It has been a while since you last heard from us on this space. 2018 was an absolute whirlwind where we had the opportunity to dip our toes into so many interesting projects. Some of the highlights for us were definitely Huang Clan’s Chinese New Year celebration with our migrant worker friends, the Ultimate Grit Challenge 2018 with Love Action Project and Dun & Bradstree, tthe first Neymar Jr’s Five in Singapore, as well as SPARK Fest 2018!

My personal favourite moment though? Sharing the stage with the Red Bull Product of Europe team at PR Awards 2018 where we won the Best Use of Broadcast/Video (Silver) and the Most Creative PR Stunt (Bronze).

In 2019, we are looking forward to a bigger and better year! We will be adding more services at Bask Communications including Internal Communications, Graphic Design, Events Planning, Website Design and LinkedIn Management.

Here’s to a fabulous 2019! Stay golden!

Hi everyone, I am Revinesh and I’m currently an intern at Bask Communications. Internships are pretty enriching in terms of skills and experience. As a marketing undergrad, I decided to challenge myself by taking up a second internship in a different field - public relations. I was excited about the opportunities that the internship had to offer, along with the start-up environment and learning directly from Lay Peng, the founder of Bask Communications.

In the past five months, there have been many key moments that will remain with me, ranging from hosting the media tour for a large scale event at PetExpo 2018 to the opportunity to work on SPARK Fest 2018: Asia’s 1st Sexual Wellness Festival.

For the former, I have to admit to being very nervous even though we had thoroughly prepared ourselves prior to the event. However, as time went by and with the opportunities to chat with the media from the start of the registration through to the tour, I gained confidence in becoming a media host, answering questions and making conversations. The simple “thank you” from the media at the end of the event made all the efforts worth it.

As a guy, I must admit that it felt a bit strange to be working on a sexual wellness festival but I stepped into this project with an open mind. In the lead up to the event, we held numerous media interviews together with Erin Chen, Founder of SPARK Fest Asia. It was then when I truly understood the purpose of the festival and was inspired that we are working directly with the game changers trying to #breakthewall to normalise conversations about sex in Asia. Through our project with SPARK Fest Asia, it opened my eyes to the world of sexual wellness, and I was surprised to see how people can be open-minded about the topic when they are encouraged to talk about it.

It’s back to university in July, but here are so key learnings I’ve made in my internship so far.

1) Do not be afraid to ask questions

Asking questions provides clarity on tasks, prevent avoidable mistakes (and a waste of time), and a guide on how to accomplish it. In the PR industry, every piece of information is crucial to writing an accurate press release which will reach the eyes of both the press and public. Asking questions helped me to explore different ways of completing a task. For example, I was tasked to come up with a proposal for a client. Initially, I had mixed feelings of excitement and confusion as it was one of my first few tasks and I was unsure of what information to include or exclude. However, taking a step to ask has allowed me to tailor the solutions according to the client’s needs.

2) Step up to the plate

The responsibility of an intern goes beyond assisting your colleagues. It involves taking charge of certain situations and making decisions on the spot. Even when conducting media drops, the process of logistical arrangements and media interaction has allowed me to explore alternative perspectives in handling different situations.

3) Multitasking becomes a part of you

In the PR Industry, you have to be updated on what’s happening out there while managing our clients as well. One moment, you could be writing an email to a client, another moment you could be on the phone talking to another. Therefore, learn to set priorities according to deadlines and hone the ability to multitask.

Overall, this has been fulfilling and as promised by Lay Peng, no two days are the same. It has definitely opened my eyes to the world of public relations.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is embroiled neck-deep in possibly one of the most amusing (for us at least)  PR crisis of our time. While we are pretty sure that the team is more than prepared to answer questions with regards to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, it is quite another ball game altogether to explain social media, and basically the internet, to an assembly of politicians who do not understand how it works, does not provide one enough time to answer, and also waste a good quarter of the time giving a shout-out to family and friends just to “prove” that they know social media. 

