At our annual PRWeek Awards dinner on March 8, the occupants of a number of tables from one agency left about 10 minutes before the presentation ended.

A senior corporate person from a major consumer brand who I spoke to later looked up the name of the firm in the guest directory upon witnessing its unsubtle exit. "I would never hire that firm," that person told me.

It's pretty interesting, the things that can kill a relationship before it ever gets ...