… good manners and a single cynical grin

There is absolutely no way that Iain Murray is having the Last Word with his rant (MW December 1). The fact that Murray has named the likes of Max Clifford when damning the world of public relations (PR) is testament to a lack of awareness and understanding about PR as a marketing discipline.

What Murray as actually referring to is the role of the publicist.

I am sure Marketing Week is aware that PR works to the same objectives as all forms of marketing, and tackles business-changing issues.

The 50 per cent of our staff who are male are, by definition, far from the “otherwise unemployable young women” that Murray assumes our industry is made up of. Our staff are all educated to degree level, high achievers, and have to go through vigorous writing and presenting exams to even gain a job here.

I’m sure that organisations such as the COI, Accenture or Virgin don’t employ their PR executives because they are female, blonde and have nice teeth. That, Mr Murray, is tantamount to discrimination.

I am surprised and disappointed that a respected marketing title like Marketing Week would run such an ignorant and uninformed article. It seems that Murray is writing with a personal grievance rather than for the good of the marketing industry or Marketing Week.

Susanna Simpson

Managing director

Limelight PR

London SW1