Superbrands brightens up Indonesian marketing scene

Rudijanto, Contributor, Jakarta

Has your company ever received a letter from a certain organization telling you that your firm has won a prestigious award that you had never dreamed you might win? Aside from the simple joy of recognition, your other immediate concern might be publicity.

A few days ago, state-owned airline PT Garuda Indonesia (Garuda) proudly announced the company had received two awards at the same time, namely The Most Valuable Brand in Airlines Service 2005 and the Indonesian Golden Brand award from MARS, an Indonesian research and marketing institute.

MARS based its decision on research it conducted in five big cities in Indonesia -- Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, Semarang and Medan. The studies concluded that Garuda had won over the competition in those cities.

Not only Garuda has received an award, however. Telkomnet, an Internet provider owned by state-controlled telecommunications company PT Telkom, also expressed pride when the company received a Superbrand award.

"This year is a year full of blessings for Telkomnet Instant. After gaining rewards from various prestigious institutions, now PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk has received a Superbrands Award for its performance in providing various Internet services to Indonesian Internet users," said the Telkom.net website.

Awards from various organizations and institutions, such as MARS, Frontier and Superbrands, are additional and powerful marketing tools for companies. As competition among companies gets tougher, Superbrands awards have added more tools with which corporations can promote their images and brands.

For these companies, Superbrands, the Most Valuable Brand and Indonesian Golden Brand awards, or other forms of recognition granted by an international or national organization serve as third party endorsements for their products and services.

In public relations and marketing language, third party endorsements, particularly positive comments made by credible institutions or persons in authority, constitute powerful tools with which to convince the public about certain issues.

No wonder that company executives are ready to spend their time and money attending awards dinners and ceremonies, even if they have to travel from a remote part of the country.

For instance, in the case of the Superbrands award, selected winning companies are invited to join a book publishing project -- for a price, of course. Highlighting the major achievements of each selected brand, the book is distributed to a vast array of outlets, including the networks owned by each selected brand, hotels, PR agencies, journalists, airline business class lounges and leading bookstores.

The Superbrands organization says that the Superbands Indonesia 2003/2004 is an excellent book that provides insights into the strongest brands in Indonesia. The Superbrands organization says the book has received an overwhelming response, with 104 brands already having being awarded the prestigious Superbrands status.

Officially, each award winner that participates in the book- publishing project receives 50 copies of the book. But some companies are even willing to pay to get more copies as they realize the power of such a book in boosting their images and brands.

The Superbrand award is given by a London-based organization that has positioned itself as an independent arbiter of branding. Initially launched in 1994 as a radio program, the Superbrands concept was developed by the UK marketing guru Marcel Knobil, the founder of the Superbrands Organization.

The organization, which has been operating for more than a decade now, has recognized the achievements of thousands of outstanding brands worldwide. Currently, Superbrands operates in over 40 countries.

In Asia, the organization is present in the Philippines, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Indonesia. In each country in which it operates, Superbrands appoints a Council consisting of some of the most eminent people in various fields, including marketing, advertising, communications and branding.

In Indonesia, Superbrands' partnership with MarkPlus & Co is expected to boost its image among major companies. MarkPlus & Co is an Indonesian company specializing in marketing-related work. Founded by Hermawan Kartajaya, MarkPlus & Co is a familiar and respected name among major companies in Indonesia.

In the eyes of the Superbrands organization, MarkPlus & Co is a highly respected company in Indonesia, and its chairman Hermawan Kartajaya is widely regarded as the foremost authority on marketing and branding in the country.

"We are delighted to be working with them on this edition and are confident that Superbrands Indonesia will be a great success in recognizing those brands that rightly deserve Superbrands status," said Victor Jeffrery, Superbrands' CEO when announcing Superbrands' partnership with MarkPlus & Co.

Aside from chairing MarkPlus & Co., Hermawan also serves as the president of the World Marketing Association. He is regarded as one of the most prominent marketing gurus, and his thoughts have become a source of reference for many businesses in Indonesia.

Superbrand's partnership with MarkPlus & Co has positioned the awards among other prestigious awards in Indonesia, such as the Indonesian Best Brand Award issued by local research institute MARS, and the Indonesian Most Admired Company award, Top Brand for Kids award, Top Brand for Teens award and Marketing Award, all handed out by Frontier, a marketing and research consulting company.

Starting its operation in Indonesia only in 2003, Superbrands is determined to become a leading organization that gives prestigious awards to high performing companies. The Superbrands Council uses various criteria to assist it with the grading process. These criteria consist of market dominance, longevity, goodwill, customer loyalty and overall market acceptance.

Superbrands also wants to make the Superbrands book a must- read reference for whoever wants to succeed in the Indonesian and global markets. Superbrands is currently preparing a second edition of its book in Indonesia, which is expected to serve as a "bible" for companies wanting to boost their brand images.

For Superbrands award recipients, the award is a powerful marketing tool that can help convince their customers about the quality of their products and services. No wonder, then, that the recipients proudly send releases to the media, or even take out advertisements, touting their achievements.

Awards time has come to Indonesia as Superbrands is finalizing the second edition of the Superbrands book. Of course, this season of awards will bring joy to the hotels with increased occupancy, the media with more advertisements and advertorials, the advertising agencies with more work and, of course, the recipient companies with an additional marketing tool.

Hopefully, this season of awards will boost competitiveness among major corporations and encourage them to deliver high quality products and services to their partners and consumers.

Otherwise, as said by James Woudhuysen of De Montofort University, the obsession with brand, as reflected in brand awards, will represent the safe haven of the exhausted, not the increasing power of the confident.