Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – PR agency Mutant has announced the appointment of Renny Rengganis and Charmaine Goh as directors in Indonesia and Malaysia, respectively, growing the agency’s leadership team and capabilities across the region.
These appointments come with Mutant’s growth of its regional headcount from 31 to 50 in the past year, driving the need for fresh senior veterans to lead its growing team.
Rengganis joins Mutant Indonesia with 17 years of experience, having previously led successful communication campaigns for brands such as X (formerly Twitter), Smartfren Telecom, Frisian Flag, and Unilever Citra Body Lotion.
Goh on the other hand, brings over a decade of experience to Mutant Malaysia, having worked with global brands, such as Diageo, Michelin Guide, Sony Pictures, Nestlé, Heineken, Philips, and adidas.
Renngganis, who has previously held roles at Edelman Indonesia, Zeno Indonesia, Burson Cohn and Wolfe Indonesia, will report to Indonesia country manager, Tanya Tresnasari, whilst Goh, who was previously senior account director at ROOTS PR, will report to Malaysia country manager, Archana Menon.
Talking about her appointment, Rengganis said, “Mutant has swiftly established a solid reputation for itself and I’m excited to join forces with the talented team to craft extraordinary results for the clients.”
Goh also added, “I look forward to leading our talented team in delivering innovative and impactful solutions for clients as we continue to navigate the dynamic media landscape in Malaysia.”
Meanwhile, Joseph Barratt, CEO of Mutant, commented, “These senior hires reflect our commitment to the Malaysia and Indonesia markets, which have shown significant growth in the past year, even with economic odds stacked against them. In this demanding environment, the bar for communications is higher than ever – and delivering world-class work takes world-class people and that’s exactly who Charmaine and Renny are.”
Tag: Indonesia
Jakarta, Indonesia – Global marketing and advertising agency dentsu has appointed Elvira Jakub as CEO of dentsu Indonesia, taking over the baton from Prakash Kamdar, who has led the network’s Indonesia business since February 2022.
In her new role, Jakub will be delivering growth to dentsu in the Indonesian market, and will be supporting the growth of Indonesia’s digital economy and in uplifting the communities within it.
Jakub enters her role as a marketing transformation veteran with over 23 years of experience in the Indonesia market. She joins dentsu from Google where she was head of industry, helping traditional businesses in auto and tech/telco thrive during and post-pandemic through innovative transformation.
Speaking on her appointment, Jakub said, “Indonesia’s market is rapidly evolving, and our clients need adaptable, integrated solutions to meet their business goals. I am thrilled to join dentsu Indonesia at this pivotal moment. Our team has been pioneering an integrated approach to creative, media, and CXM, empowering our clients to become innovation powerhouses in the ever-evolving marketing landscape.”
“I am grateful to be taking on the helm of dentsu Indonesia from what Prakash has built with the entire team here and I look forward to charting new grounds with the foundations that have been laid,” she added.
When it comes to leading a strategic communications company, many might think that the ones at the helm tend to implement a convoluted formula for success, or a complex strategy to ensure effectiveness, but sometimes that isn’t usually the case, especially for Maverick Indonesia, one of Indonesia’s most prominent public relations and communications agencies.
For Ong Hock Chuan, Maverick Indonesia’s co-founder and managing partner, there is no exciting secret or formula to successfully lead an agency like Maverick. Instead, he only emphasises that leading is not an easy task, in which he stresses that one must simply lead and work with meaning and fulfilment.
“When my partner and I started Maverick in 2002, we were disillusioned from working with a multinational marketing communications group where they paid lip service to its people but worked them like they were cogs in a money-making machine. There was also a lot of emphasis on praising busyness, which never resulted in any impact to the client’s business”, said Ong when he recalled the challenges that he faced as a leader.
Realising this, Ong, alongside Maverick Indonesia, decided to make a shift towards changing how they operate, prioritising principles that allows their employees and teams to do meaningful and satisfying work.
A different perspective in finding meaning
In applying meaningfulness to everything that they do, Ong says that they always strive to explain why whatever they were doing was meaningful to them and their clients. However, this only sounds great in theory since clients can be unpredictable and it can sometimes be hard to get anything substantial from what they demand.
