LEADER: Batey makes case for a powerful USP

When internet mania was at its peak, all management consultants and advertising agencies could talk about was of a new business paradigm emerging. It was one where dominance in business would belong to the nimble and the swift, while established corporations, stuck in the old way of doing things, would lose out, big time. But the upside-down world of dotcoms turned out to be more hype than a revolution. And the business paradigms it spawned have fallen out of favour just as quickly as the Nasdaq deflated. Instead, a year after the internet bubble burst and the global economy moves into a synchronised slowdown, agencies are scrambling for a way to save their margins, if not their businesses. That explains the spectacle of as many as a dozen agencies pitching for an account, the rush to set up a range of service units to handle as much of a client's business under one roof, or the severe belt-tightening underway. Which makes Batey Ads' decision to drop 10 clients - the ones demanding low value work and hence didn't pull their weight in revenue terms - a very courageous one, given today's calamitous conditions. Batey has retained only clients committed to building brands, the ones - who by the nature of their assignments - will pay the bill. In reshaping its client list, Batey has trumpeted what it stands for, its USP, in the clearest way possible. Agencies are quick to talk about their client's USP, but only a small minority have succeeded in demonstrating what they stand for. As USPs go, Batey has enunciated a very powerful one when stacked against rivals who are trying to be all things to all clients. Batey has chosen to focus on the high value end of the business - building up viable, powerful brands as it has done, most notably, for long-standing client Singapore Airlines. Some staff have been let go in the process. This should enable Batey to run a tighter ship, one which will allow it to concentrate energies on things that matter most to its clients.

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