In late 2023, Pertamina Enduro, the lubricant brand of PT Pertamina Lubricants, entered a landmark sponsorship with the VR46 Racing Team, led by MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi. The partnership presented an unprecedented opportunity for a homegrown Indonesian brand to compete for attention on one of the world’s fastest and most competitive stages.
While the sponsorship deal was one for the books, a key question remained: “How do you transform a sponsorship into a brand narrative that resonates both at home and abroad?”
In this case study, we explore how PT Pertamina Lubricants, through its partnership with Media Buffet (PT Integrasi Media Komunika), turned the VR46 sponsorship into a powerful brand-building campaign by combining data-driven strategies, influencer collaborations, and culturally resonant activations.
The Challenge
Although Pertamina Enduro held a strong position in Indonesia’s lubricant market, its visibility outside the country remained limited. MotoGP, with more than 400 million fans worldwide and over 20 races across five continents, offered immense exposure—but also fierce competition, where global brands already had a strong foothold.
Another challenge lay in awareness. Despite the VR46 partnership, public understanding of Pertamina Enduro’s global role remained low, with most searches and conversations still tied to generic or price-driven keywords rather than brand associations.
For PT Pertamina Lubricants, the biggest challenge was clear: how to transform a sponsorship into a brand narrative that resonates locally and globally, ensuring Pertamina Enduro stood out as not only credible but also culturally relevant.
The Objectives
For this campaign, Media Buffet set out to elevate Pertamina Enduro’s perception from a local utility brand to a world-class lubricant, while instilling national pride and embedding the brand within global racing culture.
The key objectives included:
- Build brand relevance among automotive enthusiasts and younger Indonesians motivated by national pride.
- Embed the VR46 partnership into public consciousness through integrated storytelling and consistent exposure.
- Deliver measurable results in reach, engagement, and earned media value while maintaining cost efficiency.
- Bridge technical credibility with emotional storytelling, appealing to both motorsport fans and casual audiences.
- Position Pertamina Enduro as a global contender, symbolising speed, innovation, and Indonesia’s pride.
Through locally resonant storytelling, fan activations, and national pride messaging, the campaign aimed to transform passive consumers into brand advocates personally invested in Pertamina Enduro’s international journey.
The Solution
The guiding principle behind the campaign was clear: “Win the Indonesian heart first, then capture the global stage.” Media Buffet understood that for the VR46 partnership to succeed, Pertamina Enduro first needed credibility at home before it could resonate abroad.
Two primary audience groups were identified. The first was automotive enthusiasts and lubricant users—predominantly males aged 20–45 in urban and semi-urban Indonesia. The second was proud Indonesians—younger audiences who may not follow MotoGP closely but value innovation, global recognition, and national pride.
Insights revealed that Indonesians spend over three hours daily on mobile devices, with 70% of young men following motorsport-related content. This positioned social media as the campaign’s key battlefield, while offline activations offered opportunities for direct community engagement.
To address both, Pertamina Enduro’s brand presence was designed as a 360-degree ecosystem combining conventional media for mass awareness, digital storytelling across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, influencer and KOL collaborations, and offline activations such as MotoGP watch parties, simulator roadshows, and bike community meetups. Every touchpoint was treated as a form of storytelling, not just exposure.
To bring the sponsorship to life, Media Buffet orchestrated several high-impact moments. In October 2023, the Livery Launch in Italy showcased the partnership by featuring Valentino Rossi and Pertamina executives wearing exclusive batik merchandise, blending global prestige with Indonesian culture. In early 2024, the 4JAN6 BALAP TANGGUH Roadshow toured six cities across Indonesia, giving fans the chance to experience MotoGP simulators and interact directly with Pertamina Enduro branding. Alongside these activations, always-on digital campaigns sustained visibility through social ads, influencer content, user-generated campaigns, and consistent press coverage. From morning commutes to late-night scrolling, audiences were continually immersed in the Enduro X VR46 story.
The Results
The Pertamina Enduro X VR46 campaign successfully shifted consumer perception and embedded the partnership into brand recognition. Search behaviour reflected this transformation: generic queries such as “Oli Pertamina” gave way to campaign-specific searches like “Enduro Matic” (9,900), “Enduro Race” (8,100), and “Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team” (1,600), indicating a stronger association with the brand and its MotoGP presence.
Effectiveness was measured across multiple metrics, including reach, interactions, investment, and earned media value (EMV).
- 4JAN6 BALAP TANGGUH: 6.5M reach, 294K interactions, Rp2.9B EMV with Rp1.6B spent (1.7x effectivity).
- Motor T4n66uh: 1.47M reach, 33.1K interactions, Rp420M EMV from Rp200M spent (2.1x effectivity).
- Livery Launch: 43M reach, 710.6K interactions, Rp672M EMV from Rp280M spent (2.3x effectivity).
In total, with an investment of Rp2.01 billion, the campaign achieved a reach of 50.3 million and Rp3.65 billion in earned media value. ROI consistently exceeded expectations, with CPM and CPE benchmarks demonstrating cost-efficient visibility and engagement.
Beyond the numbers, the campaign positioned Pertamina Enduro as a brand Indonesians could take pride in—one capable of standing on the global stage. By blending national pride with strategic storytelling, Media Buffet helped transform a sponsorship into a cultural movement that resonated from Jakarta to MotoGP circuits worldwide.
