New XM JWT joint venture named agency of record for the much anticipated Jakarta Monorail

PT Jakarta Monorail, which is re-starting work on the city’s much-awaited monorail project, has handed all branding, advertising, events, PR and digital marketing duties to XM JWT, a new joint venture created by JWT Jakarta and digital agency XM Gravity.

The monorail, one of Indonesia’s most important infrastructure projects, will carry more than 3 million passengers per day when the first two lines are completed in 2015, helping ease Jakarta’s legendary traffic jams. The project stalled in 2008, but is now back on track after the consortium was restructured and privatized. Singapore-based investment firm Ortus Holdings now controls 90% of the consortium.

XM JWT will start work in June with a series of exhibitions to launch and showcase the project, including a crowdsourcing initiative that will let Indonesians name the monorail.

“The monorail has lost momentum, and so a big part of our brief is to get people excited, get them involved and create a sense of ownership among future commuters. The monorail is going to really change people’s lives and fast forward the pace of progress in the capital,” said Chandra Wijaya, Chief Strategy Officer at XM JWT. “It’s not just a transport system – it’s a declaration of progress for Indonesia.”

JWT Jakarta and XM Gravity, Indonesia’s largest digital agency, formed XM JWT last month to better leverage the synergies of the two agencies. XM Asia Pacific, a regional digital agency owned by JWT Asia Pacific, acquired XM Gravity last year. While JWT Jakarta and XM Gravity are both part of the JWT network, they operate independently.

“Since the XM brand is under the umbrella of JWT, we decided to find a win-win partnership model by building XM Gravity digital capabilities in JWT Jakarta,” said XM Gravity CEO Kevin Mintaraga. “We believe that the synergy between JWT Jakarta, which has a strong team, a notable client roster and an impressive track record, and XM Gravity, which has unparalleled digital capabilities in social, technology, creative and analytics, will create a new digital powerhouse that will disrupt the market.”

XM Gravity has transferred about 12 people to the new XM JWT unit, which sits in the JWT Jakarta office and will be managed by Wijaya and Pungkas Riandika, Business Director at XM JWT, who will work closely with JWT Jakarta CEO Lulut Asmoro. Mintaraga, meanwhile, will continue to run XM Gravity’s existing operations.

The monorail project was the first account the new joint-venture agency pitched for, and this early victory underscores the winning potential of a combined XM JWT team. The new XM JWT unit has also won work for Gudang Garam, one of Indonesia’s largest tobacco companies, and will provide digital marketing services to a number of existing JWT clients, including American Standard.

“I’m thrilled that Jakarta Monorail selected us. This is an important project that will help transform our capital city. The whole XM JWT team is honored to be part of that,” said Lulut Asmoro, CEO of JWT Jakarta. “And I’m excited about the new XM JWT venture. This new unit will really power our digital offerings, and empower us to create truly innovative, integrated campaigns that cut across all media for our clients.”