More than 100 senior marketers and business leaders gathered in Jakarta on January 28 for the inaugural Campaign Connect Indonesia, marking Campaign’s strong foothold in one of Southeast Asia’s key growth markets.
Held at the Ayana Midplaza, the forum focused on what it really takes to grow in Indonesia today—navigating digital disruption, shifting consumer behaviour and intensifying competition. Framed around the theme 'Unlocking Indonesia’s Brand Potential: Bold Moves for a Fast-Growing Market,' discussions hovered around the central idea: in Indonesia, speed and scale only work when paired with cultural sensitivity.
A key highlight was the launch of Campaign Indonesia's inaugural Power List, recognising 20 of the market’s most influential marketers. The unveiling brought together leaders, including Gaery Undarsa, chief marketing officer at Tiket.com, and Anandhita Mayasari, assistant vice president and head of marketing at Kopi Kenangan.
“Virality is attractive, but it doesn’t guarantee business impact,” said Undarsa. Meanwhile, Mayasari warned that too much focus on virality or big influencers can hurt brands that depend on trust and authentic reviews.
Anandhita Mayasari (AVP head of marketing, Kopi Kenangan), Gaery Undarsa (CMO, Tiket.com), and Aulia Masna (editor, Campaign Indonesia).
In the opening panel, Elista Manda, chief operating officer, Edwin Sugianto, chief marketing officer, AXA Insurance Indonesia, and Eva Arisuci Rudjito, marketing and innovation director, Asia PZ Cussons, discussed the role of generative AI in localisation.
“Now is the era of LLMs, but accuracy is still debatable,” Sugianto said. “AI can accelerate data processing, but insight still belongs to marketers.” Rudjito added that “human connection is critical, especially for brands that have built trust over decades.”
In an Innovation Spotlight moderated by Aulia Masna, editor, Campaign Indonesia, Iwet Ramadhan, chief operating officer, Tellink & Partner Link Group, urged marketers to avoid platform silos. “The goal isn’t to make media compete with each other. Each channel has its role,” he said.
Another panel featuring Kartika Guerrero, senior vice president, media, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, and Tessi Fathia Adam, group head, technology business accelerator, ParagonCorp, reinforced AI’s role as an enabler rather than a replacement for strategy. “Humans set the direction,” said Adam. Guerrero noted that the challenge now is turning AI adoption into real business results.
Robert Sawatzky (editorial director, Haymarket Media), Anandhita Mayasari (AVP head of marketing, Kopi Kenangan), Tika Sylvia (CMO, Koltiva), and Theresia Hutahuruk (head vertical marketing, Bluebird Group).
Sessions moderated by Haymarket's editorial director, Robert Sawatzky, featured speakers from Kopi Kenangan, Bluebird Group, and Koltiva. The marketers discussed how omnichannel works best when it reflects real consumer behaviour, suggestung the important of offline experiences.
A later panel with Le Minerale, DANA Indonesia, and Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine urged marketers to move beyond Jakarta-centric thinking and respect regional nuance, connectivity gaps, and non-digital media habits.
Case studies on the evolution of coffee culture by JumpStart/NOD and Gaudi Clothing Indonesia's move to reconnect with their consumers through social commerce the agenda underscored that tech is only as powerful as the human insight behind it.
Bringing the discussions full circle, Ignatius Untung, founder of The Consumer Lab, aptly summed up: “The future belongs to brands that know their consumers deeply.”
