Indonesian ICT company Metrodata Electronics has partnered with Taiwanese digital marketing agency cacaFly to launch a new data-driven digital marketing agency in Indonesia named cacaFly Metrodata Indonesia (CMI). CacaFly will own 51% of the agency while Metrodata owns the remaining 49%. Amanda Lai (pictured) has been appointed as the GM based in Jakarta. She previously worked for Google and spearheaded Shopee cross-border eCommerce expansions into Southeast Asia and Brazil.
According to both companies, Metrodata’s sizeable information and communication technology brand coverage and knowledge of the local market combined with cacaFly’s digital marketing expertise will be jointly leveraged to develop a more efficient and effective digital marketing agency for Indonesia.
The formation of CMI expands cacaFly’s reach into Southeast Asia, after expansions into Malaysia and Singapore. CacaFly is known in Taiwan for its application of AI, big data, and machine learning to marketing campaigns, and has a team of over 60 engineers. Its is currently partners with Google, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, and LINE.
Aside from its official launch, CMI is also the agency partner for Gojek Ads Network (GoGAN), which was built together with TenMAX, a fellow subsidiary of funP Innovation group, cacaFly’s parent company. GoGAN aims to streamline the process for both agency media planning and buying, generating consolidated impact insight reports for marketers.
Furthermore, CMI will also work with TikTok in Indonesia to provide consulting services to brands looking to leverage the platform’s influencers to promote their products through TikTok Shop. According to CMI, it will be entering the Indonesian market with an array of key strategic partnerships to be announced in further detail in the future. These include media partnerships planned with integrated media companies in Indonesia, and technology solutions such as programmatic DOOH.
Lai told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that in the first year, it plans to build a team of 10 to 15 account executives, planners and account managers, leveraging Metrodata’s legal, financial, talent acquisition, and administration to support those functions. When asked who are some of its main competitors.
The company claims it does not highlight any specific organisation as a competitor and in fact, it plans to work with local agencies, especially those with an interest in CMI’s proprietary technology and the data-driven solutions that it is involved in developing. While it cannot specify which clients have already come on board, Lai said it is very keen to engage with some of the ICT brands already working with Metrodata.
“We have a team with strong local connections and Metrodata’s client base, so we are definitely looking to pitch local clients. We also have really good relationships with head offices of companies in Greater China and Southeast Asia. We are actively looking to either bring these companies to Indonesia or expand their footprint here,” Lai explained.
According to Lai, the team is able to develop its own solutions and tailor them for each market as it has a large R&D team, which is something plenty of agencies in Indonesia do not have. As such, CMI is able to offer one-stop shopping digital marketing services, from first-party data powered target audience segmentation, cross-platform media budget planning, real-time budget optimisation, and automatic report generation.
“We could not have found a better partner than Metrodata in Indonesia, and their extensive business infrastructure and local brand recognition, give us needed credibility in client engagement, talent recruiting, and other operations.” Lai said.
Meanwhile, Susanto Djaja, president director of Metrodata Electronics and the new president commissioner of CMI said today is a significant milestone for Metrodata that reaffirms its commitment to the country and strengthens its solid base in Indonesia.
“From our brand partners, we have heard constant concerns regarding rising customer acquisition costs, especially as cookies are phased out. There is a real demand for better marketing performance, which is why we have embarked on this joint-venture with cacaFly to offer data-driven solutions to brands in Indonesia that reduce media spends, boost conversion rates, and improve campaign ROI. The combination of cacaFly’s track record in applying data science to digital marketing, and our own domestic market expertise, will make CMI the best-positioned agency in Indonesia for a post-cookie world where first-party data is crucial for success,” he added.
“Indonesia has long been a target market for cacaFly as it has the largest population in Southeast Asia, the highest penetration of mobile-e-commerce users in the world, and growing digitally native middle class looking to upgrade lifestyles,” said Brian Yang, president director/CEO of CMI, and co-founder of cacaFly.com.
