Indonesia's tourism ministry hands M&C Saatchi creative duties

Indonesia's Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy has appointed M&C Saatchi Indonesia for creative duties following a pitch which saw 90 agencies participate, including WOW Komunindo, Kadence International, Lintas Cipta Media and Gemilang Kreatif Indonesia, among others.

The account is valued at more than IDR3 billion, according to the ministry's website, and the integrated marketing campaign is expected to launch next year across China Japan, South Korea, Germany, the UK and US. It will be accompanied by a local campaign to promote domestic tourism.

The ministry's director, Martini Paham, said M&C Saatchi Indonesia’s approach was fresh, insightful, and it believes will instill confidence among travel enthusiasts to feel welcome in the country. "We look forward to work with them to do a massive domestic and international campaign, including our creative economy with fashion, craft and culinary experiences," she added.

According to her, the tourism industry contributed 4.8% to the country's GDP, with 18 million inbound tourists. The pandemic has hit the travel and tourism industry the hardest in 2020, and Indonesia has borne the brunt of it, she said.

"The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy wants to do everything in its power to support our airlines, hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions to help them get back on their feet by inviting Indonesians as well as global travellers to experience the wonders of our land, in a safe and hygienic way," she added.

Meanwhile, founder and president director of M&C Saatchi Indonesia, Anish Daryani, said this is a win the team takes utmost pride in and the agency sees this as an opportunity to serve the country and help revive the tourism industry in Indonesia.

"This is also another opportunity for us to demonstrate our integrated approach to communications, where we string together primary and secondary research, advertising, digital, reputation management, influencer marketing, performance marketing, social and digital marketing, all through a single lens," he added.

The latest win adds Indonesia to the roster of communications M&C Saatchi Group manages for destinations and airlines in Malaysia, Australia, Iceland and Abu Dhabi, among others.

Wonderful Indonesia is a tourism campaign to promote the destinations in the archipelago to international tourists. There are five categories of wonders in Indonesia based on what tourists tend to seek the experience from - nature, culinary and wellness, arts and heritage, recreation and leisure, and adventure.

Meanwhile last month, the ministry introduced InDOnesia CARE, a symbol of support for Indonesia’s effort in implementing the cleanliness, health, safety, and environment protocols across the tourism industry as mandatory precautions. According to the ministry's website, InDOnesia CARE embodies the collective enthusiasm of Indonesian people that is committed to care for others well being wholeheartedly while also implementing contactless practice for mutual safety with high discipline.

Photo courtesy: 123RF

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