Syntax
Literate: Jurnal Ilmiah Indonesia p�ISSN:
2541-0849
e-ISSN: 2548-1398
Vol. 7, No. 4, April
2022
EVENT MARKETING IMPLEMENTATION IN IMPROVING BRAND AWARENESS OF
INDONESIAN FOOD STARTUP
Aprilia Prabawati, Meliza, Chaerani
Agustin, Muhammad Aras
Communication
Department, BINUS Graduate Program - Master of Strategic Marketing
Communication, Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta, Indonesia
Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected]
Abstract
Culinary is not only a product consumed for daily needs, but
it has become a lifestyle of the Indonesians. Many businesses in terms of
culinary shows that culinary is a quite potential sector for local startups. PergiKuliner,
engaged in food-related media based on website and application, provides
directory information and reviews of places to eat. Intense competition with
other food startups from abroad makes PergiKuliner as a local brand need to
improve its brand awareness so that it is better known by the Indonesians for
recommendations of good places to eat. This study aims to determine the
Marketing Communications strategy of PergiKuliner in improving brand awareness
through event marketing. The research approach used was descriptive
qualitative. Research data were collected through direct observation and
in-depth interviews with the CEO and Marketing Communication division of PergiKuliner.
The results showed that the event marketing strategy was conducted by PergiKuliner
to improve its brand awareness by holding offline events, such as PergiKuliner
Festival (culinary bazaar) and PergiKuliner Berburu (restaurant hunting). The factors that need to be
considered in implementing an event marketing were a selection of theme that is
currently being discussed by the public, selection of tenants that are following
the theme, selection of venue with good traffic, good marketing communications
within the internal team, and gimmicks to attract visitors' attention.
Keywords: brand awareness, marketing communication, event
marketing, offline event
Introduction
The
development of culinary industry in Indonesia's big cities has been increasing
each year. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the culinary business continued
to survive and many new culinary businesses emerged with high creativity and
innovation to attract consumers. Culinary nowadays do not only consider a
product consumed for daily needs, but also has become a lifestyle of the
community.
In addition,
culinary is one of the sectors that is quite potential for start-ups in
Indonesia. One of the start-ups is PergiKuliner, an online media that provides
information on the directory of places to eat with various features, including
menus, opening hours, location, facilities, objective reviews, to halalness. Beginning with the difficulties encountered by
the community in finding a good place to eat at the right price, PergiKuliner which
has been officially operating since 2015 provides updated and complete
information on many restaurants. Currently, PergiKuliner has more than one
hundred thousand listings of places to eat spread across major cities in
Indonesia with millions of visitors and reviewers who access both the site and
application. The objectivity of reviews is one of the strengths of PergiKuliner
to prove whether a restaurant is worth visiting or not.
In 2015, Pergi Kuliner was established and
at that time, it was not the only culinary directory service provider in
Indonesia. There are several competitors with similar businesses, namely
Zomato, TripAdvisor, and Qraved. PergiKuliner, which
is a local product, has managed to survive to this day and has the opportunity
to become the main reference source with the most complete culinary data in
Indonesia.
Therefore,
this study aims to find out the strategy of Marketing Public Relations in
improving the Brand Awareness of PergiKuliner to be better known by the
Indonesian people through marketing events, namely PergiKuliner Festival, an
offline event held since 2018, and Pergi Kuliner Berburu held since 2020.
PergiKuliner
Festival is a culinary bazaar held in malls in the Jabodetabek
area for seven days a month. This event gathers various types of contemporary
food and beverages in one place. The tenants who participated are selected by
PergiKuliner with a rating above 3.5. Meanwhile, PergiKuliner
Berburu is an annual event that invites people to try
various interesting restaurants in Jakarta while collecting digital stamps to
get rewards. This event is held for free and for three months.
By utilizing
Event Marketing, companies can attract many consumers, obtain potential
customers, and deliver brand messages. Event Marketing is a form of product
brand campaign to approach and build product brand interactions with customers
through various activities, such as food festivals, entertainment, cultural
event, social event, or other activities that attract public attention (Octa, 2018).
Event Marketing has been widely implemented by companies. In marketing
activities, Event Marketing is considered quite effective to boost brand
marketing and increase brand awareness of a product. Furthermore, Event
Marketing is also effective to help improve brand and product image, as well as
increase sales and the number of customers.
The research paradigm or approach used in this study is a
qualitative research approach. Qualitative research is conducted to understand
the phenomena of what is experienced by research subjects holistically and by describing
the form of words and language in a special context and by utilizing various
scientific methods (Moleong, 2021).
