As reported in Management Today, entrepreneur Guy Kingston is so fed up with ‘dodgy PR agents’ he’s trying to find Britain’s worst public relations agent.
He lists 9 signs of a bad PR agent – a reasonable list of bad practice indicators.
What’s unsaid is that a good PR consultant (note how I prefer to use the c word) will choose to develop long-term business relationships with the best clients. The problem here, as so often, probably comes down to expectation management. Short-term publicity does not always equate to long-term reputation, which is why payment by results is usually such a bad choice (it ensures the focus is only on tomorrow’s headines whether good, bad or ugly). Seven PR agents in just over a year does suggest a focus on the short-term.
Yet this stunt’s clearly gained him some publicity. Either he’s going alone and shows he’s learnt the rules of the game or – quite possibly – this was dreamed up by his latest ‘scumbag masquerading as a PR agent.’ If so, it’s a textbook example of how to turn around a difficult client. Trebles all round!
PR Studies 
Richard, don’t you think this list looks alot like the characteristics of ANY bad employee/consultant (I hate the a-word, too). Looks like Kingston is a victim of his own Rule #7– it’s too vague!.
They say there’s no such thing as bad PR– apparently there’s no such a thing as bad PR about PR either.