May 2009
Telkomsel has appointed creative agency Leo Burnett and media agency Mediaedge:cia as marketing strategic partners. The selection process was executed within the Good Corporate Governance requirements which Telkomsel has strictly followed in the last years-following the Sarbanes Oaxley Act international standards.
"We aim for positive, long-standing relationships with our partners; prioritizing creative and media agencies that fulfill our current and future objectives with the tight competitive market in mind," GM of Telkomsel's Marketing Communications Nirwan Lesmana said.
To organize a selection process that is independent, transparent, and follows a clear procedure, Telkomsel appointed R3 Asia Pacific–who have managed pitches for the world's top brands such as Singapore Airlines, Johnson & Johnson, Visa, and Coca-Cola.
“We were cognizant that in Indonesia, it is not yet common practice for an independent consultant to be engaged on a pitch. It was heartening to see how open Indonesia is to embracing good international practice. This is perhaps one of the most rewarding pitches for us, as agencies were very appreciative of our role and the process to ensure fair play and high professional standards,” said ShuFen Goh, co-founder and principal, R3 Asia Pacific.
In the first phase of the pitch process, agencies sent their submissions as a response to Telkomsel's Request for Information (RFI). Following that, candidate agencies that were selected received a brief in the final Request for Proposal (RFP). R3 monitored all communication, documents, negotiations, and confirmations between Telkomsel and candidate agencies.
"This selection process was a great opportunity for the best agencies in Indonesia to display their potential and fresh ideas. R3 assisted Telkomsel to accurately, effectively, and with transparency select the agencies with the best capabilities," adds Nirwan Lesmana.
The pitch involved a total of 16 creative and 9 media agencies. In the final round, Leo Burnett came ahead of McCann Erickson and Colman Handoko. Mediaedge:cia beat media agencies Initiative, Starcom MediaVest and ZenithOptimedia.
"At the heart of Leo Burnett is people, so the potential to use our creativity to change this category and help Indonesians make sense of their increasingly complex relationship with their mobile phones is exciting. To do this with the industry leader even more so. This is a huge win for us," said Steve Bonnell, Technical Advisor of Leo Burnett Indonesia.
Mediaedge:cia Indonesia's GM Intan Sukmawati adds, "The Telkomsel pitch process was well managed. It was fair, open, transparent as well as a huge challenge. We at MEC are very happy and excited about winning this account and look forward to a great partnership."
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