Bima Satria Garuda, Marketing the Nation’s Newest Hero

Product endorsements by a popular figure are common practice in marketing. However, marketing a figure which has yet to become popular has never been attempted in Indonesia. MNC Media will be the first to attempt this strategy in the country by introducing Bima Satria Garuda. The company hopes to use a locally produced action hero in efforts to market various product brands.

Bima Satria Garuda was introduced to the public in May 2013 following the premiere of its teaser trailer during Jakarta Marketing Week 2013 at Casablanca City. It aims to become the latest Indonesian action hero and will play a role commonly filled by foreign action heroes.

Reino Barack, as Senior Vice President of PT. Global Mediacom Tbk. (MNC Media) and as Executive Producer and the original creator of Bima Satria Garuda, expects this hero figure to become a new idol for Indonesia’s children. “I was inspired by Japan’s action hero Kamen Rider. I want to reawaken the dream for all children to have a hero figure to look up to. In order to fill this absence, I created the new character Bima Satria Garuda that I hope will become an icon for the children of Indonesia,” said Reino.

Bima Satria Garuda follows Ray, an automotive mechanic, who was gifted a power stone by the mysterious Mikhail. The power stone grants Ray the ability to transform into Bima Satria Garuda. His goal is to stop Rasputin and the VUDO organization, arriving from a parallel world, from conquering Earth and depleting its resources.

Reino does not deny that Bima is visibly influenced by its Japanese counterparts. He invited Japan’s Ishimori Production as a partner to develop the concept of Bima. Ishimori Production was seen as the perfect partner because it produces the Kamen Rider series, which also includes the popular Kamen Rider Black adaptation Ksatria Baja Hitam that was aired on RCTI in mid-1996. Ishimori claims that while Ksatria Baja Hitam was in production in Indonesia, it received up to US$1 billion in revenue from the local market.

What efforts are being taken to promote Bima Satria Garuda to the public in the next 1.5 years? Bima will appear in various media formats, one of which is a television series. “As a first step, a 26-episode series will air on RCTI on Sundays at 8:30 a.m. following the broadcast of Doraemon, beginning 30 June 2013″, said Kanti Mirdiati, RCTI Managing Director.

In addition to the television series, Bima Satria Garuda will expand into a revenue-generating franchise. In order to do this, MNC Media has solicited the assistance of Japanese companies, including Itochu Group as the exclusive licensor of related products. According to Reino, the franchise will include toys, events, and brand campaigns. “Franchising opens the door for various brands that intend to hold events using the Bima Satria Garuda character in order to promote their products,” Reino added.

In order to promote the toy line-up, MNC Media has partnered with Bandai, whose portfolio includes toys from Power Rangers, Gundam, Ben 10, and even Ultraman. Bandai typically produces its toy line-up after a live-action series has become successful. “This is a special case where Bandai is willing to work with us before Bima begins airing on television. Both sides are aware of the risks,” Reino indicated.

Reino also introduced several toy samples. As with all action hero franchises, toys of Bima will include action figures, weapon replicas, and a number of interactive games. Reino also provided indicative pricing, with several toy variations priced in the range of Rp 15,000 – 30,000 (US$1.50 – 3.00). Roleplaying toys will also be released as part of a premium line-up which offers enhanced experience.

Stores of various sizes, including mini markets, supermarkets, and convenience stores will be targeted as distribution networks for Bima products. More premium toys will be reserved for specialty toy stores. Reino believes this business model has potential in Indonesia. One example is the home shopping channel MNC Shop, where Reino sees the potential for a consumer to purchase licensed products after viewing Bima on television.

In response to criticism of apparent Japanese influence, Kanti Mirdiati reiterated that Bima is a fully local production. “You will agree that Bima is truly a local product, that of MNC Media. We are hiring local actors for roles in the series,” Kanti asserted. MNC Media’s aim in attracting support from Japanese corporations is to allow for Bima’s expansion into the international market.

Special attention has also been given in naming the character. Reino explained that choosing the name Bima was a decision to allow for easy branding outside Indonesia. “In Asia, including Japan, Bima can be easily pronounced. The challenge is in markets such as the United States, where the pronunciation will be modified to ‘buy-ma’,” said Reino who was born in 1984. With a target audience of children ages 3–15, Reino hopes this action hero will be well received by the public. He believes that those above the age of 15 will also be able to enjoy Bima.

Although the project appears to be strategically sound, Reino has not been able to calculate a figure that will financially reflect Bima’s potential franchise market. In his view, the difficulty lies in the fact that there is no prior industry sample. “I do not know whether television programming can affect either offline or online purchases; therefore, this is a project with unknown risks. We hope Bima can present a normative mindset for children. There are already a number of positive television programming in Indonesia, and I hope to contribute to this through the Bima project,” Reino concluded.