SOCIAL MONSTERS!!!

Assessment Task#3- Part One. “PUBLIC RELATIONS” Groups members: Linda Nguyen(s3234501), Jessie Lai(s3170625), Jinah Hong(s 3146570), Jin Suk Do(s3170462), Seung Eun Oh(s3212539)

Artefact #1 Myers Bourke st Mall

The Myers store is on Bourke Street, which is mainly in the centre of Melbourne the city grid. The store is big and it is spread out towards and is connected to Melbourne Central. It is next to the GPO post office and is surrounded by banks, arcades, jewellery shops, and fashion clothes shops creating a shopping consuming area. There are also trams that go up and down Bourke Street the central of City of Melbourne.

You will always see busy people walking either getting to Elizabeth Street or Swanton’s street as you pass them you feel that your walking against a current as this streets gets real busy. Busy with shoppers, workers, tourist and students wondering around or admiring the busy city streets of Melbourne.

Myers was opened in 1911 it was open during the time wage earners were shopping in the suburbs. During this time people didn’t shop in the central and Myers began to display aggressive selling techniques transformed the retail landscape. They weren’t attracted by the bargains but by moving image that been adverted of the store to appeal people. Myers became the largest store in town in the mid 1920’s suburban’s began to shop there more as it got popular because of public transport like the train which was also just introduced, So people were engaged and wanted to experience the transport and have the convenience and confidence of getting to the city.

Myers store is a big department store that is spread across Melbourne there are many of them but the biggest one is in the main CBD. Many people shop at Myers, as Myers caters for everyone it provides with many good and household items for everyday use, they bring out the latest fashion brands and trends, they got the cooking utensils, electronics and toys for the young ones. Myer reshapes itself so there is a hierarchy of the top rank stores like top three stores would be stocked with all merchandise brands and then low rank and key rank. Like there is the basement for more of the younger brands, which really drags in another level to attract more of a wider audience. This shows that in our society there is a system of people, wealthy, poor and average, which means capitalism. Going to Myers makes people feel that they belong to a society they feel like they’re comfortable being in a rank knowing they will fit in one of the system being high rank makes you feel u stand above everyone. People tend to go shopping on Boxing Day and wait extremely long to grab bargains, as the door open people rush in and not want to miss out shows how much shopping is so

popular to the public. Another thing that gets media attention is the Myer’s window display every year it gets attracts tourism and people to view their windows with moving children Christmas stories during Christmas.

This gives us an image of what is to be in the central of Melbourne you feel the glamour of shopping and consuming goods, you feel that Myer can pamper with many goods and can really relate to the public.

Myer’s has maintain itself very well with the public, by supplying what the consumers need and being located right in the centre is very well planned on the CBD grid.

References: 1.Paul Mees(1993) ‘The Report of My Death is an Exaggeration’: Central City Retailing in Melbourne Since 1900’, Urban Policy and Research 2.Johnston, R. J. and Rimmer, (1967) ‘The competitive position of a planned shopping centre’, Australian Geographer,

Artefact #2 Graffiti in Melbourne city

Although it may not be a particular building or company, graffiti could be considered an entity that associates with public relations. In Melbourne, the graffiti dwelling in the streets of the central building district are renown across the globe to the point where the city’s graffiti is iconic, where it has become a symbol. Therefore it is not a company made in Melbourne, nor a building made in Melbourne, it is a representation of Melbourne. The issue here is how this relates to the residents of the place. Having known the dwellings of the design culture resides in the alleyways of Melbourne, tourists and the general public interested in such environments initiate exploration in these areas. As these environments become more populated, naturally businesses would begin to grow in the vicinity. The interaction between the imagery and the intellect contained in the artworks and exposure in its environment will affect people who pass by.

It will educate and challenge their minds. It may inspire them. It is rather healthy to be exposed to raw ideas of individuals. Some examples of street art influence would be Degraves street nearby Flinders Lane, the Curtin House inside the elevator and Hosier Lane. The creative design culture of graffiti within Melbourne is comprehended as a collaborative journey between individual and/or groups of artists who generally beautify the environments. Often graffiti is considered as a criminal act of vandalism, but it is seen differently is certain cases where graffiti is commissioned and invited to transform and characterise their store. This then becomes a part of their identity which is then linked to other brands who have graffiti influence. In the end the combined brands will become a partial representation of Melbourne. Tourists and even residents of Melbourne are intrigued by the ever changing environments in the alleyways. The featured work are influenced by the constant overlapping of the collaborative imagination of artists. Invitations to take photos of and with the graffiti will be endless. Bringing up the issue of graffiti and its negative effects of vandalism, it is not exempt from the streets of Melbourne. Because of those general view on graffiti, many cities have decided to be conservative and attempt to abolish the acts of graffiti in their vicinity. Nonetheless the majority will adhere to graffiti being a branch of vandalism where laws are implemented to restrict individuals from contributing their art or mess into the public. When rules are made, people will challenge

them and will try to break them. Regardless of the means used to control graffiti, it continues to rapidly boom in popularity as time runs its course. As Melbourne being a rapidly growing city itself, it is basically an invitation to adopt the graffiti culture into the city. Nevertheless, graffiti is a culture, an art form, a visual intellectual output, what ever you may think it is, it will involve people. People are needed to create it, to criticise it, to regulate it, to obverse it, to learn from it. Graffiti does not exist on its own and will rely on the public to unite with it and acknowledge its existence.

