Top 10 Global PR Agencies in Indonesia
Indonesia is the largest island nation in the world, home to over 270 million people. Located in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is known for its diverse and rich culture and stunning natural beauty. Indonesia has something for everyone, from bustling cities to the peaceful countryside. The country is also home to a rapidly growing economy, making it an attractive destination for tourists and investors. With its rich history, vibrant culture, and stunning natural beauty, Indonesia is a must-visit destination for anyone looking to experience Asia's best.
As the fourth most populous country in the world, Indonesia has become an increasingly attractive market for global companies. They want to jump into Indonesia's huge market. In early 2022, data from We Are Social showed that the country has more than 200 million internet users. Another data from Data Reportal said more than 370 million gadgets are connected to the internet in Indonesia.
International brands seeking to explore Indonesia's market need to find a suitable partner to help them grow their business and communicate with the stakeholders, including the media, customers, employees, and government officials. On the other hand, with the rise of social media, blockchain, and artificial intelligence, clients will need new services beyond conventional services offered by PR agencies. So, partnering with the right PR agency can help them manage their reputations, build brand awareness, communicate effectively with their target online and offline audience while taking steps into new frontier.
In this article, we will talk about the top 10 global PR agencies operating in Indonesia that can help your business succeed in this challenging market.
1. URALA International
URALA International is a full-service media, content, PR and web solutions group with 120 staff across offices in Asia Pacific. Established in 1980, the company has headquarters in Tokyo and offices across Asia, including at the center of Jakarta (their office is currently in Senayan City).
URALA is a fast-growing PR outfit in Indonesia, combining digital marketing and PR practices to help clients communicate and connect effectively with the audience. The firm offers integrated services covering digital strategy, public relations, social media, branding & positioning, website creation, performance marketing and media planning. Whilst the team is not as big as those under global holding companies, talents are passionate about understanding clients’ industries and going extra miles to deliver cost-effective solutions.
The firm’s co-founders are both a local Indonesian PR professional and an international digital marketing and media executive who work together to bring valuable brands and experience to Indonesian people.
URALA is also a pioneer in the blockchain space and boasts a dedicated digital asset (Web3.0, NFT and metaverse) marketing practice, check their websites www.uralaverse.com that defines their focus on digital asset. The firm runs an international franchise of Cointelegraph.com, one of the top global media brands focusing on cryptocurrency, blockchain, and associated tech (Web3.0, NFT, blockchain, etc). URALA has strong track-record in community building, incubating and accelerating projects in the Web3.0 space.
2. Edelman
Edelman is a global communications firm that provides a wide range of public relations services, including corporate communications, digital and social media, crisis and issues management, brand marketing, and public affairs. Daniel J. Edelman founded the company in 1952, and since then, it has grown to become one of the world's largest public relations firms, with representative offices in more than 60 countries.
Edelman expanded its operation in Indonesia by opening the office in 2007. Like the head office, the Indonesian office provides a full range of public relations services to clients in various industries, including consumer, technology, healthcare, and financial services. With over 80 full-time consultants, the company offers specialized services across corporate, brand & digital – from corporate reputation, crisis and issues management, public affairs and government relations, financial and investor relations, litigation and special situations, foreign direct investment, development & behavioral change, community and NGO relations, employee engagement, as well as brand promotion, digital and creative campaign development, research and planning, content development, production and digital amplification.
3. Weber Shandwick
Weber Shandwick is a global PR firm with a team of over 4,000 professionals in 81 countries. The firm was formed in 2001 after the Weber Group, Shandwick International, and BSMG merged. The company has a team of professionals who specialize in various areas, including corporate communications, public affairs, and digital communications.
Besides offering services in its expertise, the firm also provides services called Highlighted offerings, which consist of Geopolitical strategy & risk group and Culture, equity & inclusion, to meet the unique business needs of its clients.
In 2003, the firm expanded its Asia Pacific operations to Indonesia, and now has offices in Jakarta and Bali and a team of over 50 professionals. Included in its expertise are strategy and analytics services; PR and marketing services; organizational transformation to reputation and leadership handling.
4. FleishmanHillard
FleishmanHillard is a global public relations and communication firm with offices in many countries around the world, including Indonesia. The company was founded in 1946 and has a team of over 2,000 professionals working in more than 80 countries. In 2010, It established the Indonesian office and now has offices in Jakarta and Bali.
FleishmanHillard Indonesia is known for its strategic and effective communication campaigns and its team of experienced professionals. It offers various services, including media relations, digital strategy, public affairs, and stakeholder engagement. Its team of communication experts has worked with various clients in different sectors, including government, technology, healthcare, and more.
Aries Nugroho, General Manager of FleishmanHillard Indonesia, said in the executive message: “We offer fully integrated campaigns across all forms of communications and know how to develop a strong, core message and get it to audiences that matter. Our passionate, dedicated and experienced team provides multidiscipline expertise across many industries.”
