#MarketingEventsAwards 2021 spills: Fabulous Indonesia shares why you should be on your toes to not fall behind

Fabulous Indonesia is an activation agency based in Jakarta Indonesia, and part of FAB Group that was established in 2011 as a creative business ecosystem in Indonesia. There have been more than 100 brands working with Fabulous Indonesia in the portfolio, and that includeds Nestlé, Unilever, CIMB Niaga and many more.

Additionally, it was awarded bronze for Best Integrated Event Campaign, Best Pop-up Experience/Environment, and Best PR-Led Event Campaign, silver for Team of the Year (Agency) and gold for Best Event Response to COVID-19 at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's Marketing Events Awards 2021. It was also shortlisted as a finalist during the awards for Best Community Event, Best Content Creation for a Virtual Event, Best Event Response to COVID-19 and Best Virtual Event (B2C).

To stay ahead during the pandemic, Shinta Langka (pictured), executive director, Fabulous Indonesia shared how the agency had to not only educate itself but also its clients. She also mentioned how agility is key as she noted that agencies and businesses are struggling to pivot back to hybrid or physical events as well. 

This interview is done as part of MARKETING-INTERACTIVE’s winners and finalists’ interview series for Marketing Events Awards 2021. To find out more about the awards, click here. 

Tell us a little bit about how the past two years have been for you, and the steps you’ve taken to survive and thrive in a tough industry?

Langka: Just like everyone in the same industry, these past two years have been very challenging for us too. We needed to shift dramatically in order to find better channels for activating the brands and talking to customers. We must learn something new. That’s the spirit. Hence, the team needs to be agile.

Finding the new channels during the pandemic itself is already hard enough, adding to how diverse Indonesia is with its various socio-economic status. Educating the customers about these new channels are also another challenge. 

The only way we can deal with it is by learning by doing. Because none of us has experienced it, neither has the client. Together with them, we did many trials and errors, even by setting up our own KPI, eventually understanding the needs required to make an impact with our activation.

Our first step was finding the channel. Digital is definitely the best way to talk directly to customers. Whatsapp is the most popular chat platform in Indonesia, especially among the grassroots community. The next step is the challenge of having a direct impact on selling. When the customers are reluctant to come out of their homes, we’re the ones that are coming in closer to them. Health protocols also require brands to gain customers' trust.

What we need to have in mind is that events should have more investment this time, and have in place protocols should there be unpredictable situations. One important thing to note is that staying agile is the only way to survive in this industry.

With markets slowly opening up, what do you think 2022 will be like for you?

Langka: Losing two years of proximity with customers meant 2022 is the time for brands to take more action. We’re sure many brands struggled to sell over the past two years. As a communications agency, we should help brands to move more swiftly. The new channels that we’ve been leveraging for two years will still be useful for brands to utilise. However, the old channels should be used as well with a different kind of approach that is more personal but more aggressive in educating the brand.

What are some of the new challenges you are preparing yourself for and looking to counter?

Langka: We always remind the team that we need to change the mindset of brand awareness to direct selling to survive in their industry. Gaining the customers' trust is one thing, but finding new innovations to talk to customers about is a different level of challenge. There’s a shift in the channels that has the opportunity to build in the communication strategy. We remain alert to these changes.

In this new world that we are living in, what do you think a great event really looks like?

Langka: Events are still required in future. Great events should create an impact on customers and lead to purchase. Drawing visitors to our events is still the main point on what a great event looks like. But there should be another step in the activation process, which is conversion. We understand that there is a need for brands to spend their investment wisely as they’re now aggressively marketing to customers. Their investments should be projected according to the activations or conversions to the brand.

What will be the role of events in the world of marketing in the future?

Langka: The main role of events in the future is to help brands to bounce back and regain the proximity they have missed since pandemic. To do so, they must meet the customers directly and face to face to attract them and create brand loyalty. This is especially in Indonesia, where there are plenty of new brands or channels. As such, brands should innovate more. At the end of the day, events should be able to help brands to activate and create purchases.

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