DIARY: Rant

<p>All the tea in China won't be enough payment to get me to operate </p><p>an agency in Hong Kong these days. Here's why: </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Budgets are stagnating due to both short-term macro-economic weaknesses </p><p>and questions about Hong Kong's long-term relevance given China's rising </p><p>power. The result: a dog-eat-dog, fight-to-the-death and inter-agency </p><p>competitiveness that works against the formation of a sustainable </p><p>business model. Salaries and cost structures are out of whack versus </p><p>China and Singapore benchmarks, leading to other cities' emergence as </p><p>multinational hubs on agency, production and client sides. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Companies operating in Hong Kong are increasingly adopting a short-term </p><p>tactical business model. This shift away from brand building robs the </p><p>industry of intellectual capital and, hence, negotiating clout with </p><p>clients. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>For a decade or more, the best and brightest young professionals </p><p>eschewed the industry altogether. And, more recently, some of the most </p><p>far-sighted and savvy thinkers are migrating north of the border. </p><p>Clearly, this is not a pretty picture. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>What's even more discouraging is that Hong Kong boasts natural </p><p>advantages which, if harnessed, could trigger a renaissance within the </p><p>industry. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Its worldliness, an instinctive insight into the psychology of not only </p><p>Chinese but pan-Asian cultures, its technological savvy, its incredible </p><p>drive and resourcefulness and a blossoming creative culture that extends </p><p>well beyond advertising (check out the new diversity in Hong </p><p>Kong-produced films). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>So what should and can be done? Well, of course, there's no magic </p><p>answer. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>We're not assembling an Ikea coffee table. But a few long-term remedies </p><p>are readily apparent: recruit world-class managing directors from </p><p>anywhere. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>These men and women, however, must be strategically-driven advertising </p><p>people, not prisoners of the bottom line. If their contributions are </p><p>self-apparent, they will overcome the "but-my-client-only-conducts </p><p>meetings-in-Cantonese" charade; integrate mainland and local agency </p><p>operations - and mindsets - through cross-pollination of staff, </p><p>consolidation of balance sheets and legitimate managerial </p><p>integration. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Whoever you are, and whatever you want to get off your chest, send your </p><p>rants to rant@media.com.hk, and we'll print them anonymously. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>