Marketing today extends far beyond mere promotion; it has become a catalyst for transformative change, shaping actions that resonate beyond business realms to impact lives and the environment. Marketers are now recognising that they have the power to not only drive profitability but also push for initiatives that leave a tangible, lasting legacy of empowerment, resilience, and environmental stewardship.
For MARKETECH APAC’s latest Milestone Series, we spoke with Mediko Azwar, chief marketing officer of Bluebird, to talk about one of his greatest milestones — creating a positive impact through organising sustainable initiatives and training future marketing and business leaders.
In this feature, Azwar shares his experiences and motivations in forwarding Bluebird’s sustainable mobility efforts and his journey as a marketing leader and professional coach.
Driving the pillars of progress and change
In 2021, Azwar joined Bluebird, an Indonesian transportation company based in Jakarta. The company is known for its blue taxis, which have become a distinguishable and arguably iconic symbol of transportation, adorning the busy streets of Jakarta and other big cities in the country.
Bluebird has always been active in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives. The company runs various programmes aimed at improving the welfare of its stakeholders, including drivers, employees, and their families. These initiatives range from providing educational scholarships to offering driving training and engaging in environmental efforts like river cleaning.
“Bluebird was founded over 50 years ago by a caring mother who instilled values of compassion into its operations. Over time, this caring ethos has driven Bluebird to make a positive impact on its community,” Azwar shared.
However, back then, the company’s initiatives were fragmented. It wasn’t until 2022 when Bluebird officially consolidated its efforts under the ‘Sustainability Vision 50:30’, committing to reducing emissions and operational waste by 50% by 2030 and focusing on three main pillars: BlueSky, BlueLife, and BlueCorps.
As the company’s CMO, Azwar has since been involved and has played a key role in Bluebird’s growing sustainable mobility initiatives.
Under ‘BlueSky’, the company implements various initiatives to cut carbon emissions, like using electric and compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles, embracing solar energy, such as the use of solar panels, and encouraging reusable water bottles to reduce operational waste. As a result of these efforts, Bluebird has now successfully reduced over 27,000 metric tonnes of carbon emissions and eliminated more than 1 million single-use plastic bottles.
In the ‘BlueLife’ pillar, the initiatives aim to create social impact for both internal and external stakeholders, empowering communities alongside strategic partners. This pillar has supported over 38,000 children of drivers and employees with scholarships, empowered over 1,000 wives and daughters through Kartini Bluebird, established the Bluebird Academy to enhance skills, and supported local taxis in Bandung and Yogyakarta for growth and resilience.
Finally, under the ‘BlueCorps’ pillar, Bluebird prioritises the implementation of effective corporate governance and sustainable certifications, leading to recognition and awards for their endeavours.
Navigating the roads to sustainability
Implementing the 50:30 Sustainability Vision in Indonesia hasn’t been without hurdles for Bluebird. Despite sustainability being a global concern and focus, external factors like regulatory frameworks, awareness gaps, and cost considerations in Indonesia posed initial challenges to their efforts.
According to Azwar, there is a need for government regulations to align more closely with sustainability programs. Furthermore, there is also an incomplete understanding within the sustainability ecosystem of its issues, on top of the high costs associated with sustainability efforts.
But aside from these external factors, Azwar also understands that internal education is necessary as well. As a publicly listed company, Bluebird’s journey to a greener future requires careful planning. This includes actively involving as many people in this effort, and understanding that promoting environmental sustainability is crucial for the business’s long-term success.
With their early adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in 2019, Bluebird became the pioneer in sustainable mobility in Indonesia. By actively acquiring knowledge and optimising operational efficiency, the company is paving the way for a wider rollout of EVs. Recognising the cost barrier as well, they are actively seeking to bridge the gap and extend the experience of eco-friendly mobility to everyone.
“We firmly believe the transportation sector can be a powerful engine for progress, paving the way for a better quality of life. As a mobility solution provider, we’re unwavering in our commitment to running a sustainable transportation business. Our mission is to empower communities to join Bluebird’s zero-emissions journey, leaving a sustainable footprint on the planet together,” Azwar explained.
Azwar further emphasised that Bluebird is strongly committed to enhancing community engagement for its Sustainability Vision programs and strengthening partnerships.
Bluebird’s Sustainability Vision unfolds across three phases: activate, impact-driven, and sustainable.
As Bluebird transitions into the impact-driven phase of its Sustainability Vision, Azwar envisions a future marked by accelerated adoption of electric vehicles, enhanced infrastructure, and heightened community engagement.
Amongst the company’s targets include tripling the adoption of electric vehicles compared to 2023, solidifying an extensive EV infrastructure with public charging stations, and increasing solar panel capacity by 15% from the levels achieved in 2023. It will also extend its 3R practices to more operational areas to reduce waste.
Looking ahead, Azwar is also enthusiastic about the transitioning of BlueLife’s Kartini Bluebird program towards its impact-driven phase. The program aimed to empower drivers’ wives and daughters economically through free courses such as cooking and sewing classes, resulting in the creation of new entrepreneurs.
Marketing in the age of transformation
When asked what he thinks is ‘next’ for marketing in the transportation sector, Azwar believes that the transportation sector, particularly taxis, is undergoing a significant shift due to ride-hailing apps and the rise of micro-mobility options.
The prevailing trend in the category emphasises mobile-first marketing, featuring a user-friendly, well-designed app for booking, fare estimates, ride tracking, and other essential features.
