Field Placement with MR. J.K. Public Relations & Events → Pamperfest Event

After interning with MR.J.K for a couple weeks, I have been helping my boss Melanie Wong, who is a graduate from the Public Relations program, with a client from DunCam Services - President and Creative Director Donna Smith. Donna puts on a signature event titled “Pamperfest” that is branded around the theme of the Great Gatsby roaring 20s, and based around how women would have to have secret gatherings to discuss business ideas, as this was not acceptable for women to be successful entrepreneurs.

Melanie and I brainstormed ideas and tactics to gain awareness through the Toronto community for the event. Wanting to give as much input into our brainstorming sessions, I applied everything we have learned so far through our courses. Our Program Planning and PR Writing classes have helped me the most so far in my field placement, as I can use the R.A.C.E method for communication planning in everything I do. For every client, we meet with them and discuss their objectives and direction that they want to achieve, and after brainstorming, Melanie and I discuss strategies and tactics that will satisfy these objectives. When first entering the program, I was not confident in my decision to choose public relations as a profession, but as the weeks go on, I see myself excelling in my field placement, which makes me more confident to speak with clients, voice my ideas at brainstorming sessions, and also in writing media releases. Throughout the weeks of promoting Pamperfest for Donna, we sent out media releases and posters to various media channels, and took to social media every chance we could.  

Pamperfest collaborated with two great charities: Womanaide and Ahead of The Game Mentorship Program, where Jonathan Hood from the Toronto Argonauts came to present his mentorship program and to be a spokesperson for silent and open auctions held at the event. Womanaide was a phenomenal charity that was part of Pamperfest, in that the charity brings awareness to abused women by their spouses. Every person that came to Pamperfest either brought a “good-in-kind,” which is anything that women use everyday in their homes, ranging from dish soup, to feminine products, to makeup, etc., or they could purchase a product at the event for $1-$3 dollars. I thought this was an amazing aspect to the event that can help support a great cause but also allow those attending to have a personal engagement with the event. 

After learning about fundraising efforts in our Organizational Application class, the whole event and who was part of it, made me appreciate what goes on behind the scenes and who collaborates with the event even more. In the office when you are sending out media releases once or twice a week for the event and posting on social media, it is hard to tell how much of a difference it makes till the night of the event. The only thing we could go off of was ticket sales, which were good, but we did not know if the media we contacted was going to come or not, or if more people were going to attend the event the night of.

Pamperfest gives the opportunity for women to showcase their products and in turn expose their business models to consumers. The night allowed people to see their products up close and have a one-on-one conversation with the women who created fantastic beauty products. Throughout the night, people were receiving free manicures, getting information on eyelash extensions, lingerie (a new spin on spanxx!), and jewelry, etc. I cannot forget to mention free sampling of the most DELICIOUS bite-size cupcakes ever tasted with the most creative name ever – BITE ME!

Later on in the night, SNAP Magazine Toronto came to interview Donna and take pictures of the event. This made Melanie and I very happy and at that moment, I felt like everything paid off and plus, I got to get into a picture with Jonathon Hood and my boss that hopefully will be posted with the article. Being apart of the event made me appreciate everything that goes into making an event and the overall payoff at the end of the night. Even with only completing my second month of the program, I feel that I have gained vast amounts of knowledge already in hopes that I can be as successful as these women entrepreneurs.