Well this is a fairly shameless bit of self-promotion. But I felt it underlined a point about the need for clear agency difference, and coming after John Terry’s decision to collect another trophy without having played in the final, perhaps the climate is right for it.

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Someone reminded me earlier today about a blog post I wrote three years ago while working at Speed Communications on a list of tips for people just getting into PR that could help them learn their jobs faster and get ahead.

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PR awards have long been a mainstay of how agencies build reputation and are typcially held in high regard by clients when looking for agencies.

Equally, public relations is modernising and, steadily, beocming better reognised as a driver of clear commercial value. While there are threats too, it’s clear to see how we could command an equal footing to advertising and other marketing disciplines.

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On Monday, the education secretary, Michael Gove, was facing yet another barrage of criticism for his assaults on teenagers and their supposed ignorance.

Labour’s Tristam Hunt, Gove’s shadow, has labelled him “Mr Sloppy” and the Guardian has described his claims as being “harpooned” because he used PR led surveys.

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When I was young my Dad once told me that if you could never see yourself getting the last word in on an argument, you had already lost. I got that feeling this week when Frank X. Shaw responded to the epitaph of ‘New Coke’ being attached to Windows 8. The comparison was made by Richard Doherty of Envisioneering; a market analyst firm. The phrase ‘New Coke’ has resonance for marketers. When I was in college the ‘New Coke’ fiasco was a cautionary tale alongside Hoover’s free flights offer that we were supposed to learn from and I can understand why Mr Doherty went there.

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