PERSPECTIVE: The one-size-fits-all mentality is no way to market in Britain.

For the most palpable sign of a UK communications industry both insecure and under siege, this week's ISBA annual lunch was the place to be.

Barely had the after-lunch speaker, Peter Mandelson, finished his appeal to advertisers and agencies to overcome their fear of an invasion by foreign broadcast giants, than chairs were being vacated en masse and guests were spilling out into Park Lane from the London Hilton.

It wasn't that New Labour's old spinmaster didn't have some insightful observations on the changing media landscape. Just that there were sales targets to be met and new-business prospects to be chased. With the downturn now predicted to stretch well into next year, it seems that everybody is preoccupied with immediate and pragmatic considerations rather than long-term strategic issues.

Big advertisers have become central control freaks, resulting in too many 'one-size-fits-all' decisions which look more like ham-fisted attempts to achieve economies of scale, rather than properly considered strategies that will support and sustain brands through the bad times.

Mandelson's audience included a leading marketing director who, for obvious reasons, shall remain nameless. Suffice to say, his company's brands are household names supported by significant adspends. Some months ago his bosses in Europe chose to align their advertising within a single network.