Indonesia's top 100 brands for 2018

This look at Indonesia's top 100 brands is part of Campaign Asia-Pacific's Asia's Top 1000 Brands report. For more on the status of Indonesia brands according to our research, see the full Indonesia market report.

No other brand engages with consumers at as many touchpoints as Samsung does in Indonesia. From phones to tablets and televisions to white goods, Samsung has effortlessly embedded itself in the daily lives of the population.

With such high market share in high-involvement categories, it's no surprise that the Korean behemoth sits atop the Top 100 list in Indonesia. The brand has ingrained itself so deeply into the psyche of Indonesian consumers that they almost think of it as a homegrown brand. See "Indonesia's top local brands", which is based on a separate survey question that asked people to name only locally owned brands; Samsung appeared in the results alongside local giants such as Indofood and Tokopedia. 

Being the market leader has not made Samsung somnambulant. The company continues to invest heavily into building awareness and marketing. “They are present everywhere—on TV, billboards, print and digital,” said Prashant Gokarn, co-founder and CEO of DigiAsia. Indonesia is a high-priority market for Samsung and they are making sure they make themselves indispensible and fresh by launching products here the same time as other important markets globally.

Unlike Samsung, Indonesia gets a bit of a delayed market treatment from Apple. The brand has been battling to gain a foothold in the archipelago for some years, but hasn’t really made a concentrated push in any of the categories in Indonesia. Nevertheless, its enormous global brand presence and an aspirational brand personality keep it amongst the top 5 brands in the country. It fell two spots to land at position four, giving way to the Asian consumer-durable giants Panasonic and LG.

“Indonesians typically follow a sequence of acquisitions. A mobile phone is the first to enter a household, but then it is definitely a television. Foreign television brands are a symbol of an upwardly mobile household and thus, very high on the wish list with high recall values,” said Rajat Basra, chief executive officer, OMG Indonesia.

Of the top 10 brands, five spots are taken by consumer electronics brands including Sony and Philips. Philips has made a surprise leap from its 44th rank last year to 10th, mostly owing to its high decibel brand extension into the LED lighting space.

Indonesians take pride in their heritage and believe in the collective well-being of the society. Brands that are perceived to make people’s lives better are ranked higher than goods that are merely functional.

Nestle (5) consistently finds itself in the top 10 bracket in Indonesia, as it is perceived according to its brand message, “Good food good life”.

Google (6) saw a steep climb of seven spots to break into the top 10. In the last year, the tech major has been working overtime to integrate itself into the fabric of Indonesian lives. Google today speaks Bahasa Indonesia and multiple dialects with higher accuracy and people see it as a ‘go-to’ brand for anything search.

“We launched high-visibility campaigns focused on making Indonesians discover how Google Search can make it easier to find answers about all their everyday needs,” said Veronica Utami, chief marketing officer, Google Indonesia.

Go-Jek (41), an indigenous online service booking app, has made its debut on the list this year and is way ahead of Grab (58) and Uber (266). That Go-Jek pioneered the mobile-app transportation product in Indonesia is well recognized. But the brand has gone beyond its product value into becoming a social icon that empowers Indonesians by giving them a chance to make a living. Its communications, which reiterate the message of bringing joy into people’s lives, resonate with iconic Indonesian values of collectiveness.

Ikea (46) is another brand that made its first appearance on the list. Amongst the QSRs, Pizza Hut (9) retained its leadership position and was 27 spots above its closest competitor McDonald’s (36). Continuing with the retail sector, Nike (8) outranked other sports brands Adidas (11) and Reebok (43) but all of them made it to the Top 50.

Telkomsel (29) is a more popular mobile service than Indosat (84). And Lazada (45) continued to be the favorite ecommerce site.