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Maverick's Outing

For me, the new girl in the team, the first time I was asked to join along when Nia called me, I was already thrilled!!! Thank you everyone for such a warm welcome & including me in the outing trip which left a tremendous memorable experience and memorie...
For some, this may seem funny, I'VE NEVER BEEN TO Jogja & Semarang...so the outing has also given me a new insight travel of 'Inside Indonesia'.....
So much great activities and sharing that we the mavericks’ had during the outing, Goosh where should I start....
Losari coffee plantation resort and Spa, a beautiful resort, with warm old antique Javanese ambience that when I got there, I think everybody was just amazed by how magnificent the scenery and the fresh air that we were going to enjoy for the next 2 days!!! Spacious rooms and not to mention the king size beds (even the extra beds were huge!!!) for us to indulge our holiday!!! Well, not to forget, thank you for Ong & Mbak Lita, for their generosity...
Scenery and tress were just so fantastically beautiful, that when I sat down and enjoy it, you will also realize the greatness of this world...
By the way, at night Losari was dark as it could get! And everybody's got to attentively focused when they're walking, as we just didn't want to fall, I guess...hehehehe
Nia did mention about Mas Rudy's graduation, yeees, it was really a funny one, because in the surprise graduation party that we arranged (discreetly) for him, we formed two lines, that Mas Rudy had to walk through before reaching the rector and Professor ( which is Ong & Mbak Lita, as it's MAVERICK's University) :) and everybody were tickling Mas Rudy, well, he doesn't take tickling very well...and he was laughing the whole way ( and his laughter made all of us laughing).
Second day, it was trip to Jogja (the seat in the bus was aching) but the whole fun of the trip made it worthwhile...Hot sunny day, but still everyone's was enjoying their time...
There's so much (like really a lot) of stuff to see & it was kind of a headache, because I just don't know what to get....hehehehe (ended up buying 2 pairs of sandals).
Then, we had dinner at Bale Raos, in the Sultan's compound (apparently it's the king's favorite food), it's kinda too sweet, but still delicious... at the end of dinner, I shared my lovely voice ( I wish to believe so) with the 'Mata Genit Band' (the band was great, except for the name I guess!) hahahaha,
Well, the great thing also, that everybody's just mingling and some did share some personal stories so in a way, it made everyone closer as friends and colleagues.
My most truly greatest one, is THE HAMAM SPA...did a 75 min massage which was costly, but it's worth every cent of my credit card that I got to pay later :(...
For that 75 min, I felt I was entering THE HEAVEN OF RELAXATION.. it was awesome!!
I love massages, and been around tried some SPA, but gotta share it with you, THERE'S NOT ONE YET THAT FELT like THE HAMAM!!! (I'm sure Mbak Lita, couldn't agree more with me, as she did have a massage too). Well, I missed the steam train tour though, but hey...you gotta choose 1 or the other sometimes huh....(I didn't regret choosing the massage...)
Had a good laugh, memorable and truly a wonderful experience that I shared in this outing...
Once again, Thank you for including me and making me feel a pat of the family at the orange house in such a short period...

Maverick Of The Year 2006

Starting this year, Maverick begins a tradition of recognizing excellence among the already very able team at Maverick. It was tough decision to single out just one associate for special recognition since each one of the Mavericks is special in their own way.

But tough it was, a decision had to be made and the inaugural Maverick of The Year 2006 award was announced at our Annual Outing at the Losari Coffee Plantation in central Java last week-end. It went to Hanny Kusumawati.

She stands out because she managed to meet the challenges thrown at her fearlessly and handled them with self-confidence, creativity and a good cheer. She demonstrated that she was not only a good worker but also a good team member and a team leader. She joined Maverick in September 2005, and within less than a year she was taking on the role of a team leader for two of Maverick biggest accounts, Sampoerna and Coca-Cola. She did this with aplomb and to the delight of the clients.