To get something out of these situations, Ong explained how it can still be seen as meaningful, since the work done within it will lead his team towards developing their skills to prepare for the time wherein work can be substantial.
“With this principle in mind, 80% of the work you do is unlikely to be very meaningful, but it keeps you in play and offers you a chance to hone your skills and achieve mastery in the art and science of PR for that 20% of the time when the right client comes along. And then, Bam! Great fulfilment as all that you’ve learned comes together in work that makes a real difference to the client’s business”, said Ong.
Knowing and cultivating agency values
Aside from meaningfulness, Ong also focuses on the importance of knowing their own value, and being good enough to match the standard associated with it. In this regard, Ong also says that this value also has to demand respect from clients in order for teams to achieve proper results.
“If we are good enough, we should expect the respect and treatment that comes with being a professional and a strategic advisor. We try our best but if clients are disrespectful or unethical we walk out on them. Life is too short to languish in a toxic relationship if you’re out to make a difference”, Ong remarked.
In improving their skills and value as an agency, Ong also talked about the principle of being creative in all that they do, combining clever ideas with a sound strategy to deliver quality work.
Expounding on this, Ong shared, To flesh out this principle, we spend huge resources in time and investments to give consultants the knowledge and tools to be impactfully creative. We run internal courses all the time that touch on systems vs inductive thinking, behaviour science, the Trivium of classical education and ways of coping with new technology.”
Success through attaining balance
Lastly, Ong puts the spotlight on the importance of balance, as Maverick Indonesia allows for employees to pace themselves in work, as well as to get a life outside the office as they can perform effectively as consultants if they have the networks as well as the rich and varied experiences that only a life outside can bring.
“One way we encourage this is to offer those who have worked for us for a year a Persona Development Fund, that is usually equivalent to a month’s salary, to travel somewhere they haven’t been before or to learn something that has nothing to do with work”, Ong specified.
Talking about these principles, Ong commented, “Implementing these principles has helped us build Maverick to what it is today but it wasn’t easy. There have been many times when they seemed not to yield any results, times when we felt that they have not contributed an iota to our ability to retain staff. During bad years we wonder if they unnecessarily sap our energy from more direct money-making, client-acquiring efforts.”
“But we stuck with them because we felt that they were our salvation from running a meaningless money-making machinery. And I’m glad we did because Maverick today has, through much trial and error, managed to train and grow a new generation of leaders ready to take over the helm and take it to what we hope is the next level”, he concluded.
With INNOCEAN’s name being derived from the phrase ‘Ocean of Innovation’, it comes as no surprise that Chow Kok Keong, Innocean Indonesia’s chief creative officer, leads his team of creatives by cultivating an agency ecosystem that thrives on out-of-the-box thinking and bold ideas.
“Embracing the mantra of unlearning and learning, I always push my team to stay at the forefront of the industry and embrace new technologies to ensure our campaigns remain cutting-edge, fresh, and impactful,” said Chow.
As a creative leader who seeks to set their agency apart in an industry full of ideas, Chow has a unique way of encouraging his team members to think creatively, embrace diverse perspectives, and take risks rather than playing it safe.
Consistently staying out-of-the-box
As the industry always demands fresh and unique ideas for new campaigns and initiatives, one of the biggest challenges faced by creative leaders is to always ensure that their team always has the creative direction to tackle a multitude of situations. Chow approaches this by seeing it as a challenge with a solution, and not a struggle.
“Every challenge comes with a solution when we keep pushing ourselves and never give up until we find a way to overcome it”, Chow mentioned.
As chief creative officer, Chow says that his role is to provide his team with clear creative directions when they are stuck in a rut when it comes to ideas. Additionally, he pushes his team to not settle for anything that they are too comfortable with.
With this in mind, one of Chow’s strategies to drive creativity in the workplace is to include internal sessions among his team members on ‘Trend & Knowledge Sharing’ to always stay relevant on what’s new within the industry, and holding an ‘Open Brief Challenge,’ to allow collaborative effort between multiple entities to come up with a collective solution to the client’s demand.
Going into more detail, Chow remarked, “I conduct idea reviews every two weeks and regularly participate in brainstorming sessions with the team. Consequently, the best ideas will be produced and submitted to award shows, where exposure and involvement serve as the best rewards and motivation for the team members to stay passionate in their creative work.”
