring
 and
 coverage
 repor'ng,
 unlike
 in
 the
 Tech

department,
 where
I
work
 with
 a
team
 of
 3
 other
 colleagues.
 I
 liaise
 directly
 with
 the
 media 
and
 the
 client,

where
I
help
service
their
queries
and
requests.

For
coverage
repor'ng,
I
took
the
ini'a've
to
create
a
tracking

excel
sheet
that
will
automa'cally
 calculate
all
the
values
and
also
did
a
step
by
step
instruc'ons 
sheet
for
the

use
of
the
tracking
sheet
for
others
to
use
in
future.


Asian
Talent
Conference
 Media
Monitoring
&
Coverage
Repor-ng
Similar
to
AbboH,
I
was
the
only
person
fully
in
charge
of
the
media
monitoring
and
repor'ng
for
ATC.
A
coverage

tracking
excel
sheet
was
also
prepare
specially
for
ATC.
 Administra-on

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Du'es
include
preparing
Mee'ng
Agendas,
Mee'ng
Minutes,
Workback
Schedules,
Expenses
Tracking
and
AOM

that
requires 
administra'on
and
liaison
between
the
client
and
WE.
I
was
given
full
responsibility
to
cater
to
the

clients’
expecta'ons
and
needs
and
was
in
direct
liaison
with
them.

 Event
PR
and
Logis-cs
For
 the
 three
 conference
 days,
 I
 was
 on
 loca'on,
 preparing
 to
 introduce
 media
 to
 the
 clients,
 prepare
 for

interviews,
and
also
doing
front
office
du'es
when
required.

 Marke-ng
&
Sales
For
a
few
 hours
each
day
 for
2
months,
I
 was
doing
telemarke'ng
 (cold
calling)
 for
the
client,
speaking
 to
the

Directors/Presidents
or
VPs
of
Human
Resources
in
companies
spanning
various
industries.
Despite
not
given
any

quota
as
this
task
is
provided
out
of
WE’s
goodwill
(WE
is
a
company
that
solely
provides
PR
services),
my
efforts

managed
to
account
for
50%
of
the
aHendance
for
the
conference.


Jimmy
Liao
 Campaign
proposal
I
worked
on
this
client
during
the
first
3
weeks
of
my
internship
with
another
colleague
and
we
brainstormed
for

ideas
for
the
launch
of
the
Jimmy
Liao
Wallet
collec'on,
set
to
be
in
October.
Aoer
a
few
brainstorming
sessions,

I
was
tasked
to
prepare
a
detailed
proposal
for
the
campaign.


Burns
Bridge
SweeH
 BBS
Singapore
Launch
Event
I
prepared
the
invites
and
provided
for
all
logis'cs
as
well
as
front
office
service
during
the
event.
On
top
of
that,

my
du'es
also
include
all
administra've
work
similar
to,
but
less
than,
what
I
did
for
ATC.


Wacoal
 Breast
Cancer
Awareness
Month
Campaign
My
idea
for
Wacoal’s
BCAM
campaign
was
accepted
by
Julia
and
the
client,
and
I
was 
given
full
responsibility
in

preparing
 for
the
event
 and
implemen'ng
 the
event.
My
internship
was
extended
 so
that
I
 can
complete
this

event.
On
top
of
 the
administra've
du'es,
such
as
Proposal,
Workback
Schedule
etc,
I
was
liaising
 directly
with

the
SMU
Women’s
Connec'on,
SMU
Corporate
Communica'ons,
Wacoal
and
Breast
Cancer
Founda'on
(BCF)
to

prepare
for
the
campaign.
The
result
is
a
two‐day
dona'on
drive
and
a
breast
cancer
awareness
talk
held
in
SMU

with
the
help
of
SMU
Women’s
Connec'on.
 
Breast
Cancer
Awareness
Month
Public
Rela-ons
Other
than
being
tasked
with
the
prepara'on
of
the
event,
I
was
given
the
opportunity
to
write
the
press
release

for
 this 
 campaign.
 Aoer
 approval
 from
 SMU
 Corp
 Comms,
 BCF,
 Julia
 and
 the
 client,
 the
 press 
 release
 was

disseminated
to
selected
relevant
media.
As
by
 then
I
 had
already
 developed
an
understanding
 for
 the
media

and
also
had
the
chance
to
know
the
media,
I
got
my
first
hit
as
this
story
got
published
in
the
4
October
2008

copy
of
Shin
Min
Dailies.

