Indonesia

Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia. It is an island group consisting of thousands of islands in the Pacific Ocean. As it lies close to the equator, it has a tropic climate with a wet and a dry season. The average temperature ranges from 28°C (82.4°F) in the coastal areas to 23°C (73.4°F) in higher mountain regions.

Indonesia is considered a high context culture. According to Edward T. Hall that means that in this culture information is embedded in context and feelings, thoughts, and information are not explicitly expressed. The message is more implicit. This can also be seen in advertising campaigns in Indonesia. Those are usually very colorful and appeal to and play with their emotions.

GeertHofstede’s “Dimensions of Culture” also give a helpful insight to Indonesian culture and help analyze advertising strategies used in this country. Indonesia has a low Individualism score which means that it is a collective society. The society has a strong defined social frame and individuals are expected to conform to the ideals of the society/in-group they belong to. Masculinity in another interesting dimension to look at, when you want to understand a culture. Indonesia has a rather low Masculinity score (46) compared to other Asian countries, but is still considered a masculine country. Status and visible success are important in Indonesia, this status and success does not always have to be material. An important concept in Indonesia is “Gengsi” which loosely translates to “outwards appearance”. This outwards appearance must always be maintained. Another interesting dimension to look at in the light of advertising is Uncertainty Avoidance. A score of 48 means that people in Indonesia like to avoid uncertainty, but are also more emotional. This means that consumers are more receptive to advertisement using  the soft sell approach, because this plays with their emotions. But Indonesia, with a Long-Term-Orientation score of 62, is also a pragmatic culture. Indonesia is also a culture of restraint, this can be seen by their low Indulgence score (38). In theory this means that for the people in Indonesia indulgence is wrong and they don’t value leisure time as high as other countries might. Cultures of restraint can be difficult to make advertisement for because people are not inclined to spend money freely.