Creating memorable, iconic campaigns
With his style of leadership, Chow and his team always strive to make sure that they always put the similar creative intention and passion into every brief, as they see it as a significant opportunity for them to showcase their skills and make themselves proud of their work, regardless of how big or small the projects are.
When asked about the most memorable projects that he led as CCO, Chow said that he really appreciated doing Hyundai’s U17 project, which was a campaign that supported young football players in terms of transportation during the U17 FIFA World Cup in Indonesia.
“There are several projects that we produced in 2023 that I like, and one of them is the Hyundai U17 project where we believe every young footballer deserves an opportunity to shine. Hence, we empowered the youth with a series of programmes to inspire them to be champions of tomorrow for the nation,” he explained.
Furthermore, another major project that Chow shared was the ‘Anti-Hate Keyboard,’ which was actually a campaign for corporate social responsibility(CSR) which helped raise awareness and stop cyberbullying through a creative way of modifying gaming keyboards.
“I am proud of the Anti-Hate Keyboard, a CSR project that stopped cyberbullying through innovation by reprogramming the firmware of the gaming keyboard. When bullies type out insulting words, the keyboard automatically swaps the negative words for positive ones”, added Chow.
A rising force of creativity in Indonesia
Founded in 2020, INNOCEAN Indonesia has seen its fair share of milestones and successes. On the creative side of things, Chow admits that there are still several things that they need to improve on to always stay on top of the industry, but there is no denying that Chow’s leadership contributes greatly in always pushing the agency to that goal.
“Over the past 18 months, through the collaborative effort of my creative team, along with the unwavering support and guidance from our APAC regional CEO, James Lee, we’ve achieved several milestones.”
“Although our creative output isn’t perfect yet, it has significantly improved, and we remain committed to pushing for even greater creativity. Additionally, we successfully secured new business through pitches and earned recognition in creative award shows, both regionally and globally,” concluded Chow.
Jakarta, Indonesia – SCOP3 Group has announced the appointment of Mike Forster as its new managing director, following the company’s recent acquisition of clients in Indonesia
Mike Forster brings a wealth of experience and an impressive track record in his role at SCOP3 Group. Before joining the agency, Forster played a pivotal role in launching ShopEx for M&C Saatchi Indonesia, showcasing his innovative approach to brand activation and commerce marketing.
With a distinguished career spanning over 19 years, Forster has held various leadership positions within WPP agencies, demonstrating his expertise in brand building and fostering client relationships.
Notably, he spent 12 years in the APAC markets, contributing to the growth and success of the region. Forster’s career has taken him across the globe, with significant roles in the UK, Netherlands, Russia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Korea.
Throughout his career, he has also worked with renowned brands such as Chanel, Dunhill, Diageo, Google, and Porsche. His extensive experience in diverse markets and industries positions him as a strategic leader capable of driving SCOP3 Group’s continued success in the dynamic world of public relations.
Speaking on his new role, he said, “I am thrilled to be a part of the SCOP3 Group family during this exciting phase of growth. Together, we aim to elevate SCOP3 Group’s standing in the industry and introduce innovative solutions to meet the evolving needs of our esteemed clients in Indonesia and the Asia-Pacific region.”
Meanwhile, Rene Mayer, co-founder and CEO at SCOP3 Group, commented, “SCOP3 Group has always been committed to pushing boundaries and achieving excellence. With our recent partnerships and the addition of Mike Forster as our managing director, we are confident in our ability to expand our service offerings, particularly in branding and digital marketing. This marks a significant step forward in our aspiration to provide comprehensive and cutting-edge solutions to our esteemed clients in Indonesia and the broader APAC region.”
SCOP3 Group has further strengthened its leadership in the industry by securing the representation of AYANA Hospitality. Moreover, its recent accomplishments go beyond its collaboration with Pan Pacific Hotels Group, where it manages global PR activities for Pan Pacific Hotels & Resorts, PARKROYAL Collection Hotels & Resorts, and PARKROYAL Hotels & Resorts. Additionally, it also oversees the launch of Pan Pacific Hotels Group in Jakarta, located in the prestigious Thamrin Nine Complex.
