What's stopping RI brands from competing globally<\/p>\n
Michael J. Webdell, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Nike, Samsung, Tommy Hilfiger, Guess, Sony: These are just a
\nfew brands popular to people across the world. In shopping malls
\nfrom Jakarta to London, and New York to Seoul, they are symbols
\nof a lifestyle consumers pay premium to be part of. But whether
\none pays US$50 for their Hilfigers in Los Angeles or 10,000 yen
\n($91) in Tokyo, many of these products have something more in
\ncommon than a brand name or a high price tag: Many of them are
\nmade in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Of course, there's nothing shocking about that. For years,
\nIndonesia has been manufacturing the products branded by some of
\nthe world's most prestigious companies. Rather, with the
\ncountry's clear capability to manufacture such highly sought-
\nafter goods, it is puzzling why Indonesia lacks any globally-
\nknown brands of its own.<\/p>\n
To be fair, Indonesia has its share of strong domestic brands.
\nAqua, Sampoerna, Indomie, Hoka Hoka Bento, and Lion Air clearly
\ndemonstrate Indonesian capability for developing and managing
\nsuccessful brand identity programs. So, if Indonesian business
\nhas the capability to manufacture such quality products, and has
\nat least a general understanding of branding as a value-added
\nmarketing tool, where do Indonesian companies fall short in
\ncreating their own global brands?<\/p>\n
Socially speaking, Indonesia is at a disadvantage for creating
\nglobal brands. The modern concepts of branding and marketing are
\na creation of capitalism. And though Indonesia can be said a
\ngrand contributor to capitalism's development, the country's part
\nhas been largely limited to supplier.<\/p>\n
Of course, suppliers of commodities and low-cost products are
\na very important part of our economy; and I am not attempting to
\ndiscount them. But after centuries of learning its well-defined
\nplace in the economic food chain, excluded from the value-added
\naspects of branding, many Indonesian businesses lack the profound
\nknowledge and confidence to undertake this initiative. Many don't
\nrealize they could ever attempt such a thing as creating a global
\nbrand.<\/p>\n
However, the good news is the knowledge and skills required in
\ncreating and managing an internationally successful brand can be
\nlearned. And, in my opinion, the lack of confidence for marketing
\nbrands globally is unfounded. This opinion is based on my
\npreviously outlined points that Indonesia does produce the high-
\nquality goods marketed by many of today's global brand leaders,
\nand that Indonesia has many successful domestic brands. With a
\nlittle initiative, these resources can be successfully applied
\ninternationally.<\/p>\n
Perception of what Indonesian business can and can't do is the
\nreal gremlin in creating global brands. It is always shocking to
\nme when business and government give into the notion that the
\ncountry's slower performance on exports is helplessly related to
\nissues like anti-Muslim sentiment, or inclusion on \"travel
\nwarning\" lists.<\/p>\n
These issues don't need to consume Indonesia's brand identity
\nwhen the country has so much to offer. Presenting them as the
\ncause of current economic conditions is an inaccurate
\nrationalization that plays into negative stereotypes and takes
\nour focus away from discovering new economic growth
\nopportunities. These are mental obstacles by which business does
\nnot have to be stymied.<\/p>\n
In my experience, business is business. As far as foreign
\ncorporate buyers are concerned, they just want a good price,
\nquality products, excellent service, and an easy, safe
\ntransaction. Where the end consumer is concerned, unless they are
\nbuying a cultural-specific or country-specific product such as
\nFrench perfume, they don't really care where a product is made.<\/p>\n
A prime example is Tommy Hilfiger who used the slogan \"An
\nAmerican Original\" to support their brand identity. I am not
\naware of many Hilfiger products that are actually manufactured in
\nThe United States. But with annual sales of about $1.9 billion in
\n2003, clearly the power of Hilfiger's brand is what sells his
\nproducts. Whether they are made in the United States, Indonesia,
\nor any other country doesn't really matter.<\/p>\n
Hypothetically, an Indonesian company might do just as well
\ncreating and marketing its own \"original American\" brand. We just
\nneed the vision, like Tommy Hilfiger had, to create something as
\nunique and wonderful.<\/p>\n
Indonesian business must start studying the success of global
\nbrands and figuring out how to start participating themselves. By
\ncreating new brands of their own, or adapting suitable Indonesian
\nbrands to international markets, they can create greater sales
\nfor their companies and increase exports for the country while
\nkeeping a greater share of the Indonesian-made products' end
\nvalue in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
But we all have to get past this engrained image of what we
\nthink Indonesia is and start making it what it can be. It is up
\nto Indonesian investors and business to gain the knowledge, take
\nthe initiative, and realize that Indonesian brands can be
\nglobally successful too.<\/p>\n
The writer is a marketing and management consultant. He may be
\ncontacted at mjwebdell@aol.com.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/whats-stopping-ri-brands-from-competing-globally-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}