Hatch: "How do you sustain a business model in which users don't pay for your service?"
Zuckerberg: "Senator, we run ads" *smiles*
Hatch: "I see. That's great." https://t.co/1PQ3joAtC8

— Daniella Diaz (@DaniellaMicaela) April 10, 2018

We’ve been following the live hearing broadcasted on Facebook, and here are our top three takeaways from Zuckerberg: 

1) Taking responsibility for the mistakes
Zuckerberg did not shy away from taking responsibility for the company’s failure in protecting consumers’ data privacy, and this was recognised and applauded by more than one congressman. In a crisis, it can be a knee-jerk reaction to take flight or shirk responsibilities. In owning up to the gaps in the social media giant's security protocols, announcing the team’s work in progress to strengthen security and informing affected account holders, Zuckerberg is taking the first step in albeit a long journey to win back users’ trust.

2) Staying cool, calm and collected
His robotic veneer may be the butt of countless jokes and memes, but we all know it’s no easy task staying composed and coherent facing hundreds of ill-informed personnel trying to take you down. With dozens of cameras broadcasting you live around the world, every misstep has immediate repercussions. Zuckerberg managed incredibly well in clarifying questions and providing answers that are clear and concise to prevent misquotes. He doesn’t shy away from admitting if he doesn’t know answers to questions and makes immediate corrections to inaccurate answers when available.

3) Respecting the time and place

CEO Mark Zuckerberg dons suit, apologizes to Congress over massive Facebook breach https://t.co/UHMSlCxbzJ pic.twitter.com/Fha221uIWU

— The Japan Times (@japantimes) April 10, 2018

Mark Zuckerberg donning a suit and tie actually made news around the world. It’s a sign of respect towards the Congress and an acknowledgment towards the gravity of the situation. Had Zuckerberg showed up in his regular t-shirt and jeans, the Congress would likely feel rather displeased and slighted. Zuckerberg respectfully addresses each person by their official title and patiently answers each question, even if it means educating the Congress on technology.

One can never overprepare in the face of a crisis, and it is clear from the folder of notes that the team had strived to cover all grounds and possible questions that may arise. 

Even in good times, companies and brands should anticipate possible challenges instead of leaving it too late to react.

We are so thrilled to share that Bask Communications has won a Silver award in the Best Use of Broadcast / Video and a Bronze award in the Most Creative PR Stunt for our work for Red Bull Racing in 2017. It's been half a year and we still haven't got over how funny Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were trying durians for the very first time!  

We are beyond grateful for the opportunity to work on such a great brand with a fantastic team who embraced us even though we are a new and lean team; we are happy to be recognised by industry peers for our achievements. Our wins at PR Awards 2018 are for everyone - clients, media, friends and interns - who have supported us in the past 18 months.

Thank you, and we look forward to more exciting work in time to come!

The role of social media for brands and marketers is indisputable. Today, we have a whole generation who are growing up never knowing life before social media or smartphones. According to We Are Social’s latest report, there are over 4 billion internet users and 3 billion active monthly social media users globally. How can brand owners and marketers leverage on the platforms available to reach out to both journalists and consumers in a timely and strategic manner?

1. Stay Up-to-Date with the Latest News in Real-Time

Social media platforms like Twitter, SnapChat and Instagram stories have allowed followers to stay in touch with the latest news in real-time. Singapore’s Channel NewsAsia encourages reporters to break the news on Twitter while the newsroom strategise on how to tell the story on the broadcast and online channels. What this means for communicators is the ability to track the latest ongoings, and identify opportunities to pitch their clients as experts to respond and provide commentaries on what is breaking.

Additionally, journalists have also been known to utilise Twitter to seek potential interviewees for the stories they are working on.

2. Getting the Content Right for the Channel

With the increased pressure to publish, it is vital to go back to the basics of not posting just for the sake of posting. Get the content right for each channel and react accordingly to user engagement and behaviour.  Postings on platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook can be more informative by text, while Instagram posts should allow viewers to consume and understand the post in split second. On the technical end, avoid the awkward crops by making sure the media shared fits the requirements of each social media platforms instead of sharing the same images or videos across the board.

Read about the rise of vertical videos.

3. Measure the Effectiveness of Your Communication

Social media platforms have afforded brands and communicators with statistics that was not as readily available with traditional media tools. Follower demographic, views, user engagements and sentiments are all in just a few clicks, enabling page owners to measure the effectiveness of their content, especially in terms of engagement and shareability.