Qualitative
research is carried out under natural conditions and has a characteristic of findings.
In qualitative research, the researcher is the key instrument. Therefore, the
researcher is required to have broad theories and deep insight to be able to
ask questions, analyze, and assess the object under study more clearly. This
research emphasizes more on meaning and value more.
The essence
of qualitative research is observing human interaction in their environment,
trying to understand the language and interpretation of the world around them,
approaching or interacting with people related to the research focus to try to
understand and explore their outlooks and experiences to obtain information or
data required.
Types of research
Exploration
The type of research used in this research is exploratory research.
According to (Kotler & Amstrong, 2012),
exploratory research aims to collect preliminary information that will help in
defining problems and formulating hypotheses. Exploratory research seeks to
find general information about a topic or problem that is not fully understood
by the research. Exploratory research is a type of research used to examine
something (that attracts attention) that is not yet known, not understood, and
not recognized as well.
This study
aims to describe the brand of PergiKuliner, find out the implementation of the
offline event at PergiKuliner, and formulate a marketing communications strategy for building brand awareness of PergiKuliner.
Case Study
Based on the qualitative paradigm described previously, the research
method used is a case study. A case study is conducted by examining a
particular case or phenomenon in society to assess the background, circumstances,
and the occurred interactions (Cresswell, 2017).
Meanwhile, Robert K. Yin (2012) states that a case study is carried out
on a system that can be represented in the form of a program, activity, event,
or group of individuals in certain circumstances or conditions. Yin also
divides case study into 2 (two) types, namely case study using single case and
multiple cases. In addition, a case study is also classified based on the
number of units of analysis, namely holistic single-case study that uses one
unit of analysis and embedded single-case design that uses several or multiple
units of analysis.
The holistic single-case study method was used in this study to find
problems from one case to obtain a comprehensive and in-depth overview of the
Marketing Communications strategy implemented
by PergiKuliner in building brand awareness through offline events. Generally,
in the holistic case study, the number of units of analysis used is only one or
even none as it is integrated with the case. In such a case study, the unit of
analysis cannot be determined because the case is also the unit of analysis of
the research.
Result and Discussion
The type of data used in this study was primary data. The
primary data were collected through observation and key informant interviews.
The observation method was considered a method of collecting data through
direct observation of situations or events in the field. This technique was
used to find out the inhibiting and supporting factors encountered by Pergi Kuliner during offline
events.
The key informants in this study
were the Coordinator and Executive Staff of Pekan Pergi
Kuliner and Pergi Kuliner Berburu events, as well
as the CEO of PergiKuliner to obtain information about the Marketing
Communication strategy of PergiKuliner in holding offline events. The data were
described in narrative form to make it easy to understand and answer the
research questions.
Data Analysis Technique
There were three stages of data analysis techniques used in
this study, namely data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion and
verification.
Data
reduction is simplifying, classifying, and removing unnecessary data in such a
way that the data then produce meaningful information and make it easier to conclude.
Large and complex data requires data analysis through the reduction stage. The
reduction stage is carried out to determine whether the data is relevant to the
final purpose.
Furthermore,
data presentation is a technique used to analyze or interpret the data obtained
in the study. Data presentation is also a stage of qualitative data analysis
techniques. Data presentation is defined as an activity when the data are
arranged systematically and are easily understood, thus providing the
possibility of concluding. The presentation of qualitative data can be in the
form of narrative text (field notes), matrix, graphs, networks, or charts.
Through data presentation, the data are organized and arranged in a pattern, so
that they will be easier to understand.
Lastly,
drawing conclusions and verifying data are performed by reviewing the results
of data reduction and referring to the analysis objectives to be achieved. This
stage aims to find the meaning of the data collected by looking for connections,
similarities, or differences to conclude the answers to existing problems. The
initial conclusions are still temporary and may change if no supporting evidence
is found at the next stage of data collection. However, if the initial conclusions
are supported by valid evidence, the conclusions are considered credible.
Verification is conducted so that the assessment of data compatibility with the
purpose of the basic concept of the analysis is more appropriate and objective.
Discussion of Results
PergiKuliner
is a startup engaged as a food-related media based on websites and applications
in Indonesia that has been operating since 2015. PergiKuliner provides information
on places to eat from street vendors to five-star restaurants and has more than
100,000 registered eating places in the Greater Jakarta area, Bandung, and
Surabaya. As a food-related media, PergiKuliner becomes a communication
intermediary between restaurants and users who require information or
recommendations for places to eat. The website and application of PergiKuliner contain
detailed information on places to eat, such as ratings, opening hours, menus,
addresses, maps, facilities, and reviews from users who have tried the places
to eat. The search results of Pergi Kuliner�s work are based on reviews from reviewers and
their personal opinions about the food. Therefore, its users are provided with
honest and objective recommendations with more detailed ratings, such as price,
taste, atmosphere, hygiene, and service, which makes it easier for the users to
get recommendations for good places to eat.
