CAREERS: Bates staff learns strategy at school

HONG KONG: Bates Asia has set up Strategy School for senior executives across the region in a drive to boost the agency's overall strategic and creative abilities. The move follows an initiative last year, when Bates encouraged staffers to take up a distance learning programme on internet marketing offered by the University of British Columbia. That effort was intended to expand web marketing expertise across the network rather than concentrate it within a single division. Strategy School, which contains training courses developed by the agency, attempts to provide executives with a big-picture view of marketing communications, which now needs to take into account a fragmented media landscape, a more empowered and sophisticated consumer and the increasing importance of integration in campaigns. The move is being backed up by the hiring of high-level strategic planners in Hong Kong and Singapore. The most recent hire was Josephine Tsai who was appointed Taiwan strategic planning manager - a newly-created position. That appointment was a long time in coming, the agency said, because the number of people capable of thinking in strategic terms is few and far between. Meanwhile, Bates' programme involves four off-site training workshops each held in a different location. The first multinational group of 25 Bates executives - who were hand-picked based on their potential - recently returned from a workshop in Bali. All are scheduled to complete the series of courses by December. Bates Asia regional president, Jeffrey Yu, said: "A creative agency is only as creative as its people. Strategy School aims to hothouse our best talent, enhance Bates' regional network, encourage new ways of thinking and foster client relationships." Bates Asia regional planning director, Ayesha Walawalkar, added: "The course brings together some of Bates Asia's brightest young talents from different cultures and backgrounds, creating an atmosphere that allows true networking and team bonding." The first contingent of students have come from Bates' offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, China, the Philippines and IndoChina. When they return to their home office, they have to pass on what they have learned to their account service teams. "In this way, Bates Asia's entire regional creative and account servicing network of more than 1,000 people will benefit from the agency's investment in training," Walawalkar said.

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