Re:thinking Marketing

AIESEC, New Wave, People to People

Last Saturday I held an internal meeting at my office, discussing about the idea of New Wave Marketing. It lasted the whole day... from morning till night. In the afternoon, I excused myself for a couple of hours to attend an invitation from AIESEC. I was asked to deliver a keynote speech on "Think ASEAN". The AIESEC event is a part of their 60th year anniversary celebration. It was held at the Sari Pan Pacific Hotel in Jakarta. Dozens of people attended the event. Most of them were AISEC members from Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, and Malaysia. AIESEC is a unique organization for me. They are global minded, young, and inclusive. I believe that these young people will become the future generation of world leaders.

In today's borderless world, where technology has enabled the acceleration for social connections, everybody can have a say. About a decade ago, the Asian economy was led by Japan. Other countries mostly followed. These past years, China and India has taken the spotlight for Asia's most dynamic economy. Other countries, such as South Korea is also growing strong. What many people have forgotten is ASEAN. ASEAN actually has a unique differentiation and is also playing an important role in today's world economy. I can say that it is the most peaceful region in Asia. The countries in ASEAN are also quite similar in terms of social-cultural. ASEAN is also becoming a single market as well as community. One great example of a multinational company which has viewed ASEAN as a single market is Toyota. That is why they have been very successful in their Kijang brand throughout ASEAN. The reality of globalization is actually creating regionalization. That is another reason why ASEAN is becoming more important.

Becoming a community is not as easy as it may sound. We must be more familiar and connected with other people throughout ASEAN. Through the dynamics in social technology, we are entering a new wave era. In order to embrace the new wave phenomena in ASEAN, all members must not only connect in the government level (G2G) and business level (B2B). They must also build a strong bond between people, or what I call people to people (P2P). Here is where AIESEC can play an important role. Connecting people to people!

And, by the way... if you want to find out what I discussed at my office for one whole day... just keep in touch with my blog and my facebook profile.

Empowering Marketing: My new tv show on Jak TV

How important is marketing in a company? Very important! It plays a strategic role in any business. Would you like to know real experiences from top chief marketing officers? Then, make sure you set your tv for my new show. Here is more about it...
My new show on JakTV is called "Empowering Marketing" presented by the Jakarta Chief Marketing Officer Club and supported by the Philip Kotler Center for ASEAN Marketing. In this one hour show, I will invite a high profile executive from a company or organization. Together, we will discuss about the important role and significant contribution of marketing in their working environment. The show has started for several episodes now, featuring Mr Guntur Siboro from Indosat, Mr Joe Kamdani from Datascript, and Prof Jitendra Singh from Nanyang Business School of Singapore. I obtained many valuable insights from all of them. I hope to share it with all of you. Some upcoming famous names are Mr Agung Adi Prasetyo from Kompas Gramedia Group, Mr Purnomo Prawiro from Blue Bird Group, and Mr Johnny Darmawan from Toyota Astra Motor. So, stay tuned for Empowering Marketing on JakTV every Monday at 10 pm. I hope you will enjoy it.

A Short Story from KL

Today, I've just arrived at Jakarta. Yesterday, I went to Kuala Lumpur for a short trip. In KL, I met with my friend, Professor DR. Samsinar Md. Sidin. She is the Dean of Graduate School of Management (GSM) at Universiti Putra Malaysia. We had dinner together at JW Marriot Hotel. We had a great conversation during the dinner.

I also got an invitation to the launching of Heitech Village 2 from HeiTech Padu Berhad, one of Malaysia’s leading ICT Solutions and Services provider.They have just launched a World-class Datacenter located in Bukit Jelutong, Shah Alam.

HeiTech Padu Berhad is one of our client in MarkPlus Malaysia. We helped them formulize their company's tagline: Truly Transformational.This tagline has become a part of their corporate's philosophy.I felt really proud when I saw that our contribution are proven valuable for them. Congratulation for HeiTech Padu Berhad! Hope in the future we can colaborate together again.

Invitation Cover Letter from Heitech Padu Berhad

The RTTI Award Night...

Last Monday I attended the RTTI Award at Ritz Carlton. For the province level first prize went to Gorontalo, North Sulawesi and Yogyakarta came in second, while the third place was shared between Riau and Middle Kalimantan. For the kabupaten level, Lamongan won first place, Sragen won second, and the third spot was shared by three cities Lebak, North Bengkulu, and Kolaka. For the kotamadya Sawahlunto came in first, follwed by Banjar, and then Bogor.
Congratulations for all the winners!

The Winners!
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Me speaking...

Indonesian Idol singing...

A Visit from the Dean of Nanyang Business School

Last week I was very fortunate to receive a visit from Dr Jitendra V Singh, Dean & Shaw Foundation Chair, Professor of Strategy, Management & Organisation, Nanyang Business School. He was accompanied by a very good friend of mine, Professor Hooi Den Huan, also from Nanyang Business School.

