The marketing profession needs to be educated about free pitching

I write in response to David Gregory’s letter on free pitching (DW 1 May). As an experienced marketer, but a newcomer to the design industry, the hottest potato I seem to be seeing and reading about at every turn in your press and journals, is the issues surrounding free pitching.

The principles against are sound and generally accepted within the industry. So I fail to appreciate why so much time and effort is being wasted preaching to the converted? Surely the answer is to educate clients – those who write the tenders in the first place.

There is no better place to start than with the marketers of tomorrow. Why aren’t our representative bodies such as the Design Business Association or the Design Council lobbying the Chartered Institute of Marketing or the CAM Foundation to properly educate our future clients in good business practice?

After all, the design and marketing industries are, to a large extent, mutually dependent and the long-term benefits would be felt on both sides. I would be interested to hear their response.

Karen Woodhead

New business manager

White Space Visual

Communication

Barnsley

South Yorkshire S72 8RP