Community publications effective tool for advertising purposes

Years back, who would have imagined that this particular piece of swampy ground on the outskirts of Jakarta would one day be turned into a plush residential area. Kelapa Gading is, of course, no longer considered outside the metropolitan area. From the start of its development some thirty years ago, Kelapa Gading has since transformed itself into a magnet for those living in the surrounding areas: Sunter, Cempaka Putih, Pulo Mas, and even Sukapura and Semper.

The area's population has kept on increasing and today stands at about 130,000. Its commercial sector has also developed rapidly. Office buildings, shops, supermarkets, restaurants, recreational and entertainment spots, schools, health care and education centers, car showrooms, garages and workshops, beauty salons etc., are all there in abundance.

The approximately 7,000 businesses in the area enjoy a strong base of potential customers, as those living in the 1,600-hectare residential area belong to the high-middle and upper income brackets, with huge purchasing power of between Rp 7 million and Rp 15 million per month each.

With this kind of business potential, it is not surprising, therefore, that entrepreneurs with new kinds of businesses are eager to open offices or branches in the area. One such business is Info Kelapa Gading, a monthly bulletin serving the area's residents. Other large-scale businesses that have recently set up in the bustling area include hypermarkets, wholesale centers, malls and even a trade center.

The success of Info Kelapa Gading since its early days shows clearly how attractive Kelapa Gading is as a lucrative market. In the case of banks, almost every bank has a branch office here.

Ninety percent of the 15,000 issues of the bulletin is distributed free to some 25,000 to 30,000 households, while only ten percent is sold. Containing news, articles, announcements, and advertisements that are of interest to local residents, it has been enthusiastically welcomed by both residents and the business community since day one.

"A community-based publication really suits a fast developing area like Kelapa Gading. It's very much a two-way communications medium," said Sukardi Dharmawan, the bulletin's owner-cum-chief editor.

For the business community, it is an effective tool for advertising or conveying its messages to a well-defined target market, while for residents it provides access to information related to their various needs. The bulletin, aside from having a high readership, also enjoys a longer "lifetime" as its advertisements are often kept and used as references long after being published.

Now in its sixth year of publication, the bulletin, with a 60:40 ratio of advertisements to articles/news and an annual advertising sales of Rp 2 billion, is almost fully booked for advertisement on its cover page to page five until the end of this year.

Two other publications -- Famili Gading magazine and Sinar Gading newspaper -- have also been launched by the same company that publishes Info Kelapa Gading: PT Sentra Info Bisnis Konsultama. With the rush of advertisers, Info Kelapa Gading, which had previously already increased the number of editions to 14 annually, is now raised the number of editions again to 18 annually. This compares to another company venture, the Segitiga Emas magazine serving the "golden triangle" business district of Kuningan-Sudirman-Gatot Subroto, which failed even before its first birthday.

Registered as the first community-based bulletin published in Indonesia, Info Kelapa Gading has since been imitated by other similar publications: Kicau for the Bintaro area, Sunter for the Sunter area and Suara BSD for the Bumi Serpong Damai real estate.

Info Kelapa Gading is just what Kelapa Gading's residents and business community needed as it fully understands the specific demands of the area's mostly ethnic Chinese population, with the remainder being made up of Indonesians and other nationalities. It understands how to serve these entrepreneurs or highly paid employees who love to eat out and engage in business based just on mutual trust and a minimum of bureaucracy.

The bulletin also knows how to serve an area that is still kicking in the early morning hours with its malls crowded with some 100,000 people every day and almost twice that number during weekends -- with some visitors coming from as far away as Bekasi.

Establishing a community-based business, in this case a bulletin, one obviously cannot rely merely on luck. What is essential is a deep understanding of the local community and an astute sense of business, as has been proved by Info Kelapa Gading in its effectiveness as a promotional tool for both established and new businesses.

Other community-based businesses would be well-advised to take a leaf or two out of the success story of Info Kelapa Gading especially as regards understanding a community's specific profile and characteristics.

-- Satyasuryawan