In Maverick's selection process where everyone had a say in recommending the Maverick of the Year to the Partners, it was also evident that Hanny's talents and accomplishments were also appreciated by her peers.

Bravo, Hanny!

A Change of Seasons

The Maverick family along with our neighbors, friends, clients, family members and journalist colleagues decided to make a difference on Monday 12 March 2007. We invited the Indonesian Red Cross blood donor van to come and take our blood. Invitations to our friends and colleagues were enthusiastically responded to, and blood was taken for those in need.

Why a ‘Change of Seasons’? Because this is the first time the company as a whole can participate in a collective effort of social aid, although Maverick had previously helped the Mitra Netra NGO further their cause for the sight impaired. This time, everyone in the office can participate, even including our personal friends and families.

As us enthusiastic, albeit rather scared, donors were led one by one to our cots, amidst the doubts, the fear of needles, and the endless jeers of our well meaning peers, the realization that our blood will mean a lot in disaster ridden Indonesia meant that all who donated their blood did so with a clear conscience and a pure intention, although that sexy nurse taking our blood helped a lot in this department - for the guys anyway.

All in all, 51 people came and donated their blood. Thanks guys! Keep it up!! We have received positive feedback and due to that, we have decided today to make this an annual event here at Maverick’s office. So I hope that next year’s turnout will be even better. J

Photos:

PMI arrived at Maverick’s office at 9am sharp!

Employees from Jerry Aurum Graphic Design are busy filling out the front and back of the PMI document.

Before giving blood, everyone was checked what blood type they are and if they were allowed to donate.

Drivers who hang out at the warung close to the office and even TNT courier staff have spontaneously donated their blood. Good on your guys!

Every donor received their new donor card and a little thank you gift from Maverick and of course food to get back on their feet after giving so much blood.

New and Old Faces in Maverick

Maverick this week welcomed a new face and also the return of an old face to our team of eclectic characters and talents.

The new face is Nancy Natalia. She holds a BA degree in Media and Cultural Studies from Central Queensland University, Sydney, and also an Advanced Diploma in Mass Communications from Staffordshire University, Singapore. Nancy spent three years working in Sydney as a sales rep for a shoe product, before returning home and joining Metro TV as a Production Assistant and Reporter.

“I have always been interested in PR & would like to get a more in-depth, hands on experience of what the world of PR is all about," said Nancy. "I believe that Maverick would be a good place to work in, because from what I hear from others prior to joining Maverick is a place that encourages its employees to grow better, professionally and personally.”

Also returning to the fold after a three-month sabbatical is Crivenica “Riri” Alam who moves on from her role of Associate at the consultancy side to head Gauge, Maverick's online media tracking and PR measurement service.

“The past three months have been very enjoyable and full of activities. Most of the time, I was traveling and spending quality time with my loved ones," said Riri. "I think Maverick is cool place for giving me the flexibility to take this sabbatical where I could refresh myself. And now, I am back fully recharged and looking forward to new challenges and fun with the Maverick and Gauge crews.”

Warm welcome to both of you. We believe the ride becomes more enjoyable with you on board.

Click Of The Week: Taufik Almubarak

A friend recommends Nia to check this blog, he insist that Nia will like the postings. Not to mention that this blog is quite different. This blog belongs to a young Aceh journalist who is currently running a tabloid called SUWA: Taufik Almubarak.
SUWA was established in November last year and focused in politics.
Taufik hopes that SUWA will be an alternative reading for the public in Aceh. Although the tabloid is rather new, writing has been Taufik passion for a long time. He used to have a column in bulletin@boleh.com, he also written articles for Sinar Harapan and Serambi Indonesia.
Nia thinks that his opinion and writing styles are very different from other articles about politic in general. "The story flows as if you're reading a novel, even it's all politics but very catchy and not too heavy. It's more of a story telling which makes me want to know more and more."
Another plus point for his writing is, as an Acehnesse he gives a different insight of what is going on in Aceh. "My favorite posting is: Subuh Berdarah (Bloody Morning). After I read it, I kept on saying, "My God... is this really happening in our country? What kind of childhood are these kids having? How will they live to tell these things? And such an emotional experience they have to go through at such tender age."

