Member Article

​Deb Sharratt Wins Outstanding PR Practitioner for 2018

Newcastle-based Public Relations professional, Deb Sharratt has been named as the Outstanding Independent PR Practitioner (North East), in the industry’s top awards in the region.

More than 130 PR professionals gathered at The Biscuit Factory in Newcastle last night for the 2018 CIPR North East PRide Awards ceremony – the region’s annual public relations showpiece. The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Pride Awards is the UK’s most prestigious nation-wide awards scheme, recognising excellence in public relations and communications across Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and six English regions, including the North East. Over 1000 entries were submitted nationally this year.

DebSharratt Communications was set up 8 years ago, after an in-house career spanning the public, private and third sector including roles at Children North East, Pubmaster and One North East, including the ‘Passionate people. Passionate Places’ campaign. Currently Vice-Chair of CIPR North East, Deb will join the national CIPR Council in 2019 after being elected earlier this year.

Deb previously won the GOLD accolade in the same category in 2012 and has also won Best Sports Campaign and best Corporate & Business Communication as an independent practitioner.

The PR & Marketing business has four distinct areas: PR & Marketing activity including strategic digital comms; training and workshops for Newcastle and Sunderland Universities and also regional marketing and PR training provider nesma; associate work with PR agencies; and also has its own media space, My Boys Club, a lifestyle, food and travel blog.

Deb Sharratt said: “I’m thrilled to win this prestigious award. I have many brilliant clients from small tourism businesses to multi-national companies for whom I deliver strategic, effective campaigns that enable the organisations to achieve their business objectives. “Working on your own is not always easy but to have your work recognised by the highest standards in the industry, again, is a really special achievement for me.”

Deb Sharratt works with a client base primarily focused on tourism, leisure, travel and food, which complements the blog however, the award of Independent Practitioner not only looks at the results of work for clients but also on their contribution to the industry and professional development.

​Deb is an accredited CIPR practitioner having joined the CIPR in 1996 and has contributed to the success of the CIPR Northeast Committee in a number of roles over the past 14 years and currently holds the voluntary positions of Vice-Chair and social media manager. In a voluntary capacity she is co-writing a skills and best practice guide for CIPR and has co-authored articles on ethical influencer relations for both Influence Online and Vuelio, and also co-hosted a webinar for Vuelio on the same subject.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Deb Sharratt Communications .