Indonesia – Creative agency M&C Saatchi Indonesia has officially rebranded itself as ‘Moonfolks’ on its sixth year anniversary, following CEO Anish Diryani’s acquisition of the company as an independent entity and exit from the M&C Saatchi group of companies.
As such, Moonfolks will be led by its co-founders, with Anish Daryani as president director and CEO, Dami Sidharta as chief creative officer, and Elki Hendra as chief strategy & digital officer.
With the new agency’s new purpose being “Make Audacious Possible”, Moonfolks aims to deliver ideas that are out-of-this-world to help brands achieve the impossible and take them to new heights.
In order to achieve this, the agency has created an ‘accelerated commerce” model, whereby all agency services are directed towards generating commerce for clients, delivering higher ROAS (Return on ad spend).
The services, according to the agency’s newly launched website, are, Moonfolks Advertising as the advertising arm, Moonfolks Digital as the digital services arm, Moonfolks Shopex as the retail and brand experience arm, and Moonfolks PR as the brand reputation arm.
Furthermore Moonfolks Authentic Intelligence is another solution the agency has launched, riding on Gen-AI expertise to create high volumes of content with a distinct cost advantage for clients. The agency has also announced the launch of its internal content production unit, Goosebump Pictures.
On the acquisition, the company retains all business licences and tax papers, with complete continuity of business where the agency retains all client, talent and partner contracts. The rebranding does not affect any significant changes to the team.
Commenting on the launch, Daryani said, “We’ve had tremendous success as M&C Saatchi Indonesia. And we’ll take that several notches higher as we relaunch the agency with the freedom that comes with our independence. We will be more agile and fluid in our approach, and build further on the values we have created over the past 6 years.”
“Moonfolks has all the ingredients for success. A loyal and satisfied client base, a fun-loving culture that embraces DEI, a talent-centric approach to business and an environment that encourages people to do their life’s best work. The industry is going to feel our impact in Indonesia, and across the region,” he added.
Meanwhile, Sidharta also commented, “We’re taking our second-first step. But unlike our first-first, it won’t just be the three of us. We have some of the brightest minds in the industry with us this time around and we’ll get to where we want to be a lot sooner. It’ll be very exciting every step of the way.”
Lastly, Hendria concluded, “Our goal is clear: not only do we curate compelling ideas and content, but we’re committed to crafting narratives that not only captivate but also catalyse commerce. We are here to redefine the boundaries of possibility, making audacious goals strategically achievable in an AI driven world”.
Jakarta, Indonesia – VinFast, a Vietnamese electric vehicle manufacturer, has gotten approval from the Indonesian government regarding its plans to invest in the country. It should be recalled that VinFast plans to invest US$1.2b in the country in the long run.
“We fully support VinFast’s investment plan in Indonesia. You can ask about permits to my minister,” President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said during a meeting with Pham Nat Vuong, chairman at VinFast during the president’s meeting at the head office of VinFast in Hai Phong City in Vietnam.
The president said that VinFast is one of the fastest-growing automotive companies. He also expressed hope that the investment can improve Indonesia’s EV ecosystem and be linked with EV battery industry.
“We expect–as I’ve mentioned before–the ecosystem to be established immediately. [The] chairman of VinFast has confirmed that construction works will start immediately,” he added.
After that meeting, President Jokowi visited VinFast electric vehicle manufacture and observed the assembly process including installation of electric car battery.
It is also worth mentioning that VinFast is also set to build its first plant in Indonesia by 2026.
Indonesia – The latest YouGov Profiles has noted that Tokopedia holds a 39% share among Indonesian consumers, securing its position as the second most popular e-commerce platform, trailing only Shopee, where a staggering 73% of customers have recently made purchases.
For context, Bytedance’s TikTok plans to return to the Indonesian e-commerce market by purchasing a majority share in GoTo’s Tokopedia for around $840 million. Following the Indonesian government’s prohibition of online purchasing on social media platforms, the firm was forced to close its social commerce service, TikTok Shop, in October.
Analysing the broader market, Lazada captures the attention with a substantial 22% share among all consumers, ranking third in popularity. Other players, such as Bukalapak (6%), Blibli (5%), and Zalora (2%), follow suit.
