Introducing Venturous PR, a Student-Led PR Agency | By Keerat Wathan Kaur
Taylor’s University remains the highest ranking private college and university in Malaysia and South East Asia. This could be due to the great syllabus offered or the amazing support systems available to all students. But as a Taylor’s student myself, I can confidently say the factor that sets Taylor’s apart is the ability to make a student’s dreams come true. There are endless opportunities in the school that not only enable one’s passions but push it forward to success. A great example of this would be the final year Public Relations students in Taylor’s, whose dreams were realised in the launch of their very own PR agency, Venturous PR!
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| Logo of Venturous PR. Source: Venturous PR on Facebook. |
For the uninitiated, Venturous PR is an agency set up by the August 2021 batch of Taylor’s final year Public Relations students. The Venturous PR team had their work cut out for them as they had to come up with the brand profile, guidelines, brand identity and get partners on board. Venturous PR would also not be complete without their Creative team, led by Helen Tjengdekia, the Digital Marketing team, led by Lai Vick Hang, the Content Team, led by Nicholas Wong Jie En and of course, the Events Team, led by Chong Shu Fern. This project was particularly sentimental to the students as it simulated real experiences in the Public Relations field. This was demonstrated when I talked to two of the agency heads, Jodi Yip Mei Kei and Haidi Khaw Hui Yu, about their experience in building, producing and launching Venturous PR.
“The agency will only be officially launched and start accepting clients by next semester, which is about March 2022,” said Haidi. “Hence, this soft launch event is meant to inform the public about the existence of Venturous PR and allow our potential clients to reach out to us to secure the limited slots for our PR services. This event also serves as a platform to officially recognise the partnership between Venturous PR and our three significant partners,” she added.
The next thing that I was curious to know about is what in particular excited them about the launch. The both of them agreed that creating an affordable and accessible Public Relations agency was the highlight of it all, as PR agencies are usually on the more pricey side. Venturous PR’s target clients are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups, so that they will be able to work with these clients whilst growing their organisation. Moreover, Jodi added that having three different partners who put their trust and hope into Venturous was rewarding, and they are extremely grateful for their partners.
At the moment, Venturous PR is partnering with three companies. Their partner in the government sector is the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDEC), while their PR mentor is Zeno Group Kuala Lumpur, an independent communications agency. As for the media sector, Venturous PR partners with Business Today, Malaysia’s top business news portal.
Just like any other startups, there will be highs and lows. Despite watching their company start from the ground-up while being part of a dynamic team of 36 other fellow Venturers, the team won’t deny the lows as these are chances to further improve the team. One of which having ideas being constantly changed as unforeseen circumstances present themselves. Fortunately, the agency heads would always bring the team back to its feet to work out a contingency plan in face of devastating challenges.
The soft launch itself took place on 17th November via Zoom, and needless to say it was a flawless event. Melanie Khoo Hooi Yin and Nur Ayu Athikah were the emcees of the event and the two paired together like pieces in a puzzle. Their flow was cohesive and it was almost like they could finish each other’s sentences!
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Top row, left to right: Mr Hardip Singh Rekhraj (Taylor’s); Mr Gopi Ganesalingam (MDEC); Mr Selva (Business Today). Bottom row, left to right: Mr Kashif Hussain (Taylor’s), Ayu Athikah (Venturous PR), Melanie Khoo (Venturous PR). Source: Venturous PR on Facebook. |
The event started off with an introduction by Melanie and Athikah, where they summarised what Venturous PR was and what to expect from them. They continued to show their gratitude towards their three partners, explaining who they are and their highly anticipated contributions in the upcoming semester, March 2022.
Next, the Head of School Prof. Dr. Kashif Hussain shared in detail the tough times that these students had to go through in order to create the agency that was presented.
This was followed by a forum titled ‘The Outliers: How Visibility Gives an Edge to Start-ups’, led by Senior Lecturer Hardip Rehkraj. This was joined by the representatives from partner companies: Chief Digital Industry Officer Gopi Ganesalingam from MDEC, Amanda Leong, General Manager of Zeno Group and Managing Director of Reach Publishing Selva Rajan from Business Today. Each of them shared their gratitude towards Venturous PR and their pride in how well Venturous PR has come up from the dust.
Venturous PR is an agency that not only makes the Public Relations world accessible and affordable to SMEs and start-ups, but it also creates a stepping stone for fellow PR students or just about anyone who is interested to have a real-life working experience.
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| Source: Venturous PR on Facebook. |
All in all, it was a successful soft launch for Venturous PR. We look forward to what the Venturous PR team has in store for the future, and wish them the best of luck!
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