 CrossWalker
Press
Release
Wacoal
 launched
 a
 new
 product
 called
 the
 CrossWalker
 and
 I
 wrote
 the
 press
 release
 for
 its
 launch.
 Aoer

approval
from
Julia
and
Wacoal,
it
was
disseminated
to
all
relevant
media.


Natureworks
 Media
Monitoring
On
 top
 of
 looking
 for
 news
and
 reports
 on
 the
daily
 newspapers
 as
like
 eBay,
 I
 also
 tracked
 blogs
and
other

websites
on
bio‐plas'cs
and
the
environment
that
are
related
to
the
business
of
the
client,
such
as
treehugger.

Business
Development
&
Research
 Research
Projects
Apart
from
my
daily
du'es
and
responsibili'es
from
the
technology
and
consumer
department,
I
was
tasked
by

other
managers
and
directors
to
perform
research
func'ons
for
various
purposes.
And
this
ranges
from
finding


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out
quota'ons
for
 event
spaces
and
media
clipping
 services,
 to
performing
 in
depth
research
 on
the
media
in

Singapore.
I
did
an
in‐depth
research
report
on
the
media
outlets
in
Singapore
and
Asia 
that
uses
vodcasts
and

hosts
videos.
It
was
a 
great
compliment
when
the
GM
 of
the
office
thought
it
was 
really
professional
and
sent

the
copy
of
my
work
directly
to
the
client.

 Business
Development
I
also
 took
the
ini'a've
to
contribute
to
the
business
of
WE
 by
spending
 'me
on
 top
of
 my
working
 hours
to

update
the
company
media
list.
I
re‐created
a
brand
new
 media 
list
with
 hyperlinking
 func'ons
and
formulas

that
enable
easy
search
of
the
media 
contacts.
On
top
of
that,
to
ensure
that
the
media
list
is 
up
to
date,
I
called

up
every
publishing
company
to
find
out
the
names
and
contacts
of
their
editorial
team.
On
top
of
that,
I
also

inpuHed
 these
 contacts
 onto
 the
 WE
 intranet
 where
 all
 WE
 employees 
 can
 view
 and
 make
 use
 of
 this

informa'on.

WE
In‐House
Training
Waggener
offers
regular
training
for
their
employees
that
are
done
via
video
conferences
and
Window’s
Mee'ng

as
the
trainers 
are
working
from
the
US.
I
have
taken
advantage
of
 these
classes
and
spent
10
hours
in
training.

The
 classes
I
have
aHended
 are:
PR
 Fundamentals,
 Effec've
Presenta'ons
with
 Microsoo
 Word,
Mail
Merge,

Using
WeXview
(WE
Intranet)
and
Mul'ple
Maibox
 (Microsoo
Outlook).
As
a
result
of
these
trainings,
I
am
more

proficient
in
using
Microsoo
Office
func'ons
in
my
daily
work
and
reports.
On
top
of
that,
I
now
have
a
deeper

understanding
of
the
PR
industry
professionally
and
all
have
been
reflected
in
the
progress
of
my
work.


Major
Accomplishments
 Developed
good
rela'ons
with
clients
and
my
work
complimented,
ATC
did
not
know
I
was
an
intern
and

specifically
requested
for
me
to
work
on
their
next
project.

 Shaun
WooHon,
the
head
 and
GM
 of
 SG
office,
acknowledge
the
quality
 of
my
work
when
he
sent
my

research
report
directly
to
the
client.

 My
ini'a'ves
were
confirmed
by
my
colleagues
and
superiors
when
they
accepted
and
started
using
the

new
media
list
that
I
had
created
from
scratch.
 Another
ini'a've,
coverage
calcula'on
template
for
 repor'ng,
 that
was
accepted
and
 used
 for
clients

like
AbboH,
ATC
and
eBay
was
another
confirma'on
of
my
efforts.

 Got
my
first
hit
when
the
story
I
pitched
for
got
covered
in
Shin
Min
Dailies
for
Wacoal.


Lessons
learnt
applicable
for
future


Personal
Development

Remain
outgoing
 and
op'mis'c,
 always
see
the
 big
 picture
whenever
task
 is
assigned,
be
mo'vated
and
take

ini'a've,
always
maintain
this
great
learning
altude
and
to
be
me'culous
in
everything
I
do.

Professional
Development
Dealing
 with
 and
 mee'ng
 client
 expecta'ons,
preparing
 work
 that
is
consistently
 high
 in
professional
quality,

working
 with
 colleagues 
of
 different
 working
 styles,
 to
 voice
 and
 crao
 my
 opinion
 in
a
 professional
way
 and

pulng
in
more
effort
than
expected
to.


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