The advertising industry has been trying for years to confront bad practices in contracting, whether public or private, such as unpaid competitions or minimum deadlines for submitting proposals. To these processes, which devalue professional practice, are also added new agents, such as payment-for-participation platforms, which promote new speculative dynamics in the sector.

The Spanish Branding Association (Aebrand) has warned of this in a statement in which they express their concern about the normalization of this type of services. These are third-party platforms that act as an intermediary between the contractor and companies or professionals dedicated to creativity, design or strategy.

They could be considered “a Netflix of contests”, an aggregator of tenders. They are generally based on a subscription model, so that through a monthly payment, professionals can have access to the published calls and present their proposals, for which they can achieve a series of awards, and see their idea or proposal implemented by the client.

The Association considers that this model that is breaking into the market aggravates the normalization of practices that deteriorate the quality of the solutions and their ability to contribute effectively to the business. “Brands are strategic assets whose construction requires knowledge, judgment and experience. The form of contracting directly conditions the result and, with it, the positioning and competitiveness of the organizations.“, they explain from Aebrand in the statement. “Addressing branding from inadequate models devalues ​​professional practice and compromises real business opportunities”.

In conversation with reason.WhyJaime Dolagaray, President of Aebrand, emphasizes that these types of platforms detract from the work of the branding industry. “Branding is an economic activity with impact on the business and implications for strategy and marketing. It cannot be reduced to a mere transaction or monetary exchange.“, he explains. “It is a question of deontology, ethics, respect for the work of hundreds of relevant companies and thousands of professionals.”.

Pay to participate in contests, a new model

The complaint is motivated by the activity of platforms such as TerraViva Competitions, an Italian portal that claims to be dedicated to the organization of international architecture competitions, as well as graphic design and branding; already connect “to the world’s most talented creatives with partners and stakeholders seeking high-quality projects“, as described on its website.

As they describe, their journey began as a “didactic department” of the Politecnico di Milano university, but in 2022 it became a startup that is currently supported by B4i – Bocconi for Innovation, the accelerator and entrepreneurship hub of the Bocconi university, in Milan. It is presented as an international and digital alternative “to obsolete standard bidding procedures, limited to a local level”.

The platform provides services to both parties of the process. It offers the organizers the design of the contest, monitoring from the launch to the selection of winners or the promotion of the same on their channels and those of their collaborators.
It allows interested parties, whether they are students, architects, designers or artists, to present their ideas for the projects present on the platform.

This can be done through the subscription plan or direct payment for a specific competition, which gives the opportunity to submit a proposal, but if you want to submit additional ones, an extra fee must be paid. However, TerraViva may offer promotions, gift cards or discount packages so that participants obtain more than one identification code to access materials for multiple contests.

An international jury made up of companies and professionals, who can also apply through the platform and who the company ensures are carefully selected according to the theme of the contest, evaluates the proposals and chooses the winners. Upon completion of the process, clients can continue the work of the winning design team and/or directly assign subsequent development phases.

In the case of the contest opened by the Italian pizza chain Sa Pizzedda to design its new visual identity, participants can enter for 19 euros in the case of subscription, or for 49 euros in a single payment. The price rises to 69 or 109 euros as the deadline for submitting proposals progresses.
This contest has a prize pool – managed by TerraViva – of 8,000 euros that are divided between 3,000 euros for the winner, 2,000 for second place and 1,000 for third place; as well as 2,000 euros in coupons for subscriptions or other registrations in projects. In addition, Sa Pizzedda claims to offer 40% discounts on its application to all participants.

Participating in the platform implies accepting its terms. These include prohibiting participants from sharing their proposals before the winner of the competition is announced, or asking the juries about the status of the process. The conditions also establish that participants retain intellectual and/or industrial property rights over the projects presented, and recognize moral rights.

But TerraViva reserves extensive exploitation rights, such as using the submitted material for printed or digital publications and exhibitions, as well as the right to use, adapt, modify, publish, display, reproduce and distribute the projects for marketing and advertising purposes, in any format and through any means of communication and/or support.

And in the case of finalist projects, it ensures that it acquires the right to economic exploitation of the project and the permanent, unlimited, irrevocable, exclusive and internationally recognized right to use, perform, adapt, modify, publish in any media, exhibit, reproduce and distribute the project also for marketing and advertising purposes, create works based on the project or give the project or parts of it to third parties by any means, form or through any technology.

However, from TerraViva they explain that being part of the platform “represents a great opportunity to showcase creative and innovative ideas to a global audience“In addition, they argue that participants have the opportunity to face new challenges that allow them to improve their design skills and experiment with new approaches; and that the competitive environment can be motivating and inspiring, pushing designers to think creatively and explore their full potential.

In defense of the profession

For all these reasons, Aebrand warns the sector that these types of platforms are generating business models based on abusive practices and that displace competition to price or free. They defend that branding is an economic activity that generates value and tangible return, so its hiring requires rigor and professional criteria; and that professional work must be recognized and remunerated.

In addition to denouncing these new intermediaries, in their statement they reiterate their position regarding competitions, which they do not consider the most appropriate way to contract. They maintain that “make it difficult to understand the business, the context and the strategic objectives necessary to build solid proposals with impact”.

For now, in line with its usual methodology, Aebrand is adopting a dissemination approach regarding these new practices, seeking to raise awareness in the industry, both privately and publicly, about the value of the profession. “We consider it necessary to promote reflection among companies, institutions and professionals on branding contracting models.“, they point out in their statement. “Committing to rigorous, transparent and remunerated processes is not only an ethical issue, but a guarantee of long-term value”.

Despite everything, in conversation with reason.WhyJaime Dolagaray considers that the Spanish sector is making progress in terms of hiring, especially in the private sector. “It is finally beginning to be understood that branding is more than visual identity, that there is a strategy behind it that impacts the business, and that this must be remunerated“, he assures. “But we have to continue disseminating information, especially in public institutions.”.