Indonesia Creates Legends with Mandalika
MotoGP has created many legends, including riders, circuits, host cities and sponsors, through massive exposure in all corners of the Earth. The power of MotoGP has provided an entrance for Mandalika and Indonesia.
Tourists take pictures in a park area outside the Pertamina Mandalika Highway International Circuit in Kuta, Pujut, Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, Saturday (12/3/2022)..
PRAYA, KOMPAS — The 2022 MotoGP season has provided enormous media exposure to the Mandalika area and the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit. The world is seeing the circuit, by beautiful beaches that were previously only known to surfers.
MotoGP is a showcase for the potential of the host city, as well as a global branding event for partners, sponsors and anyone involved in motorcycle racing, which is now 73 years old. Live television within three days made it all possible.
According to data from Dorna, the organizer of the MotoGP, in 2020, the MotoGP series was watched in 432 million homes in more than 200 countries. MotoGP also reached 30 million fans via social media and digital platforms with 12.2 billion impressions, 3 billion video views and 2.5 billion minutes of viewing. MotoGP is also followed by 13.9 million fans on Facebook, 10.2 million on Instagram, 2.7 million on Twitter, 3.7 million on YouTube and 465,000 on TikTok.
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Those who can take advantage of the power of MotoGP to boost the image of their products or potential have the potential to become world legends. The riders are the epicenter of MotoGP, so what is attached to their clothes and motorbikes becomes a reference for the fans.
For motorcycle manufacturers, MotoGP is an event for promotion and product development for items that will be sold to the market. Sponsors also presented images with a typical Indonesian mottos, such as “Satu Hati” (One Heart), “Nyalakan Nyali” (Fire up the Courage) and “Semakin di Depan” (Always Ahead) in the Valentino Rossi era, to increase brand awareness.
Local companies
In addition to legendary global companies, many local companies have also used MotoGP as a means to lift their products to a global status. This global vision has long been pursued by several Indonesian companies, such as Federal Oil lubricants, KYT helmets and the Deltomed herbal industry with Antangin products.
The KYT brand entered MotoGP after acquiring Italian brand Suomy in 2014. Today, KYT and Suomy products are used by 11 riders in all classes, including Mario Suryo Aji in Moto3. In MotoGP there is Enea Bastianini, who won the MotoGP series in Qatar, and Aprilia racer Aleix Espargaro. The series of helmets that Bastianini wears are being hunted down by collectors, even though they cost twice the Jakarta regional minimum wage.
Three MotoGP racers (from left) Enea Bastianini, Francesco Bagnaia and Darryn Binder competed quickly at one of the corners of the Mandalika circuit, during the second day of the 2022 MotoGP pre-season test, Saturday (12/02/2022).
Aside from sponsoring the MotoGP team, producers must be diligent and continue to innovate to improve quality in order to build the image of this world-class product. The competition among global products is as intense as the competition among racers chasing the MotoGP podium.
“KYT’s DNA is indeed in the racing world. So MotoGP is a very strategic event for promotional act. Every year, we travel the world to 20 circuits, now 21 circuits, and that is our opportunity to improve the brand of our helmets. Since 2014, the quality has been proven by the riders who wear our helmets," said Simon Mulyadi, promotional manager of PT Tarakusuma Indah, a manufacturer of KYT, at the launch of the sponsorship of the Indonesian MotoGP series in Jakarta.
I am a MotoGP fan and I hope that our brand, Antangin, can go international and the Indonesian people can see and be proud that there are local products that are the sponsors of MotoGP.
Deltomed has also been diligent in introducing Antangin to the world market. This cold and fever remedy is widely used by Indonesian motor riders. This has caused them to raise awareness of the brand among global audiences through MotoGP.
Initially, Antangin collaborated with Gresini Racing in the Moto2 class from 2018 to 2021. In the 2022 season, Antangin entered MotoGP with Gresini, with riders Enea Bastianini and Fabio Di Giannantonio. When Bastianini won the Qatar MotoGP series on 6 March, Antangin was also featured on various media and social media platforms that reached all corners of the world.
"I am a MotoGP fan and I hope that our brand, Antangin, can go international and the Indonesian people can see and be proud that there are local products that are the sponsors of MotoGP," said Muljo Rahardjo, CEO of Deltomed.
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Pertamina has started to follow these steps as well, because MotoGP is in line with Pertamina's fuel and lubricant business. Pertamina is the main sponsor of the series, which is called the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia, and the name of the venue is the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit.
"We continue to push Pertamina to become a global company. We have a target for Pertamina to have a valuation of US$100 billion. Of course, this event is a small step for Pertamina. I'm sure Pertamina has other bigger steps," said State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir.
Other energy companies have long been part of MotoGP for the promotion and research of fuels and lubricants. MotoGP plans to exclusively use fuel from non-fossil materials by 2027. Meanwhile, in 2024 it will use fuel with a 40 percent non-fossil content. Opportunities for cooperation with MotoGP teams are open because they can choose a fuel supplier.
"We can also do branding for our products internationally, and at the event there will also be business-to-business deals that will open up the market. Pertamina is also developing a special racing fuel, and the lubricant division has issued a special version for racing," said Pertamina president director Nicke Widyawati.
Indonesia’s image
According to Erick, branding and promotion through MotoGP will strengthen Indonesia's image in the world, which can bring investment throughout the country and tourists to Lombok as a new tourist destination. This process can be continuous because Dorna Sports and ITDC, as the owner of the Mandalika Circuit, have agreed to hold the MotoGP for 10 years in Indonesia.
Erick also highlighted the composition of the Indonesian population, which is dominated by the younger generation and has a strong motorcycle culture. With these conditions, MotoGP will likely still be popular for the next 10 years.
The presence of MotoGP is also an opportunity to attract investment in the automotive sector and create jobs. The automotive industry that is developed can be in the form of the conventional automotive industry and the electricity-based vehicle industry. Thus, Indonesia strives not only to be a market, but also a producer.
“Next is brand positioning. Indonesia is a huge country and has big brands, but so far the promotional activity is still lacking. The best promotion is through sporting events, such as the 2018 Asian Games. It will be the same with MotoGP for the next 10 years, with a total broadcast covering a third of the world's population. This is a great promotion," said Erick.
Promotion through world sports events is considered very effective. Therefore, Indonesia will host a number of major events. In 2023, the country will host the FIFA U-23 World Cup, the FIBA Basketball World Cup with the Philippines and Japan and the World Beach Games.
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MotoGP also opens up new and wider opportunities for local administrations to develop their regions. “So far, we have been promoting the potential of the region at a very high cost, but its reach is very limited. With MotoGP, its reach is very wide, all over the world. Mandalika is now a global brand," said the governor of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Zulkieflimansyah.
"This opens access or positioning for NTB as a ‘sportainment’ center. International sporting events can take place here. We have even received confirmation that from 24 to 26 June there will be an MXGP on Sumbawa
Island. So this really opens a new way for us to promote the region and bring visitors to our area," said Zulkieflimansyah.
If the stage provided by MotoGP is utilized seriously and diligently, Indonesia and Mandalika can be even stronger on the world map, showing that the country is capable of providing advanced technology, human resources and natural tourism in a way that makes it legendary.
This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswo.
