Marine industry "pro-bono" advertising pitch triggers backlash

ADVERTISING industry website Mumbrella was inundated with negative comments following a marine industry pitch for "pro-bono" creative advertising work.

The press release which reportedly came from the Boating Industry Alliance of Australia (BIAA) said: "The not-for-profit body is seeking an agency to work on the campaign on a pro-bono basis".

"The aim of the BIAA is to change the perception of the boating industry beyond luxury yachts and encourage the general population to get back on the water."

Advertising industry insiders quickly flooded the website with negative comments questioning why a $4 billion dollar luxury industry should be asking for "free" services.

Read the original comments here.

One reader said: "If this had been a campaign promoting boat/water safety perhaps pro-bono would be appropriate, but to build the industry and the bottom line of companies participating in it, please..."

BIAA chairman Darren Vaux also commented on the Mumbrella website, distancing the association from the pro-bono pitch.

"The BIAA has never considered and will not be calling for pro-bono services from an agency to develop a marketing campaign for the boating industry," said Vaux.

"I don’t know where JB got her information but it wasn’t from the executive or Board of the BIAA. The first I heard of it was when I was forwarded this article."

Editor of Marine Business World.com Jeni Bone was the point of contact for the pitch. Bone is also contracted to do public relations for Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show. Questions have been raised over a conflict of interest between Bone's journalism and PR industry involvement.