Motorola hits the road in Indonesia

Motorola Indonesia recently dispatched 10 motorcyclists on a three-month mission to launch its latest C-series to lower-tier consumers.

According to Yanty Agus, marketing manager of Motorola Indonesia mobile devices, the demographic earns around US$108 to $160 a month, and constitutes roughly 60 per cent of the population.

"It's hard to reach this market because the communities are very scattered," said Angus. "So we sent brand ambassadors on motorbikes to hard-to-reach areas and let consumers test the phones."

Each of the 10 'Motobikes' is equipped with a demo unit, a laptop for mobile content downloads and credit card transaction equipment. The motorcyclists began their journey in Jakarta and will continue into rural Java next month.
G2, Grey Global's below-the-line arm, prepared the promotional executions and hired the motorbike ambassadors for the task. Meanwhile, MindShare Indonesia publicised the event through various media.

The initiative follows the phone giant's tie-up with the GSM Association's emerging market handset campaign last year, an initiative to supply low-cost phones to low-GDP nations. Through the programme, Motorola hopes to supply more than 20 million handsets by year-end.

According to Rubin Suardi, manager of MindShare Indonesia, Motorola previously converted buses and vans in a similar endeavour two years ago. He said research showed that most consumers use motorbikes instead of buses, hence the decision to use bikes this year.

The C-series, with prices starting at $54, offers basic dialling, SMS and FM radio features. Suardi added that the phone was one of the best-selling models under $100, as "lower-tiered consumers look for phones with many functions and good value".

Angus added that typically, only second-hand phones were available at that price.