Rock 'n' roll marketing to promote Bali worldwide

Trisha Sertori, Contributor The Jakarta Post, Ubud

Jakarta-based band Hallo Mister has taken a novel approach to promoting Bali.

Band manager David Stone said the band recently released a royalties-free song and video clip to promote Bali via marketing's back door -- the music industry.

"It doesn't get any better than this", a bouncy little rock and roll number, is about the fun that can be had in Bali and the fact life doesn't get better than a week or two on the island of the gods.

"Bali has always been promoted for its traditions and culture. We wanted to add to that by showing the fun of Bali, the dancing and clubs as well," Stone said.

The song and its video clip have been given free to Bali and Indonesia for the purpose of promoting the area around the world on music video programs such as MTV Asia, Much Music, Canada and music shows in the UK, U.S., Europe and India.

"The song and video are royalties free so it makes it very easy for music shows, tourism expos, radio and the print media to use any part of the song and video. It can be cut to fill any available space in air time, and that makes it a very attractive package for media around the world," Stone said.

He said the high cost of buying commercial air time for promotional advertising campaigns was a major stumbling block for the promotion of Indonesia around the world.

"It doesn't matter how brilliant a promotional campaign is, the cost of getting the message out is always going to be prohibitive. Singapore spends around US$150 million a year to promote the country, but that's tough for Indonesia.

"Hallo Mister wanted to do something to try and get promotion for the country without the costs. We've done this as a gift to Indonesia and we believe that because of the royalties free status, the song and video will be picked up around the world," Stone said.

Some clever marketing planning has gone into the production of the video and song, with cartoon images and generic information that does not advertise any specific product or company, he said.

"As soon as you put merchandise or specific products into a video or song lyric for that matter, you are going to be coming up hard against the gatekeepers of programming. Specific products turn the video and song into advertising and it won't get the free run, which is the whole point.

"We have kept the video generic so it can be placed anywhere without programmers having to sift for potential hidden advertising in the work. It can also be cut just about anywhere, which again makes it very attractive as a filler for programs around the world."

Stone said the band has had great support from the Bali Tourism Board, which has endorsed the song as a promotional tool for the island.

Written by Hallo Mister's lead vocalist, Canadian singer song writer Gary Gray, the song forms part of a full album released recently in Ubud and Canggu by Hallo Mister.

The band is made up of four lads that love to play music, and do it well. They can be seen having a musical ball in Jakarta most weeks at Eastern Promise.

Their album is available at hotels, restaurants and record shops.

Stone said when people purchase the album as a souvenir, they will be doing their bit to promote Bali to the world.