For regular online buyers, Shopee emerges as the leading e-commerce platform with 77% popularity. In this category, Tokopedia (43%) and Lazada (24%) secure the second and third positions, while Bukalapak (7%), Blibli (6%), and Zalora (3%) also make notable appearances.
Zooming in on TikTok Shop users, the data indicates that 32% of them engage in shopping on Tokopedia. Although surpassing Lazada (23%), this percentage is notably lower than the overwhelming preference for Shopee, where a substantial 71% of TikTok Shop users make their purchases. As the e-commerce narrative unfolds, the data showcases a dynamic interplay of market forces and consumer behaviours, paving the way for potential shifts in Indonesia’s e-commerce landscape.
Two months later, the Indonesian ministry of trade announced that TikTok and Tokopedia will be launching a pilot program for e-commerce together. The project will take effect in the next months after extensive engagement with regulatory authorities.
Jakarta, Indonesia – As part of the hype during the popular 12.12 sale period across online e-commerce players, popular Indonesian e-commerce player Tokopedia has engaged with Kobo Kanaeru, the biggest Indonesian virtual YouTuber (VTuber) in terms of subscriber count; and popular online music creator Harry Citradi, also known as Heiakim, to create the platform’s latest 12.12 campaign jingle. First uploaded on Tokopedia’s Instagram and X (Twitter) accounts, the jingle proved to be a viral success, prompting the company as well to upload a 1-hour version on its YouTube channel.
While campaign jingles are pretty common, this was the first time Tokopedia tapped a VTuber for its own campaign. Despite the fact that the jingle borrows cues from popular Japanese pop culture trends like anime and VTubers, it is also worth noting that the company took into consideration its roots of local culture relevance to create the new jingle. In turn, this made the campaign more popular especially to the younger consumer demographic while still rooted to be relevant across Indonesians.
MARKETECH APAC caught up exclusively with Jonathan Locanawan, senior lead for social media at Tokopedia, to learn more about the campaign’s creative process, as well as hear his insights on how brands can be authentic in tapping the younger demographic.
Understanding the roots of Tokopedia’s “Waktu Indonesia Belanja (WIB)” campaign
To fully understand how Tokopedia came up with the new Jingle, Locanawan notes that it is worth noting to understand how its yearly 12.12 campaign came to life.
In 2020, the company introduced the monthly shopping festival, “Waktu Indonesia Belanja” (WIB) or Indonesian Shopping Time. Since Waktu Indonesia Belanja was launched to be an inclusive shopping campaign for all Indonesians across the country, they created the WIB campaign jingle with tunes that took major inspiration from ‘Ampar Ampar Pisang’, a South Kalimantan traditional song that would resonate with most Indonesian people.
“The Waktu Indonesia Belanja campaign and its campaign jingle itself were met with high enthusiasm. This became the impetus for Tokopedia’s continued innovation into providing new ways that cater to the ever-evolving preferences of Indonesian consumers. For example, we continuously try to develop a more ‘personal’ approach between Tokopedia and the audience through social media,” he explained.
And while they believe that the monthly campaign was a success, they believed they need to penetrate the much younger audiences, especially those who are active online in social media. This is where the Tokopedia team found out how fans of Japanese pop culture are one of the most active demographics in Indonesia, and yet remains untapped by the market.
“We saw that Japanese popular culture represents a big yet untapped market in Indonesia, especially in the social media sphere. We also learned that Kobo Kanaeru—a female Indonesian
VTuber or virtual content creator who uses an animated avatar—and Harry Citradi or popularly known as Heiakim, are one of the biggest and well-known content creators in Japanese pop culture in Indonesia, especially amongst younger generations including millennials and Gen Z,” he added.
Why collaborating with Kobo Kanaeru and Heiakim is the correct step for the brand’s authenticity
When asked how the jingle came to life, they said that this was done in-house, alongside active participation with Kobo Kanaeru and Heiakim. It is worth noting as well that while they were the ones that provided that initial ideas, the co-creation of the jingle was mostly done by the duo. For Locanawan, this speaks on their mission of always tapping into these collaborations, providing trust to its consumer base.
