FOR AD WATCH (MARKETING PERSPECTIVE --- Tuesday - May 4<\/p>\n
;JP;CD;
\nANPAc..r..
\nAds-watch-politics-brand<\/p>\n
Branding Politics -- another advertising phenomena<\/p>\n
Rodney Louis Vincent
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Having spent the last two years in Jakarta, this
\nis my first taste of Indonesian elections. Not quite what I
\nexpected, especially coming from a country like Malaysia where
\nelections are subtle and campaign rallies have a more strategic
\napproach.<\/p>\n
Again, with a population of more than 200 million, just being
\nvisible can sometimes be more effective than being strategic. Or
\nis that true?<\/p>\n
According to Eleanor Modesto, technical adviser at Lowe
\nIndonesia, "I read a comment in a recent issue of The Jakarta
\nPost's 'Man on the Street' interview column -- 'I'm voting for
\nthe party with the most attractive logo,' said one voter. There
\nwas no mention of any political platform or issue, his choice was
\nbased purely on the appeal of the visual symbol.<\/p>\n
"Name and face recognition give candidates and brands heads
\nup, whether it's choosing a representative or a shampoo. So faces
\nand numbers were splashed all over thousands of posters and
\nleaflets, not political issues or campaign promises."<\/p>\n
The lack of information and education could be the main source
\nleading to this, but a political party being selected solely
\nbecause they have the largest budget and were able to be present
\nin every nook and corner is unthinkable. Society in Indonesia has
\ngrown more and more sophisticated over the years and marketers
\nshould realize that there could be more serious issues to
\nconsider when getting to the consumers' sweet spot.<\/p>\n
In a joint survey by Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) and National
\nLeadership Centre (NLC) regarding the most important issues
\nfacing Indonesia today, 52 percent said that getting the economy
\nunder control and creating jobs were pertinent, 17 percent felt
\ncorruption needed a huge clean up, 12 percent went
\nfor strengthening religious values and improving free public
\neducation was supported by 8 percent of the sample size.<\/p>\n
This year is the first where Indonesians vote their president
\ndirectly, in other words the 2004 elections are more than just a
\nwork out in democracy; they attribute institutional improvements
\nin the process compared to the 1999 elections.<\/p>\n
In another survey by TNS and NLC with 1,016 randomly selected
\nvoters in 18 provinces, the top five presidential contenders were
\nSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono (28 percent), President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri (14 percent), Amien Rais (11 percent), Prabowo (7
\npercent) and Abdurrahman Wahid (6 percent).<\/p>\n
This year political parties have had the opportunity to
\nexplore the booming TV industry to further support their
\ncampaigns.<\/p>\n
"Data from the regular TV monitoring report of Nielsen Media
\nstates that of the 24 parties, 22 of them have employed paid
\nmedia advertising in their first round of campaigning. On TV
\nalone, there were more than 10,000 spots spreading out to all TV
\nchannels, both national and local coverage. We saw an increase of
\n60 percent in first quarter 2004 TV expenditure compared to the
\nsame period last year.<\/p>\n
"And with the exception of retail and personal services
\ncategory, all other segments experienced an increase of
\nadvertising investment. Corporate and PSA campaigns preceded the
\nelection drive and their expenditure exploded by 300 percent
\nduring this period," said Rini Akhdiat, CEO,
\nCarat Media.<\/p>\n
In a more complex election where political parties have
\nincreased from three to 24 -- top-of-mind awareness is critical.
\nPDI-P, the incumbent, probably best understood the power of
\nbranding by being single-minded in their message and focused on
\ntheir logo, which simply said: "Coblos Moncong Putih" (Vote for
\nthe white snout).<\/p>\n
It's interesting to note, that the tagline has caught up with
\nmany lips on the street and Ibu Mega, who is known for her
\nmotherly characteristics, had posters of her displaying the
\nfirmness of a strong leader. Even the production quality of their
\nadvertising materials seem to be superior than their competitors.
\nThe Golkar Party, recognizing that the masses are disappointed
\nwith the incumbent government, used visuals of the party's
\n"achievements" -- reminiscent of corporate-style advertising
\ncampaigns.<\/p>\n
"The indications are that brand loyalty (or party\/candidate
\nloyalty) is not the same as it once was. It doesn't mean that
\nit's the end of brands but simply that as times and people
\nchange, brands (and political parties) must change with them,
\ntoo. This is the key to long-term survival. And this same
\nadvice is true for political parties and politicians. They need
\nto define what differentiates them from the others -- what they
\nstand for and how they can truly be of service to their
\nconstituents," added Modesto. -- The writer is editor of ADOI
\nmagazine, an English-language publication about advertising and
\nmarketing<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/for-bad-watchb-marketing-perspective-tuesday-may-4-1447899208",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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