Mark Ritson named PPA columnist of the year

Marketing Week columnist Mark Ritson scooped the prestigious columnist of the year prize at the PPA Awards last night.

It is the second time Ritson has been awarded the accolade in as many years and his fifth time claiming the title overall.

He triumphed over five other columnists from the consumer and business press, including fellow Marketing Week columnist Helen Edwards, who is also a previous recipient of the PPA columnist of the year title.

The PPA judges were impressed by the level of understanding Ritson has of Marketing Week’s target audience and his ability to convey topics in an engaging way that makes the content accessible to all.

“Combining must-read authority and laugh out loud humour, this writer encompasses all the key attributes of a hugely successful columnist,” they said.

The winning columns submitted were:

‘NFTs are just marketing’s latest idiot magnet’

To prove his point that marketers are often blinded by the latest shiny new thing, Ritson created his own series of non-fungible tokens.

‘Tom Kerridge’s prices aren’t a rip-off if they’re what the market will pay’

In this article, he urged marketers to take a leaf out of chef Tom Kerridge’s book and embrace pricing power as it is “the surest route to profitability”.

‘The seven things marketers need to know in order to answer The Question’

Marketers understand the importance of long-term brand building and the need to invest heavily in it, but Ritson said he is frequently asked for advice on how to get buy in from the CEO or CFO. Here he provided everything marketers need to convince those above them of the benefits.