“Tokopedia always believes that collaboration with partners, including content creators, always goes beyond the numbers of likes and followers. Tokopedia is a business of trust, so to maintain business continuity, maintaining the trust of Indonesians is the most important thing,” he said.
Moreover, it is also worth noting that Tokopedia wanted a fresher take on its campaigns, hence the brand is willing to explore more niche cultural trends to bring colour and life to its campaigns.
“Appealing to the younger audience is definitely one of the main drivers for this collaboration as we continuously try to stay relevant with the Indonesian consumers. However, we were also aiming for distinctiveness. Amongst the sea of heavy promotions from the entire industry, we knew we needed to come up with something special to really stand out from the crowd yet still maintain the local authenticity, sensibility and voice of ‘Tokopedia’, he explained.
Advice on brands on how to ride niche cultural brands to stay authentic
Tokopedia believes that tapping creators that share the same brand value to the company and creative positive influence to the Indonesian society help them create authentic campaigns while also at the same time being at the top of mind of the younger demographic.
According to Locanawan, with Tokopedia willing to explore unique yet relevant niches, the brand has seen greater increase on positive brand mentions, higher views on its social media
accounts, like TikTok; and even noted an increase in better engagement with their audience through Tokopedia’s social media accounts.
“As brand marketers, we need to always be sensitive with the ever changing trends in pop culture to remain relevant. By fully immersing ourselves in the culture and by having the campaign co-created together with the creators, we were able to launch content that effectively rides the wave while maintaining the authenticity and voice of ‘Tokopedia’,” he explained.
Lastly, when asked what should brands do in terms of exuding authenticity to its consumers, Locanawan had this to say: “Regardless of whatever strategy is used, consumer centricity has always been our guiding star—how we can ensure our consumers can benefit from the products, services and partnerships provided. That is what Tokopedia will always do to keep winning the hearts of Indonesians.”
Singapore – Accenture has agreed to buy Jixie, a media and marketing technology company. Accenture’s integration of Jixie’s intelligent digital marketing platform and team intends to improve the firm’s marketing transformation capabilities and resources.
This strategic move aims to help Indonesian clients provide more individualised experiences. It is facilitated by Accenture Song, the company’s tech-powered creative group. Increasing client involvement is the aim in order to achieve long-term business growth.
Jixie, based in Singapore, offers a wide range of monetization and marketing growth tools, with a focus on Indonesian clients. The company’s platform serves as an advertising ecosystem that makes it accessible to publishers and brand owners to work together to co-create solutions that are grounded in consumer data. This transformation makes marketing a strategic focus instead of a dispersed, uncontrollable process, improving accessibility and safeguarding consumer privacy, brand safety, and data.
Publishers may maximise advertising revenues by using Jixie’s platform to access monetization capabilities such as performance marketing and header-bidding solutions. On the other hand, brand owners can improve and safely include content without the need for middlemen, utilising insightful data to create unique and significant brand interactions.
Speaking about the acquisition, Jayant Bhargava, country managing director, Indonesia, at Accenture, said, “The convergence of marketing, data science and technology creates opportunities for businesses to redefine their customer engagement model. Jixie’s intelligent digital marketing solutions complement our technology expertise, providing a winning proposition for businesses to bring a higher level of personalization and effectiveness to their marketing efforts.
“This acquisition will allow us to better serve our clients in navigating complex marketing challenges in this era of interconnected digital world, which is crucial in driving long-term growth,” Bhargava added.
Meanwhile, Vincent Martin, co-founder and managing director, Jixie, said, “Jixie has seen proven success in its marketing performance capabilities that boost publishers’ revenue and the formation of an ecosystem that has attracted advertisers to run successful campaigns. The next step for us is scale. We’re thrilled to be joining Accenture and contribute to shaping a more sustainable media industry, helping companies leverage their data in a trusted and advantageous manner in service of their customers.”
Joseph Tan, Indonesia lead for Accenture Song, stated, “The value of data in today’s rapidly changing digital economy is immense, and the digital media ecosystem has seen much disruption, including the impending loss of third-party cookies. Jixie is an impactful platform that amplifies publishers’ perspectives and simplifies the digital marketing experience. This investment extends Accenture Song’s data-led commerce and marketing transformation work in Indonesia, empowering clients with highly relevant and results-driven solutions for sustainable business growth.”