As an agency MD there are an ever-increasing number of ways in which you can secure third-party validation of your agency’s success. There are obviously awards – most importantly those of PRmoment naturally – but there’s also a range of accreditations, audits and benchmarking you can submit to in order to receive a stamp of approval.

A PR agency brief can be the difference between the success and failure of a campaign.

Whether it’s a brief for a new business pitch or for a fresh campaign for an existing client, getting the brief right upfront sets the scene for all that’s to follow.

With that in mind, it’s perhaps a surprise that briefs sometimes seem – to the agencies that receive them at least – to have been put together with little thought for the outcome.

With the Conservative election victory, a referendum on EU membership is now inevitable. The speculation over the political and economic impact will reach new peaks but, at a more practical level, what does a PR practitioner need to do now to prepare?