Despite the ease of access to services, Azwar made it clear that Bluebird’s focus remains on delivering a sense of trust and reliability through targeted marketing and loyalty programmes to retain customers and strategic partnerships.
Another upcoming trend for the category includes a focus on sustainability, seamless integration (such as multimodal options), data-driven personalisation (using advanced analytics to anticipate customer needs and provide highly personalised experiences), automated marketing, and immersive experiences.
With these trends, marketers in this sector need to stay agile and adapt to changing consumer preferences and technological advancements. For Azwar, Bluebird will continue to emphasise the unique value proposition of their services and continuously measure the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns, making necessary adjustments as needed.
Personal passion and a lasting legacy
Living by his personal mantra of #bebettereveryday, Azwar’s career and professional journey before he even joined Bluebird have been one for the books.
Despite holding a double master’s degree in engineering, he decided to switch careers and enter the marketing industry, where he soon made a name for himself by crafting amazing stories for brands he had managed along the years.
Amongst his remarkable achievements as a marketer include steering Garnier Hair Color to become a leading brand in modern trade within just three months of its launch, orchestrating Kotex’s ascent to becoming one of the top sanitary napkin brands for teens in under two years in a fiercely competitive market where the market leader held over 40% share, establishing Dulux as one of the leaders in the Indonesian market and setting new benchmarks for AkzoNobel globally, successfully carving the path of dual brand strategy for XL and Axis brands, contributing to Grab’s remarkable growth in Indonesia, and now, shaping Bluebird’s narrative.
Working on forwarding sustainable initiatives can be very difficult when it’s perceived solely as part of one’s job obligations. However, Azwar’s dedication to promoting sustainable mobility transcends professional obligations.
Azwar’s actions are aligned with his life purpose and his commitment to effecting positive change both within Bluebird and beyond.
He shared, “I have been trying to make an impact through what I do in life, both as a professional marketer and a professional coach. In this stage of my life, my primary focus is on nurturing and mentoring future business or marketing leaders, serving as a coach and mentor in the field of marketing leadership.”
“As for Bluebird, where I have been active CMO for the past 2.5 years, I have been driven to transform the marketing organisation and hopefully also inspire larger organisations to sustain Bluebird growth and presence in the market, making Bluebird still a relevant and iconic brand in the upcoming years,” Azwar added.
Reflections and aspirations throughout the journey
Azwar’s career epitomises evolution, resilience, and continuous learning. Being in the industry for such a long time, from FMCG to telecommunications to transportation, his trajectory underscores the importance of adaptability and growth.
In his journey of evolution as a marketer, he learned to embrace the constant flux in the marketing landscape. From FMCG to telco, his drive to adapt led him to continuously seek out new challenges and experiences, such as transitioning between industries and joining diverse companies, including startups and local businesses.
Azwar shared, “To stay relevant, I need to constantly adapt, learn new skills, and embrace new technologies to stay ahead of the curve. That’s why I continue to search for new challenges and experiences to become a ‘complete and robust’ marketer.”
Along the way, he has also celebrated numerous wins, from pioneering approaches in unconventional markets like feminine care despite being a man to conceptualising and executing innovative strategies for brands like Dulux and Grab, where he has constantly pushed boundaries to exceed expectations.
And as much as there are highs, Azwar also learned to embrace setbacks, encouraging his team to experiment and learn from calculated mistakes, fostering a culture of growth and resilience.
With a focus on continual learning, Azwar has also never stopped learning and keeps himself updated on the latest marketing trends and technologies like AI, mar-tech tools, modern PR, and new social media platforms. This is to demonstrate his commitment to growth for both himself and his team.
Furthermore, he had embraced a leadership style centred on empowerment rather than control.
“I started as a market researcher, then learned brand management and always tried to deliver beyond expectations. That mindset has helped me become a marketing leader. I didn’t stop there; I learned to become a coach so I can be a better leader who empowers and inspires others,” he shared.
Beyond mere advertising, like making cool ads or campaigns, Azwar believes in the broader impact of marketing, striving to align efforts with business objectives while also contributing to brand reputation, customer experience enhancement, and social responsibility initiatives across brands like Kotex, Dulux, XL, Grab, and now Bluebird.
As he imparts his wisdom to future leaders, Azwar emphasises purpose-driven leadership, a learning culture, and perpetual growth.
He hopes for future leaders to embrace the challenge of the ever-changing marketing landscape, viewing it as an opportunity for continuous learning and growth. He reminds leaders to lead with purpose by aligning marketing efforts with the company’s broader vision and social impact, fostering a learning culture where team members feel empowered to take risks, experiment, and learn from failures, and remember that the journey of a marketer is lifelong.
And lastly, he wants to remind future leaders to never stop growing, continue to stay passionate about the field, and eagerly embrace the challenges and opportunities ahead.
With a positive outlook on what lies ahead of him, Azwar ends by sharing his future plans upon reaching this milestone in his life and career as a professional marketer.
“At this stage of life, I now focus more on creating future business leaders as CMO of Bluebird and also as a professional coach. I want to become the catalyst for future leaders to be the best versions of themselves. Marketing is now a hobby, while coaching becomes my new passion,” he concluded.
This piece is published under MARKETECH APAC’s content series ‘Milestones’, which celebrates the different milestones and achievements of industry leaders across the Asia-Pacific region. Please reach out to [email protected] for more information.