The
interviews were conducted with the team of Pergi Kuliner, including informant A (CEO of Pergi
Kuliner), Informant B (Marketing Communications
Coordinator of PergiKuliner), and Informant C (the Executive Staff of Marketing
Communications of PergiKuliner). Based on the results, a Marketing
Communication strategy to improve the Brand Awareness of PergiKuliner through
offline events was carried out by holding Pergi Kuliner Festival and Pergi Kuliner Berburu.
At the
beginning of its establishment, PergiKuliner�s
strategy to improve its brand awareness was carried out online through SEO.
Consequently, in terms of the most search in Google search for places to eat, PergiKuliner
has been ranked first based on the Top Websites Ranking for Restaurants and
Delivery in Indonesia on similar web
(https://www.similarweb.com/top-websites/indonesia/category/food-and-drink/restaurants-and-delivery/).
When people search for places to eat through Google search, people will find Pergi Kuliner�s website appearing
at the top of the search results, and they will be aware of PergiKuliner brand.
As explained by informant A, the CEO of PergiKuliner, "What we have done
from the very beginning is an online strategy with SEO and related to the most
search in Google search for places to eat, we are already ranked number 1. That
is why when people search for places to eat on Google, they will be aware of
our brand."
Furthermore,
Pergi Kuliner�s strategy to
improve its brand awareness nowadays is to provide offline exposure as much as
possible. Pergi Kuliner
implements an event marketing strategy by holding offline events to create a
direct interaction with visitors, so it can find out the level of acceptance
and feedback from the visitors. Two offline events are regularly held by PergiKuliner, namely Pergi Kuliner Festival and Pergi Kuliner Berburu.
Pergi Kuliner
Festival is held for seven to ten days every month since 2019. The event
gathers dozens of selected F&B tenants in one place which is usually a
shopping mall with high traffic to support the event. The F&B tenants are
adjusted to the trending themes to attract visitors, such as Festival Boba and
Festival Jajanan Kekinian.
PergiKuliner Festival was temporarily stopped in 2020 due to the COVID-19
pandemic and was held again in March 2021. This was explained by informant B,
the Marketing Communications Coordinator of PergiKuliner, �We saw a lot of EOs
holding offline events, so we were also considering what makes them different.
For instance, because we have data on the trend and we also knew which
restaurants are well based on high ratings, we can choose popular themes and
select restaurants that provide delicious foods.�
In contrast
with the usual culinary bazaar, PergiKuliner Festival carries out other
activities, such as various games, quizzes, cooking demos, and live music that
makes visitors feel at home to stay longer at the event. At this event, PergiKuliner
performs branding and promotes the programs of PergiKuliner in the form of
standing posters, Videotron, and a special booth where the visitors can ask
questions directly to the team of PergiKuliner at the event. Moreover, the
visitors who download PergiKuliner application at the event will be given a free
tester and merchandise, such as hand sanitizer, mirror, and key chain as
additional branding of PergiKuliner. This was confirmed by informant A, the CEO
of PergiKuliner, �As PergiKuliner is application-based, we create programs that
benefit customers through our application. For instance, customers can get free
testers from participating tenants by using our application.�
Furthermore,
PergiKuliner Berburu is an
event that invites people to try the foods from various interesting places to
eat while collecting digital stamps in the PergiKuliner application to get
rewards of meal vouchers that can be exchanged at participating restaurants.
This event is held once a year for three months with different themes and list of
restaurants each year. In 2020, PergiKuliner used the theme of "Berburu Kopi" and in 2021, the theme was "Berburu Tempat Nongkrong".
The
restaurants listed in this event were also directly selected by the marking communications
team of PergiKuliner based on the taste and atmosphere ratings on PergiKuliner.
At this event, PergiKuliner put up standing posters in each participating
restaurant, not only to indicate that the restaurant is the participant, but
also as a form of branding from PergiKuliner to be recognized by customers who
come to the restaurant. On the standing poster, there is QR Code that can be
scanned by the customers to download PergiKuliner application. This was
explained by informant C, the Executive Staff of Marketing Communications of PergiKuliner,
regarding the event of PergiKuliner Berburu "We select favorite restaurants for hanging
out not only because of the high rating in terms of food and atmosphere, but
also to attract regular customers to acknowledge the brand of PergiKuliner and
to become the users of PergiKuliner after participating the event".