Coffee, Tea ... and Interview!

As a PR consultancy, one of the services given by Maverick to its clients is Media Handling Skills—a one-day training on the characteristic on Indonesian media, how to deal with media, how to communicate your messages and get it across, and on top of that: a simulation of one-on-one interview to sharpen several interview techniques. This is exactly what we’ve done for our NGO friends since 2006. Based on references from clients and other NGOs, we invite several NGOs every 1-2 months, to have a free training on the above subject.

Yesterday, we were honored to have Mas Hamid and Mbak Yuni from PIRAC, Mas Aziz from Telapak, and Mas Yudhis from Yayasan Tunas Cendekia in our media handling training for NGOs. As media’s point-of-contact in their organizations, during the training we also had several interview simulations to furthermore boost their confidence and skills in interacting with journalist friends. Turned out, this interview simulation becomes one of the most exciting (or excruciating?) session that day.

Pak Hamid from PIRAC was laughing out loud as he saw his tape on screen, because he found out that he kept on playing with his hands on his lap, and that his chair was swiveling frantically. “I didn’t realize that I actually did that!” he said, giggling. And Mas Yudhis from Tunas Cendekia bursted out laughing in the middle of an interview session, when the question got a bit tough. ”Wow, if this thing happened in an actual interview, probably they will scream: commercials!!!”








After those simulations, we had a lively chat over coffee, tea, and snacks, where the three NGOs started to share their experience in dealing with the media; and asked some questions about the characteristic of the media and its journalists. Since I was conducting this training with Rommy, an ex-journalist himself, the chat became even more interesting! :)

We do hope that yesterday's training could be of use for our NGO friends in their future contacts with media and journalists. And if you happened to know some NGOs that needed help in their communication and PR skills, please do not hesitate to contact us. We’ll be happy to invite you to our Orange House and have another media handling session over coffee and delicious snacks.

Selling the country

On Friday, 23 February 2007, we got Muhammad Al Aula for sharing session. He is a young diplomat from Indonesian Department of Foreign Affair. The two-hour discussion was so hot and lively, that we forgot there was another event to attend to.

We discussed many things, especially his experience as a diplomat. He shared with us what are the responsibilities of a diplomat. But in this session he gave more emphasis on public diplomacy -- communicating Indonesian foreign policy toward the Indonesian citizens first.

When we hear about that, we just thought how complicated the role of diplomats. They must make complicated decisions, and still they have to balance the national interest with public opinions established by the press.

It is quiet interesting to know how the department of foreign affair is doing their job. One of which interest me is how they approach prominent and influential leaders through a “breakfast meeting” to create awareness, change perception, and drive action. Well, to this part, it sounds pretty much like a PR practitioner -- in a sense that we also like to treat certain people for lunch or diner of course. :)

I think it is a good step to communicate to the public about Indonesian foreign policy. As the Indonesian society is patriarchic, people would believe respected individual leader, rather than the mass media for instance. :(

Aula also share that Department of Foreign Affair has been reforming itself for many years. Unfortunately they don’t socialize very well which make people’s perception the department stand still.

From the discussion, we can also learn that they haven’t really pushed the envelop, as they have so much potential, partly because the short numbers of diplomats. I hope in the future Department of Foreign Affair is more proactive to communicate what they have done, and why they make such measures.

But most important is what Aula calls the second track diplomacy. Any Indonesian can be the ambassador of the country, through interactions with people from other countries. Thus, every Indonesian must understand the nation’s foreign policy, so we can achieve the goal together.

Sounds like a great idea, isn’t it?

*written by Tuhu

TOFI: pride of the nation

Last Friday in Maverick sharing session, we were delighted to the company of two lovely young ladies, Lidya and Nouva, as the PR of the Indonesian Physics Olympiads Team (TOFI).

