Free-pitching debate is still high on the agenda

I read with interest Andrew Thomas’s letter (DW 16 August) entitled If you can’t abolish free-pitching why not regulate it?

I also read the news story on page 4 of the same issue that C Eye had beaten rivals Identica, Carnegie Orr, Basten Greenhill Andrews, Citigate Lloyd Northover, Pentagram and Wolff Olins in an unpaid creative pitch for one of the University of Warwick’s commercial arms, Warwick Conferences.

Are seven design consultancies, including the likes of Wolff Olins and Pentagram, really undertaking unpaid creative pitches for these types of projects?

If so, I am quite glad that my consultancy does not undertake free-pitching.

Mark Pinder

Co-founder

BrandFrontier

mark.pinder@brandfrontier.co.UK

John McConnell has already confirmed that Pentagram withdrew from the Warwick Conferences pitch at an early stage as it doesn’t pitch for free (Letters, DW 23 August) – something the client omitted to tell us when it confirmed the pitch list – Ed