Telkomsel unifies 50 identities in brand relaunch

Indonesia's largest telecom services provider Telkomsel is rebranding itself as it seeks to retain its edge in a competitive market. The brand has worked with VCCP to unify 50 distinct identities across its business, including its Simpati pre-paid cards, its Max Stream video streaming service, its internet of things offerings, and its FleetSight fleet-management service. 

The Telkomsel brand and launch communication was unveiled in a live TV event across Indonesia on Friday. The campaign will extend through refreshed digital properties, digital display, social and influencer activations, public relations, outdoor, retail and direct communications.

Telkomsel appointed The VCCP Partnership, comprising VCCP Singapore (brand strategy and launch communications), SomeOne (brand strategy and brand identity), and Good Relations (internal communications strategy and creative). The VCCP Partnership has previously worked on several other telecom brand overhauls worldwide, including O2, Three, T-Mobile, Telefonica, Movistar, BT and Ice.

The Telkomsel brand rejuvenation has been supported by Telkomsel’s range of agencies, including Romp, H+K, Fjord, iDac and AMP.

Since 1995, Telkomsel has been Indonesia’s leading telecommunications provider. Now, with over 170 million active users, it continues to lead the highly competitive category, but has recently seen more aggressive competition with the potential merger of Ooredoo and Hutchison. 

The Indonesia of 2021 is vastly different from that of 1995, and even of 2020. Telkomsel’s launch campaign invites and inspires Indonesians to make the most of Telkomsel’s offerings to 'make things happen'. The brand is still inspired by Indonesian culture, representing diversity, colours and the spirit and energy of Indonesia, according to the company.

We have reached out to Telkomsel's CMO Rachel Goh for some comments on the brand relaunch and will update this story if and when they do come through. 

“For the concept, we worked closely with our clients to find the sweet spot," said Andrew Hook, ECD at VCCP. "We wanted to create an international outlook for the brand, inspired by the incredible drive and optimism that defines the Indonesian people. At the same time, we needed it to be grounded in local culture, and truly resonant with our audience."  

The new Telkomsel branding is more colorful and more exciting, VCCP leaders said. Even the new Telkomsel font, created by Indonesian font foundry, Degarism, focuses Telekomsel on being a future-facing brand that’s rooted in its Indonesian heritage.

Telkomsel’s new logo is inspired by the curves and the different motifs of batik, a local textile design method. The new identity is ownable to Indonesians and is something that influences the country’s visual cues.

As part of the relaunch, Telekomsel and VCCP have worked with noted filmaker Joko Anwar to put together a brand relaunch film. 

The production, managed remotely by VCCP Singapore, was a six-day, full-remote shoot under tight Covid restrictions. It had more than 20 custom-built sets and locations. "With a lean crew, we connected the dots between teams of specialists in London, Singapore, Jakarta, and a little bit of Amsterdam for good measure," said VCCP's ECD Hook.

The production brings seemingly unrelated scenarios together, flowing from one to the next and building in intensity as the story progresses.

“What attracted me to the creative brief was the storyline of how one’s inspiration can create endless opportunities for others," Anwar said in a release. "The challenge was how to make this relevant to Indonesians. We did this by presenting a story with characters and situations that feel organic, while at the same time stylish, so people can relate to it."

The final piece of the brand relaunch plan was to use Telekomsel's 5000 staff members as brand ambassadors for the new identity. Through a program of internal communications, training and live and virtual activations, the brand brought its people along for ride.