Behind the name: What does Idenya Flux's name represent?

In the business of brand building and advertising, having a name that stands out and is memorable matters. In our numerous interactions with agencies, we often hear unconventional names and often wonder how these names came around. In our new series of interviews, we find out how independent agencies in Indonesia landed on their agency names. We also speak to the founders on their ups and downs of running an independent agency, as well as their ambitions for the future.  

Kicking off this series is advertising and digital agency, Idenya Flux. The agency originally started off as a small graphic house called Flux Design in 2006, Yohannes Auri, CEO and founder, Idenya Flux told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE. Flux Design later earned its first breakthrough in 2016 when it got its first pitch project for Citilink, after which it transformed its business direction and rebranded to Idenya Flux in 2018. 

According to Auri, the decision to launch Idenya Flux came about as it wanted to inspire others that even with zero experience and lack of knowledge in the digital and advertising field, the firm was able to be seen if they keep their spirit burning and constantly pursue new knowledge.  He explained how the team initially remained stagnant in its comfort as a graphic house despite the visible demand for digital and advertising services. “We realised that the needs in digital and advertising were quite high at that moment. As a graphic house that only has a creative background and experience, we were challenged to step up to the digital and advertising world and improve our knowledge as a team,” he said, explaining that this continuous improvement is which led to the keeping of the word “Flux” in its name. “We never stop improving and growing rapidly, being the best answer to provide all of our client needs and meet the objectives with our golden ideas,” Auri added. 

Meanwhile, Idenya means "our idea" showcasing the company's pride in thinking out of the box. Auri explained, just like King Midas’ infamous golden touch, the ability to turn anything into gold, Idenya Flux envisions to turn turn every idea and creativity into gold. To deliver the “Midas touch” the agency unites its creativity and business thinking into one. “By combining creative and business thinking, we don’t just able to produce golden ideas, but also understand to run the business well even throughout this pandemic wave. We ought to turn all the briefs and objectives into creative golden ideas that support our clients both internally and externally as a whole business,” Auri explained. 

Since its launch, Idenya has now grown into a team of 72, providing digital, ATL and BTL offerings. According to Auri, the agency also works with brands such as XL Axiata, My XL, Uniqlo, Lion Parcel and Sampoerna.  Auri added that it would have been nice if Idenya had been launched earlier than 2018. “We spread our wings when the other big multi-agencies were already flying,” he said.  

Survival instincts in a flux

The journey for Idenya Flux was not without its setbacks. For instance, when the agency finally adapted, it struggled to gain new clients and even to “manage their trust and produce impeccable results”.  At the same time, the agency also had to think about how to scale up the business and generate something advantageous that would give it an edge above other agencies in the market. “Being mentally prepared is the ultimate key. When the business goes down, we need to raise it, when it goes up, we can’t be easily satisfied. As an entrepreneur, we can’t stop improving,” Auri said. 

As with many other businesses, Idenya Flux was also financially impacted during the pandemic. As the agency was dependent on “one big client in the travel sector” at the time, the pandemic forced the agency to explore a variety of clients across different sectors to ensure business continuity even if "one client sector goes down”, Auri explained . Thanks to its efforts, the agency now handles clients in sectors such as telco, banking and retail, among others. 

This year, Auri said that the agency plans to expand Flux Creative Universe (FCU), a holding group that focuses on building creative business networks with a collection of entitles with diverse abilities, characters, and strengths. “In FCU, we do not only inject funds and invest like how other investors do, but we also help them to grow as a whole from the creative side onward with business strategic thinking sustainably,” he explained. Companies under Flux Creative Universe include Idenya Flux, Farmer, Sugar Rush, NXL, and Flux Design, as well as one upcoming digital agency which is still under legal process. According to Auri, Sugar Rush Asia and Ronin have become profitable within less than a year since they were established. 

On his hopes for the industry this year, Auri said he wishes to see players in the Indonesia market collectively working together to rise as a whole domestically. He mentioned how, during the pandemic, many players in the advertising and digital industry came together and swiftly acclimated to repackage their collaborations and offerings virtually.  

Auri said, “We hope that all of the local agencies in Indonesia will rise together and reach such a big market in our country by upscaling our standard as equal as multinational agencies but with a great level of understanding the client’s needs, both local and global client.” He added that this will also enable local agencies to expand to other markets and compete globally in the future. 

Related articles:
Idenya Flux forms creative universe to advance Indonesia's ad industry
XL Axiata hands digital duties to Idenya Flux
Sony Indonesia names social media partner for audio products