CEO Insights Magazine

An increasing number of companies are realizing how important a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is in the vibrant Indonesian Archipelago. With hundreds of islands, each with its own culture, consumer habits, and market dynamics, this enormous and diverse territory offers businesses both chances and challenges. A CMO is essential in navigating this intricate market as the Indonesian economy grows due to the country's growing middle class and greater use of digital technology.

Felix Jonathan, CMO of Olympic Furniture Group started his career as a professional furniture salesman in Surabaya, having grown up in a well-known furniture industry family. His professional path has been profoundly influenced and contributed to by his upbringing in the largest furniture company in the country. As the company's second generational leader, Felix has seized the chance to expand the business and make sure that its brands, products, and marketing are still relevant in a changing marketplace.

In 2015, Felix spearheaded the establishment of the first plastic furniture product line for Olympic Furniture Group, branded as Olymplast. This experience marked his initial foray into manufacturing and marketing, involving crucial tasks such as product development, material selection, production systems, pricing, distribution strategies, and promotional efforts.

Embarking in an engaging interaction with CEO Insights Asia magazine, Felix shares his strategies, future roadmap, and much more. Let’s delve into it.

How do you find your experiences beneficial in creating a marketing strategy aligning with the goals & objectives of an organization?

New product lines, brands, and manufacturing facilities have greatly aided in my understanding of marketing fundamentals. This gives me a wider perspective on the market and industry.

For a brand to be powerful, components such as competition, consumer demand and expectations, appropriate channels and distributors, production technology, and material suppliers must be connected. My ability to work across departments and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders has allowed me to identify the best product, cost, and price settings in addition to efficient marketing and promotion plans.

Describe your leadership approach that helps achieve marketing goals.

Throughout my career, I have modified my leadership style to fit various situations and phases of a company's growth. In my opinion, the greatest leadership philosophies, are those that support the organization's objectives and adjust to meet its demands for more rapid and steady advancement.

I adhere to the values of Indonesia's Father of National Education, Ki Hajar Dewantara, which can be summed up as "ing ngarso sung tulodo, ing madya mangun karsa , tutwuri handayani", This means that: ‘In the front, we set the vision and lead by example; in the middle, we collaborate to solve problems and prevent them from recurring; and in the back, we motivate and celebrate our team's achievements.’

I set the example by being clear about the vision and making sure that everyone knows it. In order to make sure that problems are fixed and don't come up again, I collaborate with my team to identify solutions. Once everything is running smoothly, I let the team shine by encouraging and acknowledging their accomplishments.

What are the methods you use in understanding customer preferences, market trends, and competitive landscapes to shape these strategies, on the same?

Social media has proven to be a useful tool in the rapidly expanding digital age for gathering preliminary insights about consumer preferences, market trends, and the competitive environment. However, not every information found online is applicable in the actual marketplace. I make sure we maintain our market presence by having direct contact with end users through a variety of channels and touchpoints to close this gap.

I closely monitor comments, feedback, and criticism from physical stores as well as e-commerce sites. Basic market research gives us important insights into our designs and new goods and helps us determine whether customers are willing to buy at price points. It's also essential to keep up with industry changes and upcoming design trends by visiting exhibitions and reading industry updates.

Under your leadership, how do you constantly maintain and enhance the brand image of an organization? How do you ensure brand consistency across all marketing channels and initiatives?

We need to make steady, long-term efforts to preserve and improve our brand image. Establishing a distinct brand purpose and effectively conveying it to our intended audience are the cornerstones of any successful brand.

We build a strong brand identity to set ourselves apart from other brands. We can guarantee that customers will recognize and get acquainted with us by standardizing our logo, color, and font. Maintaining consistent messaging that accurately represents our identity requires setting up a brand guideline with important graphics and communication tactics. These policies are meant to be understood and adhered to by every member of our company.

We improve the perception of our brand by being actively involved in several online marketing platforms. We make sure that all our marketing initiatives, product choices, client interactions, online presence, and social media activity are in line with the market. We achieve this through monthly monitoring and evaluation of customer feedback, allowing us to make necessary adjustments.

How do you guide your team to create compelling campaigns and how do you encourage them to embrace innovation to amplify the brand storytelling?

I begin by outlining our brand's mission and how to best communicate it through our campaign to generate creativity that is captivating. I bring together the sales team, above-the-line team, below-the-line team, and digital team to make sure that everyone is aware of the objectives of the campaign, the purpose of our brand, and our plan for communication across all platforms.

All teams must remain abreast of emerging concerns, viral trends, and market actions. This makes sure that our campaigns speak to our target demographic and helps us match them with current market trends.

What is the future roadmap you have envisioned for your journey?

We have six product lines or brands, and I plan to take each of these brands to the top of the Indonesian market and then take them global. My goal for us is to become a well-known international furniture player by exporting our goods and establishing our presence in international marketplaces.

Felix Jonathan, CMO, Olympic Furniture Group

Felix Jonathan holds a bachelor's degree in accounting and business/management from James Cook University Singapore and studied Chinese Language and Literature at Zhejiang University of Science and Technology. Currently, he is the Chief Marketing Officer at Olympic Furniture Group, and the Managing Director of PT Cahaya Bintang Olympic and PT Cahaya Bintang Plastindo. Felix founded PT Eforia Furniture Indonesia, a leading online furniture store, and has extensive experience across various departments, including marketing, production, logistics, and finance.