Last week I compared public relations to estate agency. My assumption was that we could surely not be deemed less professional than this unloved business.
It’s already time to revise this assumption. Their’s looks set to become a more regulated business (BBC reports).
My advice to indendent PR consultancies is to distance yourself from the agency business. Unless you work on commission (and how could this work in our business outside sports and celebrity agents?) then I suggest you start thinking of yourself and describing yourself as a ‘consultant’ (who gets paid for advice) rather than an ‘agent’ (who is paid a percentage commission on a commercial transaction). Better still, decide who can best represent your interests and engage with that body.
PR Studies 
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