Strichpunkt CEO and Management Spokesperson of ADC, Jochen Rädeker, commented at the red dot awards in Essen and in an interview with Wirtschaftswoche on the market trend towards tendering unpaid pitches even for low budgets. Rädeker: “A free competition presentation can not give rise to a reasonable business relationship: those who assume that the agency comps its most important product, namely the idea, simply do not take potential partners seriously.” Rädeker is critical of the fact that some businesses buy “creative services as if they were buying pins” instead of using market screening and awarding of appropriate discount fees to communicate the suitable partner on a fair basis which is also efficient for the company. “An unpaid pitch usually ends up with a dissatisfactory selection of half-baked pigeon-hole concepts for everyone concerned”, claims Rädeker.

Wirtschaftswoche reported in its edition dated 10.12. on the current situation in the design sector.