David Miller, 5 December 2008 

A special correspondent attended the Chartered Institute of Public Relations Scotland 'PRide' awards in Edinburgh on the 20th of November. They sent Spinwatch this report.  To keep their job our correspondent has to remain anonymous. 

You didn’t have to be drunk to make it through the 25 awards presented at the 2008 CIPR Pride Awards in Scotland, but it would have helped. Thankfully, there were at least ten bottles of wine on every table, and that came after the champagne reception in the Ballroom Foyer of the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Edinburgh. So, most prestigious potential prize winners were well oiled by the time local radio presenter Grant Stott, John Leslie’s brother, took on the formidable task of holding their attention for 4 hours. Between several sshhh's, he managed to slip in a joke when the Prime Minister’s brother took to the stage to present the Public Affairs Award for ‘campaigns designed to inform the public policy agenda or influence the legislative process.’ Irony aside, Stott’s gag which only slightly embarrassed John Brown, the former head of public relations at Glasgow City Council turned independent consultant and treasurer of the CIPR, went something like this: 'We've got something in common. We both know what it's like to have brothers battered in the press.’ There wasn’t that much laughter.

The Gold winner in the category was Indigo Strategic Communications for the Making Waves Over Water Charges campaign, which successfully ensured the extension of water charge exemptions for churches after 2010. So it just goes to show, it really does help if you believe in God. Indigo was also shortlisted for two other awards (which is an honour in itself because of the very high standard of PR work on display), and all it had to do to secure the nominations was sponsor the Outstanding Young Communicator Award. Tricker PR, who sponsored the award for Best Use of Media Relations, won two Gold awards for the Portsoy Whistling Ban campaign, which did what it said on the tin: imposed a month-long ban on whistling in an attempt to ensure good weather for its annual boating festival. Humming or singing  were no problem at all. But no whistling.

Award fourteen for Best Use of New Media had to be scrapped, because no one entered. And there was much fuss when they got to award eighteen for the Best Leaflet. The NHS Lothian Corporate Communications Team ran away with this one (they were the only nomination in this category) for Right Care, Right Time, Right Place. The problem arose because no one really knew what the exact definition of a leaflet was. For future reference, it is a continuous piece of unstapled paper, irrespective of size and how many times it is folded.  

The ceremony is hailed in the industry as the ‘PR Oscars’, and if you think about it (carefully) you can see the similarities. Firstly, both events are black tie. Secondly, you get to walk down a red carpet at both. Although you don’t get a goody bag at the end of the CIPR awards, you do walk away with a bag full of business cards. And the bevvy flows. So while the gold winners prepare to attend another dazzling event to compete on a national platform at the 2009 President’s Grand Prix Award, losers can rest assured that entries are just about to open for the PR Excellence Awards 2009.