First, let’s get one thing straight because as it might be a name of a team, TOFI is also an NGO. The NGO is pioneered by Yohanes Surya, Agus Ananda, Roy Sembel and Joko Saputro thirteen years ago. But the most important of all, this NGO has realized the importance of PR in delivering their mission to make physics as a fun and easy subject.

Well most of us, by now, may have already known that our beloved country has oftentimes triumphs the International Physics Olympics (IPhO). Yes, thanks to some of our mass media concerns and TOFI’s PR team, of course. But have any one of us known how these gifted teens managed participate in such Olympics in the first place?

For a start, every year TOFI together with the National Education Ministry is searching for the national best physics students through a series of competitions. The first test is in the regency level where students have to compete to be the provincial winners. These winners of the provincial selections then compete for a place to represent their Provinces in the National Science Olympics (OSN). OSN nests national champions who will compete for the best eight and become members of TOFI. Ultimately, these best eight will compete in the Asian Physics Olympics (APhO) and the International Physics Olympics.

If you think this is the end, you’re wrong. As TOFI members, these high school students will undertake training carried out in TOFI Center in BSD City, Tangerang for months – which everyone enjoys very much. :)

Click Of The Week: Andreas Harsono

For this Click Of The Week, Tuhu has already make up his mind and choose Andreas Harsono's blog. In his blog, we also able to read about his story as a newly wed. Tuhu said that
Andreas Harsono’s blog is very interesting, because it depicts his personal day to day life stories as a journalist, book author, a new husband, and a caring father.
In his life as a journalist we can find writings on his passion to support the many struggling minorities in Indonesia. In his blog he tells stories on his travels around Indonesia from Sabang all the way to Merauke, and his exposure of the many different ethnic minorities’ and their struggles.
We can read these stories and his findings in the articles published in his blog, or the anthology book that he plans to publish soon.
In the blog Andreas also shares his personal life stories. You can find stories on love life, new wife, family and his relationship with his son. He tells the public all types of details of what is happening in his life.
"I think it’s sweet, because he is giving a glimpse of his life. His writings in the blog show his “humanistic” point of view, instead of “journalistic” jibber jabber. He conveys to us his dreams, his daily life, and his opinions about his country in a truthful, unedited, compelling and simple writings," said Tuhu.

On blog code of ethics

An interesting topic above was discussed last Friday during sharing session with our special guests – Mas ‘Ndoro Kakung’ Wicaksono and Mas Budi Putra from Tempo. Big thanks for these Indonesian leading bloggers for dropping by.

It was really a perfect time for us to have them around since we were really curious on their opinions about blog code of ethics. This was related to one of the Mavericks’ ‘unpleasant’ experience with her recent blog posting about a complaint to an organization.

Through a lively session Mas Budi shared his comment that blog must have certain rule to follow. The fact that blog has become accessible anytime anywhere and by everyone - then the content must be based on the facts that bloggers have experienced. Meaning, not any single of bluffs is allowed!

Important to note that blog is one of the new media for everyone to express their ideas, thoughts, and feelings on any issues they are interested in. Thus, bloggers have the absolute rights to voice their opinions and have feedbacks/comments from their links.

A good example brought up was Sun Microsystem case. One of their customers posted his disappointment on the product through blog. Soon after, the CEO of the company replied him by admitting the company’s lack of service and therefore he apologized for the unfortunate condition. He emphasized in a polite way that nothing on this earth are perfect and that would include one of their failed products. Also, he ensured that the same thing wouldn’t happen again in the future.

Yeap, The CEO had successfully made a respective image towards the company! This example reflected the blog power as one of the effective medium for corporate to stay close with customers and be updated on what’s going on with them.

