Marketing's Mark Ritson wins PPA Columnist of the Year award
LONDON - Marketing columnist Mark Ritson was awarded the business media columnist of the year prize at last night's PPA Awards, which celebrate editorial and publishing excellence.
Ritson was described as having an incisive grasp of branding concept and behaviour and that his copy managed to provoke laughter and rage, particularly from those on the receiving end of his comments, in equal measure while his predictions are spot-on.
He was also credited with providing Marketing readers with a definitive insider's guide to the rise and fall of brands both in the UK and globally.
The judges said: ‘Mark's writing is engaging, accessible, well researched and brave. His entry stood out head an shoulders above the rest.'
Ritson said of the award: `When I started writing for Marketing they asked me which people I read. I could not think of anyone because no-one really said anything worthwhile about brands or marketing strategy. I vowed when I started writing for Marketing that I would at least get people to remember me by disagreeing or hating me. My initial goal was to get fired by Marketing because what I was saying made people so uncomfortable that would force the editor to sack me. So in some ways I suppose I should be a bit disappointed with the PPA Award because it means I failed in getting fired, and became a proper columnist instead. Still there is always next year.'
Comments
Martin Thomas - 01/07/2009
Always worth reading, usually provocative and prepared to criticise even the biggest brand owners for sloppy thinking and poor execution. At a time when the marketing press is all too eager to turn competent marketers into business heroes, we need someone like Mark Ritson who is prepared to tell it like it is. Keep on trying to get fired.