Lativi got smacked down!

So, who's to blame on this “Smackdown” issue?

Well, most of us would blame Lativi, while the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) blames the Department of Communication and Informatics (Depkominfo).

It is easier for us to point fingers at Lativi. They are the one who were airing the program. They were the one who ignored KPI’s letter to move the time slot. It suits them good if they had suffer losses from this incident….

One simple way to smack Lativi is by signing an online petition. Some clausal, however, are not feasible while others need to be updated.

The first clausal states that Lativi must stop broadcasting such program. Well, for this matter, KPI have already given Lativi an administrative sanction. The sanction states that Lativi to stop broadcasting the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and all its extensions (Smackdown, Afterburn, Raw, Bottomline, Heat, Experience, and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW)), as well as their on air promos. So, the first clausal has been responded well.

The second is urging KPI and Depkominfo to reevaluate the Broadcasting Law, especially on the law enforcement. This is a bit too much. The amendments of the Broadcasting Law is the parliament’s authority. It should be carried out by the House of Representatives 1st Commission, together with the government and industry. This is no small matter. There are too much political interests and economic stakes involved there. The Broadcasting Law itself is okay (nothing’s perfect). The problem lays with a series of Government Decree (PP) on Broadcasting, in this case No. 52 on Private Broadcasting Institution. The decree has transferred KPI’s authorities stated in the Broadcasting Law to Depkominfo, and thus taken away KPI’s authority in sanctioning TV stations. (Here's one reason why KPI loves Depkominfo so much.)

Next, urging the public to stop watching Lativi until there is a concrete act by the TV to stop broadcasting Smack Down. Is this another way of saying (and recommending) to watch our other TV stations? Anyway, I believe that Lativi is wise enough to stop the program by now. Petition granted.

In addition, number four, the last but not least, to urge all TV stations to reduce parents burden and responsibilities in teaching children by eliminating non-educative programs. Hm…. A while ago, while were discussing about media literacy, some friends argued that teenagers need to learn media literacy subject at school. I said NO, parents are in desperate need for media literacy!

Thus, I have one concrete, realistic recommendation should someone want to make another online petition: “Urging KPI, Depkominfo, and TV stations – together (for the best) or individually (at least) – to provide free Media Literacy courses.”

So, who's to blame on this “Smackdown” issue?

Let’s just stop pointing fingers… ;)

AAS 2006: The Judging Process Begins!

The Orange House turned into a photo gallery yesterday. The terrace and the meeting room was filled with 308 photos sent by our journalists friends to compete in Anugerah Adiwarta Sampoerna 2006.

On that rainy Monday afternoon, the initial judging process for AAS photo category took place. Deddy Nur Hidayat as a communication expert, Yosep Adi Prasetyo (Stanley) from Institut Studi Arus Informasi (ISAI), and Firman Ichsan—a well-known photographer, came over to The Orange House to give their vote.

Photos submitted were divided into 4 subcategories: Art & Musical Performance, Sports, Economy/Business, and Social. From each subcategories, Deddy, Stanley, and Firman have to select 9 photos that will become AAS photo semifinalists.

Once 9 photos from each subcategory were chosen, the final judges (roster include THE Rosihan Anwar, communication expert Effendi Ghazaly, photography expert Oscar Motuloh, and Director of Corporate Communications from PT HM Sampoerna Tbk. Niken Rachmad), will decide the top 3 finalists.

The semifinal judging process for photo category lasted for almost 3.5 hours.
First, Deddy, Stanley, and Firman gave their vote for 9 photos in each subcategory. If a photo gets 3 votes, the photo is automatically nominated as semifinalists. The debate started when several photos got only 2 votes, or even 1 vote. Each judges explained the reason of selecting a specific photo and defend it, while listening inputs from other judges from different backgrounds as well.




In the end, the photos chosen must be able to provide constructive critique, capture the ‘mood’ of the event, and posses well photography technique.

On its 1st year, 641 entries have been received by AAS’ comittee, consisting hardnews, feature, and photo category. More updates on AAS finalists in 2006 will be posted here, so just wait for the breaking news! :)

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….

Atmajaya Yogyakarta Students' Visit: "OOOWWWHHH ... "

A sweet and cute “OOOWWWHHH …. “ resonated in the great halls of Maverick’s Orange House yesterday afternoon, as more than 20 communications students from Atmajaya University, Jogjakarta, came over to visit Maverick as a part of their study trip program.