Maverick Click Of The Week: Duncan Graham

Some journalist, used their blog as a news-shelf, a place where they can put all their articles that have already published.
One of them is Duncan Graham, a foreign freelance journalist who lived in Surabaya.
In his blog you can see almost all his article about Indonesia. His articles are quite vary and very interesting. Mersa, who chose his blog for this Maverick click of the week, said:

I picked Mr. Duncan Graham’s blog, (indonesianow.blogspot.com) because I feel his blog has an interesting point of view, the view of a foreigner that has adapted with the East Javanese lifestyle. He seems to me to be a lofo (local foreigner hehehehhehe………), a person who understands the East Javanese people, culture and habits but is somehow always trying to rationalize it with his western upbringing. Which we all know some times doesn’t fit well with one another.
But all in all I think that state of confusion gives him a broader sense of thinking because it makes him think outside the box. He isn’t confined to one pattern of thought. In a sense he is a ‘bi-cultural’ man and it shows in his writings which are rational, indiscriminate, truthful and most of all an unapologetic. All of that I believe is reflected in one of his writings which he posted in his blog titled “A Jelly Bean Journalist in Surabaya” (http://indonesianow.blogspot.com/2006/11/jellybean-journalist-in-surabaya.html).
Sometimes perspectives from a far can give you a clearer view of an object but to get the details you must see it up close. I think because Mr Graham is a lofo, he has the rare talent to see Indonesia from the macro and micro point of view. And due to that and the other reasons above I am picking indonesianow.blogspot.com as the click of the week. Overall I want to say that after reading your blog I am a new D to the U to the N to the C to the A to the N to the G to the R to the A to the H to the A to the M fan, keep up the good work my Friend……………….. I mean Mr Duncan (hauhauahuahua).
Happy reading!

Maverick Click Of The Week: Satrio Arismunandar

How do you like to see what’s behind the journalist mind? Please read Satrio Arismunandar blog’s. His blog was chosen by Adwi. Why Adwi did choose the blog? Here’s his explanation:

Here’s someone I think very experienced, considering that he has work both in print and broadcast media. And one thing worth noted is that a skilled PR practitioner he is -- although oftentimes denying this fact. We are not, however, going comment on Satrio Arismunandar the person. The main focus here is Satrio Arismunandar (http://satrioarismunandar6.blogspot.com/) the blog. “For the Eagles and True Traveler,” is the tagline, as well as the purpose of this blog, I suppose. The blog itself is fairly simple: it has no side bars which most bloggers out there competing to stamp on their blogs. From the lay out, readers might thought this is a dull one. The straightforward writers focus on the content. Here readers can find many sorts of writings from poems, short stories, articles, to tips and tricks. To quote the writer, “a creation without the any benefits, is a waste….”

I was a former journalist, and sometimes journalist cannot express what they feel and think about some case that they find on the field. They can’t just write about it and submitted their article to editor’s for tomorrow edition. There is some media policy that kind of chained the journalist creativity, especially in reporting some critical issues.

Anyway Satrio Arismunandar has found a way to express his thought and feeling: bloging.
Good job Mr. Arismunandar, it's always nice to 'see' you around mailing list.

PR Consultant Turns TV Host

Apparently, being a TV presenter isn’t as easy as I thought. Four days of shooting in Sukabumi – Pelabuhan Ratu – Ujung Genteng were so colorful and full of unexpected things. Being appointed as the new presenter for "Melancong Yuk!", a traveling program in SCTV, I had to walk for miles in a slippery and stony path; swam in an icy water under a waterfall and waited there until the cameraman finished taking different angles of the waterfall (damn it was freezing cold!); woke up at 5.30am and be ready to take some shots or continue our journey (note: wake up early isn’t my thing at all!); sat quietly at the back of a military truck in the middle of a stormy night “only” to find giant turtles that were laying their eggs; almost carried away by the current when I had to learn surfing; and many more…

Apart from that, speaking in front of the camera itself is another interesting subject. For this program, I asked SCTV that I wanted to write my own script. But then, writing and speaking are two different things. “Cut!”, “Retake!”, “Action!” were the most frequent words came from the program director every time I slipped my tongue or lost my words (yeah, it happened many times! Hehehe…). Plus, while thinking on what to say, one had to be aware of the body language, intonation and facial expressions (oh, having experienced all these things, now I have a different opinion toward movie stars!)


