By: Yanto Soegiarto*
IT takes talent and determination to succeed in Indonesia’s crowded media market. At the Trans Media business group, the best man for the job is a woman. Atiek Nur Wahyuni is no ordinary marketer. Her Midas touch has transformed Trans Media, enabling it to take a position as one on of the strongest media companies in Indonesia.
Now president director of the group, she commands respect in the television broadcasting industry as the woman behind the phenomenal rise of Trans TV and Trans 7. Her marketing and sales initiatives have also helped to maximize income at leading internet portal detik.com.
“The television broadcasting business is still good despite the challenges of this year of politics and the upcoming general elections,” Atiek told GlobeAsia at her office in South Jakarta.
“Local advertisers are optimistic and so are we.” Atiek’s long experience in marketing and sales helped her uncover trends which help determine which programs are best at a given time. Although entertainment programs still dominate ratings and audience share, audiences can look forward to new and innovative news programs this year.
“The competition is tight. The trend now is that there is no audience loyalty to a specific station. So who is number one, number two and three varies every week. Viewers are loyal to the programs, not to the station,” she said.
Atiek believes that her TV stations have to continue to be the trendsetters, being innovative and creative in producing television programs that will become favorites with the public. There is a tight battle for predominance between the two stations she manages and rivals RCTI and SCTV.
Atiek’s phenomenal Yuk Keep Smile (YKS) program recently swept all the national ratings. The four-hour non-stop program involves ordinary people, celebrity hosts, TV crews suddenly breaking into spontaneous dance, music, comedy, humor and quizzes with door prizes. Other popular programs that cater to the people are Opera van Java, a Javanese-style comedy, Show Imah, a humorous talk show, Saat nya Kita Joged (Time to Dance) and Hitam Putih (Black and White).
The in-house productions have gained a reputation as must watch shows for many viewers. Contrarily, Bioskop Trans TV, a program which airs select movies, is also a favorite and revenue-earner, even though it is a marked departure from the other entertainment programs that provide the bulk of Trans Media’s revenues.
Ratings and audience share are the critical measurement in advertising placements. News, the original pillar of television broadcasting, generates low ratings and has sunk to become a minor part of the overall television programming mix. Most viewers in Indonesia prefer entertainment programs over news and talk shows.
Atiek declined to provide revenue or income figures, since Trans Media remains a private company, but she did state that the growth of the two television stations is around 20% per year. The top revenue earner remains Hary Tanoesoedibjo’s MNC Group, which owns RCTI, MNC TV and TVGlobal. RCTI is the oldest national private television company and has the largest coverage area.
“We can’t reveal figures but revenues are good with the TV stations contributing 95% of Trans Media’s revenues. Currently (our stations) are in the number two spot. We have two television stations while our closest competitor has three major stations,” said Atiek, who won the 2013 MarkPlus Award for Best Marketer in the media category.
Industry professional Atiek started out in the business working in sales and marketing at RCTI. With that experience under her belt, she then moved to newly-established Trans TV, before it began broadcasting. Prominent tycoon Chairul Tanjung had acquired TV7 from Kompas Gramedia Group and her job was to rebrand it to become Trans 7 and turn around the lossmaking company to a profitable position.
She was appointed vice president director and then, recognizing her work in successfully transforming Trans Media into a major pillar of the industry, she was promoted to president director of Trans Media, a subsidiary of Chairul’s Trans Corp,which owns interests in banking, retail, aviation and property.
Atiek said she’s happy that more and more woman now lead companies. “I am happy that more women advance. Women will take a bigger role in the future and sit in top executive positions,” she predicted. She is widely credited with creating a strong and healthy culture at the two stations, with revenue and profitability continuing to grow from year to year.
She realized she had made it when Trans 7 became the third-ranked station in 2012, compared to lowly eighth spot when it was still known as TV7. When Trans Corp acquired detik.com, Chairul appointed Atiek as director of marketing and sales at the portal. Her job was to synergize and increase performance at the three media entities.
A 1988 Trisakti University graduate, Atiek restructured human resources at the TV stations. She revamped the organization of the media companies with an emphasis on implementing a transparent corporate culture, which among other factors kept staff informed of the company’s development, helping to boost morale.
The creative process is important, said Atiek. “The bottom-up approach is important. Each idea to make our programs fresh is discussed, analyzed and goes through focus group discussions before implementation. We must not be left behind. programs must be up-to date,” she stressed.
There is wide recognition of her work. “Her capabilities have been proven. This is what took her to the top, not just her marketing capabilities but her organizational expertise as well,” commented Gilang Iskandar, the former executive secretary of the Indonesian Association of Private Television Stations (ATVSI).
“Synergizing two television stations and a portal was no easy task but she did it. She proved that she was able to recruit the right people for the right positions.”
And, adds Gilang, “she is committed to her work, yet she is still amicable. Her policy of recruiting young, dynamic and creative people has worked. That is how she and her team made breakthroughs in programming.”
She is widely credited with creating a strong and healthy culture at the two stations, with revenue and profitability continuing to grow from year to year. Bekti Nugroho of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) agrees that the programs introduced by Atiek have been successful.
“As far as entertainment programs are concerned, I think Atiek’s programs are the leaders. But if you ask about ethics and impact on the public, I think so far TV stations have been adhering to KPI’s requirements such as avoiding unethical material and sensual dances which could impact children.
“But if you ask whether the idealism and educational requirements stated by the law are fulfilled, the answer is that the stations still need to improve,” he said.
Responding to this comment, Atiek disagrees. “If people say our programs are not educative, it’s not true. We are working in a market which others don’t look at. Take the case of a dangdut music composer or singer on the northern coast of Java. They became popular because of our TV. They cried in gratitude because our TV serves the creativity of the people,” she stated.
This interview was conducted in March 2014
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About the Writer
Yanto Soegiarto
Alumnus of “Merdeka” Jalan Sangaji no. 11 Jakarta, the battle training ground for journalists. Educated abroad and trained in the US. Editorial writer on various local and international issues. Has covered many countries, including Vietnam, the former Soviet Republics, the Middle East and North Korea. Staunch advocate of freedom of expression and press freedom. Former Editor-in-chief of the Indonesian Observer newspaper, Head of Content of astaga.com, News Director of RCTI, Research Fellow at Soegeng Sarjadi Syndicate. Managing Editor at GlobeAsia Magazine, BeritaSatu Media and BBS TV Surabaya.
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