Community publications effective tool for advertising purposes

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