Traditionally, political parties in Indonesia appoint local agencies based on personal relationships rather than through a formal pitch process. However, Andi Waryanto, chief of creative design at Golkar said that a formal pitch has been called because the political climate in Indonesia has changed, and his party wanted to appoint the best possible agency.
"We want a very distinct concept for our campaign since we are competing with 24 other parties. We would like our agency to cut through the clutter and develop something unique for us."
Hotline, Rama Perwira, Matari Advertising, Dwisapta, Mediate and CabeRawit are some of the agencies that figure in the list of 23. Six of these are likely to be short-listed for the second round and will be reviewed by Jusuf Kalla, chairman of Golkar, and vice-president of Indonesia.
The only multinational agency that is competing for the media account is GroupM, which is participating as a single entity. GroupM has previously handled PDI-P’s, a party lead by former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, media account in the previous general elections.
Indonesian political party holds first formal pitch
JAKARTA - In a dramatic departure from the norm, Golkar, one of Indonesia's biggest political parties, has called a formal pitch for its estimated US$13 million full-service advertising account, a process that has involved 23 agencies.
