Could work­ing for free be one of the best pro­mo­tional tools avail­able to an indi­vid­ual or SME?

37signals believes so, say­ing that their 37Better Project was “one of the best pro­mo­tional things [they] ever did”. To illus­trate their point they also take a look at R.BIRD’s excel­lent con­sumer pack­ag­ing pat­terns, stat­ing:

If you’re look­ing to hire a brand design firm, wouldn’t you want to con­sider a com­pany that likes this stuff enough to do it for free?

And doesn’t this apply to much more than just design (I’m think­ing of open source projects, etc.)?

Ben Cas­nocha goes one fur­ther, say­ing that if you’re look­ing for work why not reach out and offer to work for free with an idol/hero?