References: 1. Suzy Freeman-Greene, 2008, Urban Scrawl: Shades of Grey, the Age, http://www.theage.com.au/news/indepth/urban-scrawl-shades-of-grey/2008/01/11/1199988583501.html?page=fullpage 2. Mark Halsey, Alison Young, 2002, The Meanings of Graffiti and Municipal Administration, The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, Volume 35 Number 2 pp. 165-186.

3. Ley, D. et al (1974) Urban Graffiti as Territorial Markers, ANNALS of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 64 Number 4C pp. 491-505.

Artefact #3 RMIT University

The presence of one of Melbourne’s inner-city landmarks, RMIT University city campus, contains many notable individual buildings, each reflecting the different generations of development for instance Storey Hall and Building 8. Also the RMIT-City is located in a culturally significant area of Melbourne City due to the nature of the campus’ location for example adjacent the State Library of Victoria and the Melbourne Central Shopping centre.

RMIT University and Victoria higher education institutions contributed to promote Melbourne as Australia’s knowledge Capital. Melbourne as an emerging Knowledge City, there is many universities and education institutions. Particularly according to O’Connor (2005), Monash University, RMIT University, and University of Melbourne, play a pivotal role in the development of the Knowledge City by both educating and training the required workforce and professions for economic development through technology, and achieving scientific significance. They create, develop and maintain new technologies for emerging industries, and contribute to an improved quality of life and culture within the city.

The impact of a university campus for knowledge-based urban development can be seen through the Melbourne City near RMIT University. Within this area, there is many residents within the age bracket of 20s, high overseas population, and high proportion of university students. Besides, there are many restaurants, travel agencies, entertainments, and accommodations in that part of the city with large student numbers. So I could say, RMIT University provides key economic, social and cultural institutions to

Melbourne City.

Also globally, Melbourne is significant destination in attracting international students. Many international students draw to a city by university and national education policy to extend education beyond the domestic market. And these days, international student numbers have risen rapidly. Especially, RMIT University that is one of famous Melbourne universities to international students, has accepted a large number of international students who have contributed to multicultural Melbourne city to grow up as global University.

Tsutsumi and O’Connor state that much of the residential construction that has taken place in the City of Melbourne has been associated with students demand, and in turn much of that is related to the new global linkages of the City of Melbourne created by the national policy on international student enrolment at universities (2005). Thus the importance of international students to change in the inner city of Melbourne can be seen in their contribution to population growth, their impact on population structure and their contribution to the rental market which has underpinned substantial new residential construction. Moreover through international students from RMIT University contribute international culture and business in Melbourne City.

RMIT University also has a plan of urban landscape design, which is to create more open and green space for students and local residents as another method to communicate with Melbourne City and publicize RMIT as a Melbourne City’s landscape. This environmental project, which is creating another landmark of City and more usable space where people can communicate with City, is good for students, residents, and Melbourne City.

References: 1. Lahey,K 2009, ‘RMIT wants new city walkway’, the age news, viewed 17 April 2010,http://www.theage. com.au/national/rmit-wants-new-city-walkway-20090401-9jt8.html 2. H’Connor, K, Westerman, C & Yigitcanlar, T 2008, ‘The making of knowledge cities: Melbourne’s knowledge-based urban development experience’, Cities, vol.25, no.2, pp.63-72.

3. Tsutsumi, J, O’Connor, K 2005, ‘International Students and the Changing Character of the Inner Area of a City, Social City 24, State of Australian Cities: National Conference, Brisbane, pp.14.

Artefact #4 Visitor information center

Visitors and residents can see the distinctive yellow ‘I’ on the blue background. It is the symbol of the visitor information center. People can gain an insider’s perspective of the city of Melbourne. It has everything, which visitors need to get the best out of their stay. The visitor information centre offers lots of services with comprehensive information on Melbourne and Victoria.

Traveling is intimately boosted with an increasing reflexivity about the physical and social world. The visitor information centre is the medium that connects with people. To start traveling, they are provided with both information and transportation.

Most of the visitor information centers are located nearby transport stations in the city. These places are crowded with many people and help peoples’ lives become more convenient. The visitor information centre furnishes many diverse functions for them. It includes tourist information and travel style, hotel, restaurant, interpretive displays and guided tours, etc. Visitors can gain information of the city and surroundings through these functions. Furthermore, they may have a nature, cultural, discovery or adventure focus and they can enlarge this focus to parks, museums and ranger stations (Moscardo, 1993; Benson & Barird, 1979). There are lots of advantages, particularly different indirect experiences via the visitor information centre. In detail, rich cultural experiences, a diversity of places to eat and drink, special shopping, transportation and a wealth of information to welcome visitors. Moreover, stating it is one of the most complex and ambitious construction projects ever undertaken in Melbourne. Therefore, the visitor information centre performs that it does not waste time when visitors collect information about tours.

