Motorola hits the road in Indonesia

<P>Motorola Indonesia recently dispatched 10 motorcyclists on a three-month mission to launch its latest C-series to lower-tier consumers. <BR><BR>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. <BR><BR>"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."<BR><BR>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. <BR>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. <BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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. <BR><BR>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". <BR><BR>Angus added that typically, only second-hand phones were available at that price. </P> <P> </P>