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.