Nevertheless, I had lots of fun and learned a lot from those four-days trip. It was definitely a whole new experience for me. And I guess, the whole crew (Gunawan as the Executive Producer, Iwan Gunawan as the program director, Bondan as the cameraman, Vino as the audioman and Mas Ahong as the driver who took us everywhere) also enjoyed the fun, especially when seeing me falling down into a giant turtle’s hole when it was just finished laying its eggs!!! Hahaha… Fortunately, the giant turtle already covered its eggs with earth, so there were safe ☺. But it was me who left in shocked! And instead of helping, everyone just couldn’t stop laughing. Gosh… I bet it was funny as hell.

On top of that, I felt so grateful that Maverick gave the flexibility that enabled me to take this opportunity offered by SCTV. Many thanks to both Maverick’s partners, Ong and Mbak Lita. Their permission reflects that as a company, Maverick encourages its consultants to grow, not only as a PR practitioner, but also as an individual.

Also thanks to SCTV for choosing me as the new presenter for “Melancong Yuk!” :).

My first gig will be aired next Sunday, 7 January 2007 at 6.30am on SCTV. Don’t miss it yaaahh!!! You can also see it at .

Note:
“Melancong Yuk”! airs every Saturday and Sunday at 6.30am on SCTV.
I will take turn with a male presenter, Ferly Junandar, to present various interesting places that are perfect for holidays ;)

New Faces in Maverick

Maverick welcomes three new associates today, its first day of operation in 2007. They are Tuhu Nugraha, Dorte Luedecke and Mersa Siswowaluyo.

Tuhu is a graduate of Padjadjaran University majoring in International Relations, and continued his Master’s degree on Management at Gadjah Mada University. As a student Tuhu was active as a coordinator of various student activities and won several prizes in debates and speech contests. He is also the Chairman of Smart Corner Club MM GMU, a live weekly radio talkshow discussing a variety of business topics.

Born in Germany, Dorte got her BA degree in Media and Communications at the University of Melbourne, Australia after completing her IB diploma in Jakarta. In Australia, she interned at the Melbourne Fringe Festival and worked on a TV pilot program. Fascinated by Indonesia’s culture, politics and media, she returned to Jakarta in April 2006 to see what it’s like to work here. Since then she has worked as an Event Consultant in corporate and government events such as the Balikpapan Expo ’06 and the Indonesia Infrastructure 2006 – Conference and Exhibition.

Mersa is a familiar face in Maverick, as he’s been working in the media tracking division, before joining the consultancy side. Mersa holds a BA degree in Economics from Western Michigan University and is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Business Law at Universitas Padjadjaran. Before joining Maverick he had a wide range of employment experiences, that range from being a resident assistant, a luxury car salesman, and a freelance marketing consultant for several domestic mining companies.

The three of them are eager and excited to start their career in Maverick. Or as Dorte put it, “Maverick is well known in the PR circle and it made me curious to find out what it is that makes Maverick, Maverick,” Mersa, who’s been around Maverick for four months may have the answer. He said, “I felt Maverick was a good choice for me to be part of, mainly due to their no non-sense approach towards business and their result oriented culture that get things done when and where it is needed.“

Well guys, we are as excited as you are to roll out the new year with kick ass work. And for that, we have assembled an eclectic and complementary mix of talents like you are. More importantly, we put our heart and soul in doing our job, and that what makes Maverick, Maverick.

Season's Greetings

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tzLJKaM_8k

Maverick's Click of the Week #5 : Budi Putra's The Gadget

The blogosphere is surely a communication medium that needs to be taken seriously, and certainly has been growing in such an amazing rate. This is also happening in Indonesia, and several Indonesian blogging icons have emerged since. One of them is Budi Putra, a senior IT editor of Koran Tempo and Tempo Interaktif, who has been one of the faces of Indonesia's blogging community. Budi Putra, a journalist who has written several books on IT, has also been interviewed by other media such the WSJ.

