Back-to-basics marketing approach reaps rich rewards

A canopy of red and white Coca-Cola banners fluttered along Surabaya's streets to herald the launching of yet another Coca- Cola marketing blitz.

In Indonesia, as with the rest of the world, the marketing of the soft drink is shaped to fit the particular interests of the local consumer market. For Indonesia, this encompasses sponsoring special promotions, such as marketing blitzes and events held during national celebrations.

In September 1993, the local bottler, PT Coca-Cola Tirtalina Unit East Java, launched the Terima Kasih Surabaya (Thank You, Surabaya) marketing campaign in Indonesia's "City of Heroes". The drive followed previous ones in key cities in Indonesia.

The strategy of community-based marketing was adopted to achieve the maximum impact on the local market. According to John Brady, Managing Director of PT Coca-Cola Indonesia, the approach is founded on back-to-basics.

"Community-based marketing is designed to impact our customers, consumers and sales force," Brady says, pointing out that this is "simply a return to the basic principles of marketing which helped shape our business around the world".

A team of 300 local staff and others from as far afield as the United States, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Australia and the Philippines descended on the city. With knowledge gained from the previous marketing blitzes in other major Indonesian cities and with the support of national and local administration officials, the team introduced consumers to the theme of Always Coca-Cola.

Divided into 50 groups, they visited more than 9,000 outlets in the one-week period and presented owners with gifts and certificates of appreciation. Many customers said these meetings gave them fresh insight into sales strategy.

"I was advised on techniques to generate sales and satisfy customers," said dealer Basuki. "I now find myself looking at the market differently and seeing better opportunities."

Hitting the Streets

Over 400,000 drinks of Coca-Cola were distributed at different sites, including schools, shopping centers, movie theaters, places of worship, local markets and roadsides.

Coca-Cola dazzled onlookers as floats and marching bands wound their way across the city. A children's drawing competition, fun bike rallies, an aerobics contest, canoe racing and beach volleyball games involved more than 7,000 people and drew more than one million spectators.

When the flags were lowered at the end of the week, it became clear that the Surabaya campaign was the largest marketing drive of its kind anywhere in the world. The message about company products had reached millions of people in ways that were interesting and engaging.

Celebrations

Coca-Cola in Indonesia also devises specific marketing activities for important annual events. This year, bottlers of the company launched an activity during Ramadhan, the Moslem holy month of fasting and atonement.

Traditional holiday drums were mounted on multi-pack displays of the products of Coca-Cola, Sprite and Fanta at food stores in Jakarta.

In Bali, local bottler PT Coca-Cola Pan Tirtalina Unit Bali also actively supports the Galungan and Kuningan religious holidays. Working closely with local youth groups, the company provides product and promotional concepts for banjar, village communities, to raise funds for projects.

Local bottlers in Jakarta also act as the exclusive sponsor for the Jakarta Fair held annually at the Jakarta Fairgrounds. A special can was designed for the event and pushcarts sold Coca- Cola products to fair visitors.

The bottlers also provide beverages for the annual Independence Day celebration at the State Palace and are giving out Coca-Cola products free to delegates and participants at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Bogor this week.

Successes

Figures for Indonesia from December 1992 until September 1993 read like a text book on successful marketing. A total of 19,172 dealers were merchandised and point-of-sale placements registered 132,275. No less than 422,871 complementary drinks of Coke were handed out and 29,064 door-to-door sales recorded.

Telling evidence of Coca-Cola in Indonesia's success was its selection by the Indonesian business magazine SWA for a cover story earlier this year. Coca-Cola, Fanta and Sprite were cited as the top trademarks in Indonesia by an independent marketing team.

Brady emphasizes that the blitz activities achieve lasting gains.

"This outstanding activity helped us develop and train our sales force and energized and motivated them by exposure to working in the field," Brady says. "There are very good prospects ahead for our products. Indonesia's population is the fourth in the world, and the majority of the people are below 50 years of age. Per capita income is also increasing, and the Coca-Cola system in Indonesia is working to attain new goals."

This advertising section was written by Bruce Emond.