In Indonesia, FleishmanHillard helped Novartis to obtain halal certificate from the Ministry of Health, the Indonesian FDA (BPOM), and the Indonesia Council of Ulema (MUI) for its meningitis vaccine. Other satisfied clients for the agency are including Manulife Finance and Changi Airport Group.
5. Ogilvy
Ogilvy is a global advertising and marketing company with offices in many countries worldwide, including Indonesia. The company was founded in 1948 by David Ogilvy and has since grown to become one of the world's largest and most well-known marketing agencies. Its expertise includes public relations, consulting, advertising, health, and experience.
Ogilvy Indonesia just celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022. During the half-century, Ogilvy Indonesia has been well-known for its marketing and advertising services, which include brand strategy, digital marketing, public relations, and more. The company works with a variety of clients across a range of industries. It is known for its innovative and effective marketing campaigns.
Among its achievements are two gold awards for Bukalapak PR-Led Integrated Campaign and Best PR Consumer Program in Singapore's 2017 Marketing Interactive PR Award. In 2022, Ogilvy Indonesia won Gold for Creative Agency of the Year and a Silver for PR Agency of the Year in the Southeast Asia Agency of the Year Awards.
6. PRecious Communications
PRecious Communications was founded in 2012 by Lars Voedisch in Singapore. It's an integrated communications agency that combines tradition and digital capabilities to provide holistic communications consultancy to its clients.
With consumer, corporate, and startup practices, the company does not limit its approach to a specific industry type and offers 360 solutions for its clients. It provides media relations, corporate communications, digital and social media marketing, M&A communications, and visual and audio storytelling services in six Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, and Australia offices.
Precious Communications Indonesia has worked with a variety of clients, including Young Living, Campina, Appsflyer, Crowdo, Software AG, KONE, Mimpi and Asia’s biggest MMA promoter ONE Championship. In 2019, the agency was shortlisted for five awards at the inaugural Marketing Interactive’s Agency of the Year Awards, and won the PR Agency Head of the Year.
7. APCO Worldwide
APCO Worldwide is a global public relations and communications consultancy with offices in many countries worldwide, including Indonesia. It was founded in 1984 and has a team of over 800 professionals working across five continents. APCO Indonesia offers various services, including public affairs, media relations, digital strategy, and stakeholder engagement. The company works with a variety of clients in different sectors, including government, technology, healthcare, and more. APCO Indonesia is known for its strategic and effective communication campaigns and its team of experienced professionals.
8. MSL Group
MSL Group is a PR network company specializing in strategic communications and engagement. It is part of Publicis Groupe, a multinational company from French. The company is a merger result of Publicis Consultants and Manning Selvage & Lee.
In 2017, MSL Asia Pacific expanded its operation to Southeast Asia, including Indonesia. MSL Group Indonesia replaced Leo Burnett PR as part of the Publicis One group. Its services include brand development, content development and production, data and analytics, influencer marketing, media training, media relations, crisis and issues, event marketing, and public affairs. Currently, Shailesh Iyer leads MSL Asia-Pacific Indonesia office as Chief Strategy Officer.
9. Burson Cohn & Wolfe
Burson Cohn & Wolfe is a global PR and communications firm headquartered in New York. The company is a merger result of two international PR firms, Burson Marsteller and Cohn & Wolfe, in 2018.
BCW tapped into Indonesia market in 2006. Currently, Nia Pratiwi leads the Indonesia office as managing director. With a thorough grasp of the local market, media, and policy landscape, BCW Indonesia brings together the varied expertise of its consultants. In the areas of public affairs, government relations, corporate communications, brand and customer marketing, technology communications, and digital strategy, the team provides integrated communications solutions.
Its clients will receive the crucial insights required to comprehend business practices, national public affairs issues, and initiatives that may have regional and wider international effect from the team at BCW Indonesia, which includes subject matter experts in a variety of industries.
BCW Indonesia has worked together with international and local companies, including Lazada Indonesia, Mustika Ratu, Qualcomm, Dell, and Puma.
10. Hill+Knowlton Strategies
H+K Strategies is one of the world's leading global PR and communications companies. It has 80 offices globally in more than 40 markets, including Indonesia. With a focus on purpose and performance, the company creates an approach called 3P Communications: Performance + Purpose = Preference.
H+K's unique expertise includes behavioral science, content and publishing strategy, data and analytics, M+A consulting, partnership marketing, public affairs, virtual events, and virtual training. The firm also has its trademark products, such as Better Impact Scorecard, FlightSchool, and Made to Measure.
In Indonesia, H+K launched its office in 2020 to tap into the world's fourth most populous countries. H+K Indonesia took over Verve, the public relations unit of Wunderman Thompson, owned by H+K parent company, the WPP company. Industry’s veteran Marianne Admardatine was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer H+K Indonesia. According to Campaign Asia, Admardatine has been instrumental in moulding the agency to be agile, nimble and quick to adapt all clients’ offline activities to various digital platforms during the pandemic.
The firm has a long list of high-profile clients, including Telkomsel, Samsung, Huawei, ByteDance, Nestle, Bank of Indonesia, Disney+ Hotstar, PLN, and Shell Lubricant B2B.