I am personally delighted with this development as the local blogging community has a figure to speak on behalf of them (from the IT perspective, for starters, as we know that blogging is about the endless variety of content that can be posted in it). And I guess we can't expect Roy Suryo to be talking in the media about all aspects of the IT world.

However, Budi Putra's thegadgetnet blog was nominated for our Click of the Week by Maverick's Irma who has extensively and regularly browsed the site. Here's what she said about Budi Putra's recent entry, about him being interview by WSJ and the BBC:

In this blog, BP simply writes about his experience of being interviewed by two foreign media : Wall Street Journal & BBC London. As we all know that one of the main task of a journalist’s duty is to interview those who has the source of news which definitely contain news value. But what’s different with this blog, BP shares his experience of how he feels to get interviewed.

I chose his blog because it is not just about IT and gadgets which BP mostly blogs about, but just a short story about one of his interesting experiences.

I think this story is both motivating for other journalists out there and they would consider BP as a good role model of an IT/Telecom journalist.

Congratulations, Mr Budi Putra!

For The Love of... 'epret-epret'

I had a great time last Friday. Who would have thought sharing session with Samuel Mulia would be more than just fun, full of giggles and laughter, and most of all.. so insightful!

Samuel finally stepped into the orange house just before 5.00 p.m. last Friday. He was introduced to everybody and rushed to the meeting room to begin the sharing session.

I came in late. So I missed the beginning part of the discussion. All I realized was the room filled with laughter the moment I entered and Samuel was explaining about working for some events with few brands and the nity gritty part which he defines as… ‘yang epret-epret itu lho’ in his very own distinct style.

Samuel shared his valuable experience from the time he headed A+ Magazine, SOAP magazine, to his current occupation as the Special Project Editor with The Jakarta Post, not for the paper, but for its upcoming monthly magazine insert that will be known as the "Weekender". Nowadays Samuel is known nationwide through his PARODI column in the Sunday edition of KOMPAS. Sam is very proud with his achievements throughout his many years of career, from his years in the core team of DEWI magazine, and also when he sold the cover page of A+ magazine to a sponsor, which was the first time such thing was done in Indonesia. Not long after that, other followed.

Being a very straight forward person, Sammy is not embarrassed to admit whatever business he’s doing is 70% based on the money aspect. That’s what drives him to bring, give the best idea and end result with whomever it is he’s working with. According to Sammy, the tendency of what we called as a ‘corporate culture’ which most of the time, gets in the way. Not to mention bureaucracy, idealism and individual differences, prevents us from giving what is needed, and which may be the best or most appropriate result for our end users. In the end, they are the ones who will help us to achieve that success. Sammy also shared how to see things from many different perspectives, get out of the box, yet, be considerate. Move ahead one step at a time. When the right time has come, you’ll get to see what else the world has to offer you.

His piece of advise for us PR practitioners, to always understand what the media needs, not only what we need or expect them to do for us. Pay attention to those little precious detail, then you will gain the most out of it. Be approachable to the media, give a bit of personal touch, and make them feel like they are needed, because you really do need them!

Sammy’s love for fashion and lifestyle has brought him to the level where he is now. He can see things from angles which any other person can’t. He shared with us that changing a mindset of a person may cost you a lifetime, what more a nation to think or do as what we perceive as the best or the right thing.

The wisest thing to do is be a pioneer! Lead the way, be successful, and eventually you’ll find yourself having people to follow you.

As I mentioned earlier, I wasn’t entirely in the room during the session; however the small part of the whole story as what I just shared has contributed quite a big portion into my perspective. Hope it contributes something to you too!

Maverick Welcomes Nia

Maverick welcomes Nia K. Sadjarwo who joins Maverick as Associate from December 1st. On top of her knowledge in mass communications, Nia brings strong administration and execution skills to Maverick.