Lunch and discussion with the Governor of Jakarta, Mr Fauzi Bowo

Lunch and discussion at the MarkPlus office

Last Week's Workshop: Low Budget-High Impact Marketing

Last Friday and Saturday I conducted another of my special workshops. This month the title is "Low Budget-High Impact Marketing: Maximizing on Mass Collaboration, Social Media Networking & Mobile Interactivity. There were over 100 participants present. And what an interesting crowd they were.
We also featured some amazing guest speakers: Gita Herdy (the Marketing Communication Manager from J.Co), Charles Sitorus (Executive VP Sales from PT Bakrie Telecom), Hanung Bramantyo (Movie Director of Ayat-ayat Cinta), Nukman Luthfie (one of Indonesia's top blogger), and Kendro Hendra (Managing Diretcor of PT MORE Indonesia).
The two day event was quite a show as we divided the participants into groups and have them form a community. We gave them unique names and gave them a specific marketing topic to discuss on. We provided a free sms hotline to make sure the interaction between each community member went well. The results were beyond our expectation. Thousands of sms were sent during one day...
I am looking forward in conducting my next great show... I hope you can participate as well!

Judging at the (Regional Trade, Tourism, Investment) RTTI award

These past two days (14-15 May 2008) have been a weary and enjoyable burst. I spent 13 hours non stop a day in closed doors as one of the judges of the Best Governor/Mayor. The award judgment is made based on their achievement in Trade, Tourism, and Investment (TTI). I was very happy though, since I witnessed the enthusiasm of all participants in marketing their regions have grown higher. Some cities are so creative and even surprising. Sawahlunto, once a city famous for their coal mines trasformed their deserted mining sites into a tour site. They called it mining tour city. I thought this was just great.

This event is a cooperation effort between MarkPlus, Inc with the Indonesia Marketing Association (IMA) and the DPD RI. Its objective is to support and foster the growth of provinces and cities throughout Indonesia. This event also continues the Country Distinguished Marketing Award by Philip Koler to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Agustus 2007. The winner will receive the Regional Trade, Tourism, and Investment Award (RTTI) Award which will be presented by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono himslef at the Indonesia Regional Investment Forum (IRIF) 2008 on 26-27 May, 2008 at the Hotel Ritz-Carlton Pasific Place Jakarta.

I have long encouraged the importance of marketing for places in Indonesia. Especially after the decentralization (otonomi daerah) which gave the challenge and opportunity for each region to optimize their revenue. The strategy in marketing places has been also written in a one of my books back in 2005, "Attracting Tourists, Traders, Investors: Strategi Memasarkan Daerah di Era Otonomi".

I hope that in the future all of the provinces and regions will move forward into a better phase, and evetually our beloved nation will prosper.

Here is a picture of me with my good friend, Mr Junardy (Chairman of IMA)

Photos from St. Petersburg

Here's more to see... No offense here... but these are some interesting shots I took... the blend of culture, life-style, and faith? Go figure... I think that in Indonesia, the exclusivity idea is becoming more inclusive.

Communism and Dior

The Victory Day Parade - flag with the symbol of communism

The Victory Day Parade - flag with the picture of Jesus

Photos from Warsaw and St. Petersburg

Hi everyone...
Early this week I just returned from my trip to Europe. I visited Warsaw, Poland and St. Petersburg, Russia. Two very beautiful cities. Very classic Europe. Here are some of my photos. The first one is the opening of the 1st Indonesia Expo - Central & East Europe by H.E. The Deputy Prime Minister of Republic of Poland. The second one is the Ambassador of Repulic of Indonesia for Republic of Poland, H.E. Hazairin Pohan in his opening speech. The third photo is Titiek Puspa at one of the jewerly stands. The fourth photo is me at St. Petersburg Central. More interesting photos from Russia with love will come along the way. Enjoy!

The 1st Indonesia Expo-Central and East Europe (IE CEE): One Stop Shopping for Indonesian Marketers and European Buyers

What is the IE CEE? It is a strategic event where buyers can take a closer look at the latest range of export quality products, investment opportunities and tourism packages offered by the Indonesian government, companies and tour operators. The four day event also offers one-on-one business meetings, seminars, and workshops between the 1000 Indonesian companies and their European counterparts. This event is a one stop shopping venue for TTI marketers from Indonesia and TTI buyers from Europe.
Furthermore, the first IE CEE will not only strengthen cooperation in the region of CEE, but also in Europe generally. The event is also fully supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Investment Coordinating Board, and State Ministry for Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprise.
It is also the first event which involves a large scale of exhibitors, buyers, and investors for a specific regional market. The exhibitors come from the trade, tourism, and potential investment interest. The trade exhibitors come from various industries such as furniture, gifts and crafts, jewelry, cosmetics, food and agriculture products, paper and stationery, glassware, plastic, footwear, leather, and electronic equipments.
The investment exhibitors comes from industries such as mining, power plants, agriculture, construction, real estate, roads and highways, railways, and harbors. Through the event’s website, we can also search for the exhibitors company as well as the investment sector available. While the tourism exhibitors consists of at least 13 participants. The large scale of this event makes it an efficient way of marketing.
I would like to congratulate Ambassador Pohan and all of the other parties who make it possible for this event to be present. I would also like to wish all the best for all parties contributing and participating in this strategic event. Whether we are in trade, tourism, or investment, I am sure we can add value for ourselves and our countries. Through this event, I am sure that Indonesia can adopt this smart marketing way in times to come and in other places to come. Finally, I believe that this event will strongly support the “Visit Indonesia 2008” program initiated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia.

Check out their web at: http://www.indonesiaexpo-cee.com