It takes two
months for PergiKuliner to design an offline event and plan a strategy to
improve its brand awareness. The main point to consider in holding an offline
event is the theme and concept of the event. It must have a brand identity by
highlighting the uniqueness and following the current trend to be different
from existing offline events made by other companies and to attract many people
to come to the event. The offline event must also be held consistently or
continuously, as is the case with PergiKuliner Festival which is held once a
month, to make people aware of the brand and helps the brand stick in the
consumers' minds. This is stated by informant A, the CEO of PergiKuliner,
"The most important point is the product. The offline event must be
interesting and different from other events. The second thing, it must be done
consistently so that the brand sticks in the people�s minds.�
Before the
offline event starts, PergiKuliner conducts Pre-Event activities, such as making
videos and teaser posters containing information on event name, time, and place
of implementation, as well as promos that will be provided during the event.
Then, videos and teaser posters are posted on social media and articles on the
official website of PergiKuliner one month before the event to attract people�s
attention and create large visitor traffic. This was explained by informant C,
the Executive Staff of Marketing Communications of PergiKuliner. "Usually,
1 month before the event starts, we post the upcoming posters and teaser videos
on social media and articles on the PergiKuliner website to announce to people
that PergiKuliner will be holding an event."
PergiKuliner
has a foodie community established in 2016 with the criteria of people who are
consistently active in writing reviews on PergiKuliner. The foodie community of
PergiKuliner participates in offline events held by PergiKuliner where they
enliven the event by attending the event and spreading the event information on
their social media accounts. To appreciate their contribution, PergiKuliner
provides special privileges for the foodie community in the form of discount
vouchers that can be used during the events. PergiKuliner also obtains
additional exposure from media partners invited to broadcast the event and
visitors who attend the offline event and take pictures on the wall of fame
specially made by PergiKuliner. This was also conveyed by informant B, the Marketing
Communications Coordinator of PergiKuliner. �We mainly use our reviewer
community to enliven our programs. Furthermore, we also invite other media
partners to come and broadcast our events.�
Another
strategy conducted by PergiKuliner to improve its brand awareness offline is
obtaining exposure in restaurants by placing stickers and/or standing posters
about PergiKuliner and QR Menu where customers can scan the QR Codes with their
mobile phone to go directly to the restaurant's menu page on the site of PergiKuliner.
This is in accordance with the statement of informant C, the Executive Staff of
Marketing Communications of PergiKuliner, "another strategy that we have
done offline is providing stickers and/or standing posters about PergiKuliner
and QR menus."
Conclusions
Based on the
results of the discussion, it can be concluded that the event marketing
strategy carried out by PergiKuliner to improve its brand awareness is by
holding offline events, such as PergiKuliner Festival (culinary bazaar) and PergiKuliner Berburu (restaurant
hunting). During the offline events, PergiKuliner obtained a lot of exposure
both offline and online from various points, such as event venues,
participating tenants, visitors, foodie communities, and media partners. In addition,
PergiKuliner also performs gimmicks that can attract visitors' attention, such
as providing vouchers, free testers, and merchandise that can be claimed
through PergiKuliner application. The gimmicks were created so that the
visitors could have a direct experience in using PergiKuliner application and
acknowledge the brand of PergiKuliner. It took one to two months for PergiKuliner
to design the offline events.
The main
thing to consider in implementing Event Marketing is the theme and concept of the
event that must be made unique and up to date to get viral because of its difference
from other events. The selection of venue with high visitor traffic and
interesting participating tenants are the factors that support the success of
the offline event held by PergiKuliner. The offline events must also be held
consistently or continuously so that the PergiKuliner brand sticks in people�s
minds. Pre-event activities, such as providing videos and teaser posters, need
to be carried out to attract people�s attention and create large visitor
traffic during the event. PergiKuliner also mobilizes its foodie community to
enliven the event and spread the event information by word of mouth and on
social media. Additional exposure was obtained by PergiKuliner by inviting
media partners to broadcast the event and creating a wall of fame for visitors
to take pictures when they came to the event and shared the pictures on their
social media. Furthermore, marketing communication from the internal team is
also very important in Event Marketing where the brand is delivered through a
series of unforgettable positive experiences and the trial and loyalty of
visitors are created from good marketing communication of PergiKuliner�s
internal team.
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Prabawati, Meliza, Chaerani Agustin, Muhammad Aras (2022) |
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Indonesia |
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