Pull Marketing Blog

Let me understand this correctly, Dan. Designers actually complained that you should not promote a service that offers more for less? That is laughable! Why would anyone want to pay more for the same service.  
Great point you made on the video. Time to Retweet.

Itai, 
I understand why they feel the way they do. There is a huge potential loss of revenue and a risk of devaluing (in a monetary sense) their industry for some of the more basic design work.  
As a marketer, I implore designers to differentiate themselves in the marketplace and convey the benefits of using their agency over the competition.

Dan, 
 
The way I see it is this: 
It is called adaption. The business environment is changing, and if they can not adapt to it, they will lose. This is the power of Inbound Marketing, or any other social marketing tool out there. It will only get worst for them if they do not adapt.  
In regard to the "devaluing" part in your comment. A brand will always devalue itself if it does not keep 'moving' forward. You have to innovate it, promote it, let it create value to the customer. Do so, and it will never devalue itself.  
 
Just a thought.

Hello Dan 
 
Would you mind giving me about 16 hours of your consulting time to discuss the value of inbound marketing and social media? I'm going to pit you against other "experts" in the field and if I like what you have to say, I'll call you back for another 20 hours of your time... if by that point you impressed me I'll pay you what I think is appropriate.  
 
Yeah, that sounds like a great idea! Let me know when you are ready to chat!

Hi George, 
I appreciate you taking the time to add another perspective to this conversation. 
I guess I'm not understanding how this is vastly different than companies responding to a request for proposal(RFP)?  
Sometimes the costs associated with responding to such a request, simply would not make good business sense.  
So I must move on and search for a more compatible business relationship.  

RFP's usually suck as well, but there is indeed a difference.  
 
A well-written RFP defines the goals, objectives, scope, and timeline too gauge the level of effort needed for success.  
 
It's then up to the agency / vendor to decide if the project is both a good match and there is a decent chance of winning the bid. A good response should not contain strategy, design comps or any high-value work. To do so would be submitting spec work. Instead, it's up to the vendor to sell themselves and their expertise based on previous work, examples and knowledge.  
 
The vendor should also ask how many RFPs have been sent out. If 4 others are bidding on the project then I'm pretty confident the client has chosen those 4 carefully and there is at least a 25% chance of winning. However, in your case you are wasting the time of 44,000 designers.  
 
Others have made the case as to why this hurts us all. You are likely a pretty well connected guy. Why didn't you reach out to designers you personally know & trust and make it a more collaborative project?  

George, 
Good points on the details of how an RFP may not be the best analogy. 
I still don't see the harm in giving someone from another country an opportunity to compete on a global scale.  
I don't feel like it's about me or the connections I'm so grateful to have made throughout the years.  
Some projects are not appropriate for services like 99 Designs.  
Yet for others, it works beautifully.  
I've posed the following question on the former post but have yet to hear a response: 
 
What is the alternative?

Danny Boy, 
 
The manner in which you had you logo created has parallels to what is known as spec work which is hotly debated in the design world. The major controversy with spec work, though, is that some companies obtain work under the guise of contests but keep all rights to submissions. So regardless if an entry "won" and was compensated, the majority of work submitted to them becomes free labor and gets used anyway without compensation. 
 
Your case more resembles the RFP which does require some work done to create a presentation and a bid. The obvious difference between this and spec work is that you didn't keep all submitted proposals in case you want a change of logo later on. Plus the other designers in contention knew they were bidding on a logo. I’ve done RFPs myself and know that you have to weigh in the competition, your odds of winning and the total work needed before bidding. 
 
Although I'm highly against the concept of spec work, I don't see your logo purchase as controversial especially if you decide that you want to keep the same designer for future work. Maybe if you decided to have your website redone and you had others create a custom website design for their bidding would you then be heading into controversial waters. 
 
Johnny

Dan asked for alternatives to spec design. Try searching for freelance designers in linkedin, twitter, or on portfolio sites. Sites like coroflot.com let you fiew designer portfolios by category of work. You can even search for designers right on 99designs - just look for recent winners or sort designers by their # of winning projects. If you are on a budget, you will receive higher quality work by creating relationships with freelance designers willing to work in your price range. Maybe 99designs is the easiest way for some people to get cheap design work. At least try different alternatives to see what gives you the best results.

Johnny, 
Thanks so much for bringing up the 'rights to submissions' issue. I feel this topic is certainly a philosophical question of one's values and ethical standards. I appreciate you pointing out that important distinction. When you brought that up, I felt my stomach churn and heart tighten a little bit; I don't like that feeling. I would not feel comfortable doing something like that.  
 
Obviously, not everyone feels that way, and 'therein lies the rub.' 
 
When technology allows for more people to compete (and willingly give up certain rights) for a possible payoff, how does one reverse the 'all mighty' economic force that fuels this situation?  
 
Boy, if someone offers an answer to that one, we might have to forward the content of this comment section onto FT.com or Economist.com.  
 
Daniel,  
I also thank you for your thoughtful response in addressing my question of alternatives. It seems the contest type of system may be best for the buyer who is looking for basic design work.  
 
Some people have a really tough time expressing what they want. If they are given say, 20 to choose from as a starting point, then it's more likely at least a couple of the logos will resonate with the buyer. Then they can work with the designer/s as they narrow it down to their final decision.

Good stuff Dan. I don't think it was wrong from you to "take advantage" of the situation. You simply took what was offered to you. It's not your problem designers downgrade themselves to work like this, this is their own fault.