Inspirational words wins Colonel Collins top PR award

Colonel Tim Collins, commander of the 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment, was honoured with the Communicator of the Year award for his stirring speech given just hours before allied troops entered Iraq in March.

Collins' magnanimous speech won widespread praise, including from the White House, and is likely to be remembered long after the war against Saddam Hussein is over.

Colonel Collins, who is now serving in Sarajevo, began his speech by saying: "We are going in to liberate, not to conquer. We are entering Iraq to free people. Show them respect. If you are ferocious in battle, remember to be magnanimous in victory."

The speech elevated him to hero status, but later he suffered unfounded accusations from an American reservist that he had mistreated Iraqi civilians and POWs. The MoD last month cleared Colonel Collins of any wrongdoing and the American officer was sacked.

At the awards last night, the Red Consultancy won its record third Consultancy of the Year title, winning praise from the judges for its ability to balance boost income while retaining strong commitment to its staff.

Red picked up a second award in the healthcare: OTC/consumer and technology categories, while Woolworths head of PR Nicole Lander won PR Professional of the Year.

A full list of winners is available here.

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This article was first published on brandrepublic.com