Ten agencies line up for pro bono boating industry pitch
A pro bono pitch held by the boating industry has received submissions from ten interested agencies.
The pitch, held by Queensland Marine, the state’s boating industry body, was called last month.
The Boating Industries Alliance of Australia, the industry body that oversees Queensland Marine, declined to reveal the identities of the agencies involved.
One agency that expressed interest early on was Splash Media Design.
When Mumbrella first reported on the pitch, the agency community objected to being asked to work for free, prompting Darren Vaux, chairman of the BIAA to distance himself from the pitch.
The idea behind the pitch is to position the boating industry as about more than luxury yachts and encourage the general public to embrace boating.
No naming and shaming of the interested parties?? I’d really be very interested to know which agencies other than Splash are fine with undervaluing the creative process to a price of zero.
Anyway…. good luck with all of that!
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Are these guys for real? 10 agencies fighting over doing pro bono work!?
We do pro bono work for a not-for-profit Australian health organisation. And we enjoy doing it….and have been doing it for 3 years.
But if they wanted to put that work out to pitch we’d say “good on ya”…and decline the pitch. Pitches take up so much energy, resources and dollars.
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I’m assuming the agencies have not agreed to pro bono work, but instead looked further than that initial call-out.
You see they may have been wise enough to secure a meeting and further obtain a brief for a proper campaign involving remuneration.
Time will tell…
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exactly, its a business opportunity and a foot in the door which a smart agency will nurture into paid work.
that explains ‘why’ they’d do it.
they question whether they ‘should’ or not is another one
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http://www.splashmediadesign.com.au/ enough said
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@richie I don’t agree that this is a “foot in the door” opportunity for smart agencies – if this is how these guys put together an important project for them and their members, what bigger opportunity will there be for an earn?
I’d say what you see is what you get with this client, and better to go in eyes wide open.
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Wowsers!! …more than enough said!
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Don’t be mean everyone, any agency that has ‘Hot deal of the month’ on their landing page is obviously playing in a different league to the big agencies…! Looking forward to all the splash/boating/sinking gags that are sure to come if they win it.
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haw! that sarcy last post wasnt me
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Joey, i don’t get it – you’re willing to work for free for an Australian health organisation, but if they asked you to pitch (ie. work for free), you’d walk away from it because you’re not willing to work for free so that you get the chance to work for free…
Am i missing something in amongst all this free work ?
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Now I don’t want to blow Splash Media Design’s horn too much, but I found this little gem on their website.
“Splash has managed to eliminate much of the costly graphic design and technical expertise costs and have introduced cutting edge Web Publishers who are more PR, Sales and Marketing orientated to manage 80% of the website. This concept not only helps ensure small businesses to achieve marketing and sales, but has shaved literally thousands of dollars off the cost of professional websites.
We are big into packages … because we know from our own experience, that if you don’t do it properly, you are just wasting your money.”
Now, I present you exhibit A: http://www.thesewingemporium.com/
I think they’ve really hit the nail on the head. Why would you need costly graphic design and technical expertise when you can have quality like that?
Check out http://www.splashmediadesign.com.au/ for all the amazing websites they’ve designed!
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We have to be the dumbest industry on the planet. If you phoned a plumber or electrician and suggested they work for free for a day or two so you could see if you liked their work they would tell you to get stuffed. The advertising and marketing industry is so insecure about what it delivers that it feels obliged to prove value but working for free. I’ve never understood this.
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No comments from Jeni Bone on this?
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Good for splash I say…
While initially I had lampooned this pitch, it was positioned as though it was a pitch for “agencies” – it looks like the responses are from the “low-cost one man band” and there is a time, place and market for that.
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Wow, those Splash guys make me feel all nostaligic – takes me back way back to 1994 :0
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You think that site was poor.
Check out some of the big brands, we know. “skip intro” anyone….?
http://www.clemenger.com.au/
http://www.clemengerbbdo.com.au/
Sorry I am not anti Clems – just showing that some agencies still have 10 year old websites in flash…
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I work for one of the bigger digital agencies, and I have to chime in and say what is wih all the flash haters?
Though we use it sparingly (and in a manner that degrades gracefully where unsupported)… For many brands should it be SUCH a big deal?
In the case of clems I would be surprised if the volume of non-flash visits was significant enough to warrant redevelop their site. Fairly traditional agencies aren’t assessed on their technical chops and are I would imagine leads would be more likely to be researching prospective agency partners during office hours / on a computer.
If you were searching on mobile and were REALLY interested in an agency to develop print, tv, radio, outdoor… Surely most people will forgive the flash and look at it when they are next at their desk.
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