Superbrands brightens up Indonesian marketing scene

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.