Previously, Nia worked as an event organizer at ESMOD Jakarta and GPR Coordinator as well as Academic Manager of Post Graduate Programs at the London School of Public Relations. She also holds a BA degree in mass communications from the London School of Public Relations.

“I’ve always wanted to be a PR person,” said Nia. “Maverick is the right place for me, as I know this is the place where I can learn, broaden my knowledge and experience in PR, and challenge myself," she added

Well Nia, we are happy to have you aboard. In Maverick, it is not only about learning and broadening your knowledge, but more importantly, having fun while doing it.

Big Congrats to first five lucky winners: Idul Fitri E-card

The Mavericks send our most genuine congratulations to our first five Idul Fitri e-card winners who were the first five to send the correct answers. We sent out these special e-cards to our clients and friends right before the Lebaran holiday, but these are not just ordinary e-cards. There’s a not-so-hidden photo quiz that many actually missed.

Anyway, the e-card shows a series of pictures telling a short story of “the little ketupat” who wants to go mudik. Yet in the pictures, there are images of certain products or logos of our clients (the hard work of our unofficial in-house graphic designer Hanny). Recipients of the e-cards are expected to identify 9 of Maverick’s clients on the card and submit the answer via email.

And…. To our surprise, 74 people sent in their answers!

Besides their answer, many of them also made comments about our cute e-card:

Meta – Sampoerna = Maverick emang paling OK deh kalau urusan bikin gimmick2 creative begini.P.S.Kalau bener (sok tau yaa..hehe), mohon parcel dibagikan kepada yang lebih membutuhkan

Priyo S = Bagus sekali itu cara Maverick membuat kejutan.Bisa ditiru itu.Thanks ya!

Rully – Republika = Iseng ikutan ah..Habis lucu banget e-cardnya.Ini nih klien maverick.

Dian – UBS = This is really fun and creative.

Yuniarti Tanjung – Femina = Ah, ada ada aja. Tapi lucu juga.

Illiana – Citibank = Saya terima email ini baru jam 5 sore sih.Mungkin server CBN agak lelet.Jadi kemungkinan besar saya tidak termasuk 5 pengirim pertama.But it’s okay. Saya coba jawab,anyway : Tolong kalau misalnya saya menjadi salah satu pemenang, passport holder dan mug Citibank nya tidak usah dimasukkan ke dalam parcelJ

Radityo Djadjoeri – Mediacare = Thanks ya ucapan lebarannya.Wuah kreatif bangedd..:)

Elvera N Makki – Unilever = Hahaha..this is fun!

Mita – Microsoft = Thanks e-card’nya! Cute ya si ketupat kecil itu.

Chris – Intisari = Aduh Maverick, habis minta maaf langsung bikin tebakan, nanti yang nggak dapat merasa kecewa lho:)

It seems that everybody at Maverick had a nice giggle to see the responses from our Idul Fitri E-card.

Anyway, the five lucky winners are:

1) Gatot R from Angkasa Magazine
2) Erni Sintasari from Bisnis Indonesia
3) Andryanto Wijaya from Astragraphia
4) Adi Hartawan from Indika FM
5) Dhyoti Rororasmi Basuki from Frisian Flag

The winners will then receive a gift parcel containing products and merchandises representing Maverick’s clients.

For myself, I am delighted to take part in this project with Shilla in arranging the gift parcels until delivered safely to the winners. Hey it was pretty hectic but it was fun! (Thank you also to Mbak Jusmaini who gave a helping hand in the finishing touch of the gift parcels before they were sent out.) Creating such unique ways to maintain good relationship with our clients is one of Maverick’s main role of client service which is the ‘heart’ of Maverick itself.

Once again, a big congrats to the winners!

Coming soon will be the X’mas E-card right? :) Ketupat will turn into X’mas trees, opor ayam into santa claus…and the list goes on…J

Umm…so any funny, cute, adorable, tickling, smart ideas guys? You name it ‘coz it is 1 month to go from now….