We were so happy to have Atmajaya students in our office (being around young people made us all feel a bit younger ;p), taking them for a short-tour around the Orange House and take a peek on what it is like to be a Maverick.

During a small talk in our meeting room, the students asked lots of questions about PR practice enthusiastically—mainly about Maverick’s specialty in crisis and issues management. Seeing how attentively they were to what is being presented by Maverick’s partners (Ong and Mbak Lita) and watching how impatient they were for becoming PR practitioners … was just overwhelming! ☺

Not to mention that Atmajaya students have a very cheerful and effervescent personality that made us all feel refreshed after being totally equipped last week. During Maverick’s office tour, without hesitation they came over to the associates’ desk, asking for name cards, and starting a conversation about PR practice in many different areas… and whenever we said something ‘touchy’ or ‘sweet’, all of a sudden they would go “OOOWWWHHH” –just like a choir, with affectionate expression upon their face. Cute, hehehe ...

Before we parted, Atmajaya students gave us a beautiful gift—a wooden statue of 2 individuals communicating with a ‘phone’ made from two empty cans connected by a string. The first thing Mbak Lita did when she arrived at the office this morning was to display the statue in our meeting room ☺ (We do hope that they love the Maverick's Snake&Ladder mousepad we gave them as well).



After the last photo-shoot with all Maverick’s associates at the terrace, and the students hopped in to their bus, we stood in the doorway, watching sadly as their bus drove off, and we went: “OOOWWWHHHH …. “ :(

Maverick TV: Behind the Scenes

Looking at the photos above you must be thinking, “What are the Mavs up to NOW?”

Well, here’s a brief explanation… One of the services Maverick provides to its clients is Media Handling Skills Training. The workshop combines our knowledge of the local media as well as different elements that go into a successful interview.

The images shown above are ‘behind the scenes’ photos taken from our Media Handling Skills video production last Saturday. We managed to turn our office into a news room. We even called it the Maverick TV news room!

Yasha was the news anchor and Ri was the interviewee (a Corporate Affairs Head of PT XYZ that has planned to lay off its 500 workers). They were fantastic, even the production crew was impressed.

Playing news anchor was Yasha’s cup of tea, really… =)
Ri put on an exceptional performance, especially the part when she had to act bitchy. She was sooo natural! =p

This video will be used to equip the workshop participants with the necessary communications skills in dealing with the media, which includes voice modulation, framing of arguments and the psychology of human behavior.

With the assistance of Sakti Parantean and his team from fictionary, the final cut should be ready by early next week.

The Mavericks, I’ll let you know when we’re going to have the premier screening, ok! =)

BubuAwards v.05 Strikes Back

Ever heard of the term BubuAwards? Yes, for most of us, it’s a funny word. But to those in the IT business, especially web design, I figure the term BubuAwards is very familiar indeed.

Well, to make things simple, BubuAwards is an award for Indonesian websites. Like most other awards, there are a number of categories in this award. For this year’s BubuAwards v.05, as an example, there are the corporate, student, and individual categories.

Like in previous years, BubuAwards come to contest websites of Indonesian based companies/organizations in various fields and industries in the corporate category. In this arena, the contestants can join in by registering their corporate sites from September 28 to November 3, 2006.

Well, I guess now is a bit late to fight for the corporate contest. But, have no fear as the student and individual categories is coming soon.

FYI, the judgment criteria are based on graphics and layout, content, usability and technology. As for the judges, well-known names are queuing up to mark the contestants.

Well, for further information and the simple, easy registration on BubuAwards v.5, just visit http://www.bubuawards.com/.

So Cute

The photo shows one of the child whose blood was taken during an anemia screening. To generate the blood, the nurse had to use a small needle, which stings a bit.

The screening took place during a program called “Prevent Anemia with Posyandu,” which was sponsored by the International Pharmaceuticals Manufactures Group (IPMG) in collaboration with Yayasan Kusuma Buana (YKB) to commemorate the 42nd National Health Day. The one-year-program for 25 Posyandu throughout Jakarta will provide anemia screenings, promote healthy lifestyle, and distribute anemia medicines for free. The kick off itself took place on November 9, 2006 in Klinik Keluarga Pisangan Baru, Matraman, Jakarta Timur.

Fortunately, his Hemoglobin (Hb) level was 11,8 -- considered to be normal since that the appropriate Hb level should be around 12, mine was 12,9. Imagine how'd he felt if it turned out that he were an anemie.