Brand advertising dominated by three product categories
Brand advertising dominated by three product categories
"Now products are looking for people. Previously, it was
people looking for products" -- Paul W. Kamardi of Matari
Advertising.
JAKARTA (JP): There is an interesting profile of change in
Indonesia's society, sketched by marking changes in product
categories which have been at the top of advertising expenditure
over the last 25 years, since advertising became a serious
business in Indonesia.
"It's interesting business because it tells so much. It's like
the archaeology of our times," Eleanor Modesto, unit head of
Citra Lintas, says. "It tells you so much about what is
interesting to people, from among the communications that are
being beamed to them, what "sells" to them and what ethic is
current."
According to figures published in the advertising industry's
magazine Cakram in August this year, the 10 largest product
categories in Indonesia, in relation to adspend during the first
semester of 1995, January to July, were pharmaceuticals, personal
hygiene products, food and beverages, real estate, cigarettes,
automobiles, printed media, public corporations, banks and
furniture.
Over the range of media, from television and radio to
newspapers and magazines, the highest expenditure by far was
achieved by the following three product categories:
pharmaceuticals, personal hygiene and food and beverages.
The recent push in pharmaceuticals not only has big companies
like Konimex behind it but also a proliferation of many small
companies in the competition. The domination of pharmaceuticals
is not only due to the number of players in that category, but
also in part to government public health awareness campaigns.
The total advertising expenditure for each of these products
was in excess of Rp 146,000 million during the first half of
1995. Top-ranked pharmaceuticals stood at Rp 157,487 million,
while third-ranked food and beverages stood at Rp 146,952
million. The very high concentration of adspend in these three
categories is far in excess of the remaining seven of the 10
high-ranking categories.
The phenomenon is not confined to urban areas in Indonesia.
"The penetration of personal care products in the rural areas is
quite high. Toothpaste usership is almost 100 percent. Shampoo is
also quite high, about 80 percent to 90 percent," Eleanor Modesto
estimates. "Cigarettes are a sort of a staple for the lower-
income group. They would give up what we consider basics, like
sugar, for cigarettes." Cigarettes are also well established in
Indonesia as a major industry, and as a major corporate tax
contributor.
Anomalies do exist. There is a suggestion that the high
concentration of advertising for certain types of medicine seems
to contradict the fact that 60 percent of the population is under
30 years old. Though a lot of brands are going after a very young
target audience, some products being sold in Indonesia would seem
to deny that there is a youth majority in the population. High
sales of antacid pharmaceuticals suggest that there is a
predominantly maturing, aging population in Indonesia.
Advertising expenditure drops away very sharply after these
three high-flyers. For instance, real estate, which is ranked
next after food and beverages and fourth in terms of adspend,
comes in at a modest total of Rp 58,726 million, according to
Cakram.
In fact, the ball-park figure for the remaining six
categories, from real estate to furniture, is between
approximately Rp 58,000 and Rp 39,000 million. This shows that
certain personal care and lifestyle products dominate the
advertising push.
Between them, advertising expenditure on the three major
categories was at just under Rp 300,000 million. This was more
than double what was spent on the other categories combined
during the first semester of this year.
In each of the top three categories the expenditure was
highest in television media. The adspend for the top three
categories on television is massive, with products like Sunsilk,
Vicks, Pepsodent, Dancow and Gudang Garam frequently making
appearances during the commercial breaks.
The family brand name toothpaste, Pepsodent, is at the top of
the 10 brands in terms of largest adspend during the first
semester of 1995. This is a Unilever product. Figures sourced
from Monirad and SRI Adex, published in Cakram in August 1995,
show that during the first semester of this year Rp 13.6 million
was spent on this popular brand of toothpaste. Pepsodent was in
this same position last year, top of the lot.
The adspend for the remaining nine specific brands were, in
descending order: Biuti 3 in 1 shampoo, Suzuki, Bendera milk,
Rinso, Gudang Garam, Sunsilk, Vicks, Djarum and Dancow. The
latter, with its "Aku dan Kau" campaign, had recorded an adspend
rise of 64 percent, and Vicks recorded a rise of 118 percent.
Outside this group of the top 10, other products recorded
sharp rises in their adspend during the first half of this year.
Advertising expenditure on some of these other products, such as
the alcoholic beverage Anker Bir, rose steeply.
Over the 1992 to 1994 (to September) period, total advertising
expenditure in terms of product, makes for another interesting
profile. Figures sourced from Matari Advertising and SRI,
published in Cakram December 1994, show for example that there
was a very sharp rise recorded in the advertising of education.
Adspend does not equal sales. But the profile it suggests is
very fascinating.