Nowadays, many people have quickly and readily researched ways to travel that took full benefit of each latest technology. Each new transport system appears in technology. It is important for organizational innovations. New technologies have been economically successful and culturally intertwined in the modern world. Others point out that this is to emphasize the crucial significance of the social organization of travel and this is all a mass industry that serves to organize the modern experience. Today, travel and tourism thus transform. The visitor information centre also obtains new information of transportation. It regards to new technologies of transportation of socially organizing travel, the growth of an aesthetic reflexivity, the development of interpretation in the travel industry, alters in the nature of consumption, and the contemporary subject inevitably engages in what might be called tourist practices much of the time.

In general, tourists have increased in the world. And a lot of tourists desire to gain lots of information. So, the visitor information center has developed more than before. The most important main point is visitors can know what is going on in Melbourne city and surrounding areas through the Melbourne Visitor Centre. From here, people can meet culture, friends, and the world. Visitors and Melburnians gather on the traditional lands of the Aboriginal people at Federation Square especially, the visitor information centre and the value of this place has significant importance. The traditions of past generations and maintaining their contemporary expression are vital to this place.

References: 1. Liza D. F. and Lorne K.K. 2003, ‘Community involvement in tourism infrastructure-the case of the Strahan Visitor Centre, Tasmania’, Tourism Management 24, pp289-308 2. Jhon U. 1995, Consuming Places, published by Routledge, USA and Canada, pp141-151 3. Federation Square, 2008, Melbourne’s Meeting Place, Fed Square Pty Ltd, Melbourne.

Artefact #5 Melbourne Great Post Office

Melbourne’s GPO is located on the north east corner of Bourke Street Mall and Elizabeth Street, in the centre of the Melbourne CBD. For brief history, Melbourne’s GPO was developed as a post office between 1859 and 1867, and originally opened for trade as a retail centre in 2004. It becomes a total unique retail and leisure centre today, and also the CBD’s premier boutique shopping destination for the local and international fashion designers.(GPO, 2010) The GPO was being issued as how the shopping in Melbourne city become an enormous value. As located on the main stream of destination of easy transportation, the idea of shopping has increased as it is called ‘Mecca’ (Millow, 2010). Shopping is a major form of recreation for Melbourne in recent years. Many spend hours in a mall, dining, drinking, window-shopping, people-watching, watching movie or playing indoor bowling. Especially GPO, including serve food, has the cafe culture. Since the Bourke Street is the pedestrian dominant spot and trams which are iconic to Melbourne as well passing by, the several cafes and food courts are developed around or inside GPO. Secondly, GPO’s location in the centre of the CBD has impact on the public because of its great exposure and recognition as a heritage building. Not only a gird, but also a social relation affected by Europe in ideas of concentration and sociability (Graeme, 2001). Apparently, most part of the city emulated European urban styles and forms in architecture and atmosphere. For representative European influences in the city, they are ‘Renaissance’ buildings and shopping precincts such as GPO. Finally, fashion, in all its forms, is enormously important to our cultural identity and local economy. The extent of designs and retail outlets mirrors the diversity, creativity and sophistication of our modern society.

In addition, Melbourne CBD sales are greater as a proportion of the metropolitan point and appear to retain a better metropolitan role. “We are delighted to be working with Australia Post and MGPO Pty Ltd to rejuvenate this spectacular Melbourne icon that will, in conjunction with the new retail and commercial space, continue its role as an important element in the city fabric, “ said Tim Casey, Group Managing Director of St Hilliers (GPO, 2010). Thus, people are gathering in the central place like GPO for their individual businesses and it expanded as the one of the brands for the Melbourne city. Fashion loving Melbourne is privileged to host Australia’s largest retail and consumer driven fashion event - the prestigious, annual L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival (LMFF) - which mentors and showcases Australia’s finest designers. This event celebrates Melbourne’s fashion sense and promotes many of Victoria’s exciting and innovative retailers. It is both thought-provoking and crowd-pleasing at the same time. Related to public relations, it is suggested that the people around the world visit the melbourne to experience a massive multicultural environment, especially the shopping, and to communicate with exotic feelings at once. So the GPO could picked as a the melbourne’s representative for the people and it is interacting to the world all the time as a fashion trend as well.

References: 1.Davison, Graeme(Monash University), 2001, ‘The European City in Australia’, Journal of Urban History, Vol.27 No.6. pp. 779-793

2.GPO Official site, 2010 www.melbournesgpo.com 3.Millow, Alex (Senior lecturer in economics at the University of Ballarat), 2010, Shopping Mecca Shows Its Pulling Power, The Sydney Morning Herald, Melbourne, viewed 17 April 2010 http://www.smh.com.au/ business/shopping-mecca-shows-its-pulling-power-20100331-rf0k.html