After a successful year in 2008, MarkPlus Festival has returned to Surabaya. This year’s event, which coincides with the commemoration of MarkPlus, Inc.’s 20th year anniversary on the May 1st, 2010, was held at the Shangri-La Hotel, Surabaya. 2000+ people were willing to follow a long queue to enter the hotel from 06.00AM to attend the biggest marketing event of the century in Indonesia after the MarkPlus Conference.

Even the Governor of Bengkulu, Agusrin Maryono Najamudin, came to Surabaya with a charter flight just to listen to the last two hours of the Lecture of the Decade: Redefining Marketing to the World. This session was a colaboration of a presentation by Hermawan Kartajaya with music performances Jacky Mussry (Chief Knowledge Officer MarkPlus Inc.), quizzes and playbacks of old commercials by Waizly Darwin (Head of Marketeers).

This all-day event, which took the same format as the MarkPlus Conference in Jakarta, was attended by more than 20 speakers and marketing practitioners from Surabaya and several other Indonesian regions. VVIP guests present at this grand festival are among others, Prof. Dr. Ir. H. Mohammad Nuh DEA (Minister of National Education), Dr. H. Soekarwo (Governor of East Java), Irjen (Pol) Drs. Pratiknyo (East Java Police Chief), Prof. Ir. Priyo Suprobo MS PhD. (Rector of ITS), Agung Adi Prasetyo (CEO of Kelompok Kompas Gramedia), Prof. Hooi Den Huan (Director of Nanyang Technopreneurship Centre, Singapore), Dr. Zakaria Taib, (one of MarkPlus Inc.’s Partners in the ASEAN region), Dahlan Iskan (Founder of Jawa Pos Group),), Azrul Ananda (Deputy Director of Jawa Pos), Sarwoto Atmosutarno (CEO of PT Telkomsel Indonesia), Nenny Soemawinata (CEO of Putera Sampoerna Foundation), Dyonisius Beti (President Director of PT Yamaha Motor Kencana Indonesia), as well as the Consul General and Consuls in Surabaya.

A Ceremony to Commemorate the Birthplace as well as the Teachers
At the opening ceremony which was attended by Prof. Dr. Ir. H. Mohammad Nuh, DEA (Minister of National Education, Republic of Indonesia) and Dr. H. Soekarwo (Governor of East Java), Hermawan Kartajaya, as the Founder and CEO of MarkPlus, Inc., presented the Special Plaque of New Wave Marketing Minister of Indonesia to the Minister of Education for his services in initiating the New Wave Technology in Indonesia as well as participating in the launching of the New Wave Marketing concept with MarkPlus, Inc. at the MarkPlus Conference on December 2008.

Hermawan Kartajaya also presented the Special Plaque of new Wave Marketing Governor of Indonesia to the Governor of East Java, Dr. H. Soekarwo, for his excellent services to the people of East Java that takes a horizontal approach.

MarkPlus has not forgotten to give its appreciation to the people of Surabaya, who have supported the company for the past 20 years in every aspect to redefine marketing knowledge in Surabaya, Indonesia to a universal level.

At the morning session of the MarkPlus Festival, MarkPlus also gave its appreciation to several influential people, both as mentors and supporters for the continued existence of MarkPlus, Inc. as a pioneer in Marketing in Indonesia, which has now expanded its wing in the Asean region with an international reputation.

Receiving the "Lifetime Mentor Appreciation” are three legendary figures in the business world and entrepreneurship in Indonesia, Dr. Ir. Ciputra, Putera Sampoerna, and Dahlan Iskan. As recognized by Hermawan, these three figures are the true mentors of the MarkPlus that is now able to stand up tall and bring Indonesia's name abroad.

Putera Sampoerna, Hermawan’s former direct supervisor as he worked for HM Sampoerna, was unable to attend the event and was represented by Nenny Soemawinata, CEO of Putera Sampoerna Foundation, who read his speech to the 2000+ crowd at the event.

Dr. Ir. Ciputra, who was also not able to attend the event, presented his acceptance speech through a recorded video that was especially made for MarkPlus, Inc.’s 20th anniversary.

As for the "Lifetime Support Appreciation", MarkPlus gave its appreciation to Agung Adiprasetyo (CEO of Kelompok Kompas Gramedia), Kemal Gani (Director of SWA), Eva Riyanti Hutapea (ex-CEO of Indofood), Azrul Ananda (Deputy Director of Jawa Pos), Prof. Hooi Den Huan (Director of Nanyang Technopreneurship Centre, Singapore), and Dr. Zakaria Taib (One of MarkPlus Inc.’s partners in the ASEAN region).

Hermawan Kartajaya, as the Founder and CEO of MarkPlus, Inc, has also not forgotten to give his highest appreciation to Surabaya’s Institute of Technology (ITS), as the place where he has gained his knowledge. According to Hermawan, who has given the "University of Life Appreciation" to the Rector of ITS, Prof. Ir. Priyo Suprobo, ITS has taught him to have a mind with a world class conceptual model as well as an entrepreneurial spirit that can carry Indonesia’s name abroad in the international level.

Hermawan also presented the "Appreciation for Continuous Support" to Sarwoto Atmosutarno (CEO of PT Telkomsel of Indonesia) and Dyonisuis Beti (President Director of PT Yamaha Motor Kencana Indonesia), who was represented by Budi Walujo (Area Chief of East Java PT Yamaha Motor Kencana Indonesia).

Grow with Character
In the series of events at the MarkPlus Festival, one special event worth noting is the launching of the MarkPlus, Inc.’s latest book, "Grow with Character". This is the first book in Indonesia that was given birth on the initiative of a cooperation between two media giants in Indonesia, Jawa Pos and Gramedia Publishing Unit (owned by Kelompok Kompas Gramedia).

Written by Hermawan Kartajaya, Alexander Mulya, and Bayu Asmara, Grow with Character contains MarkPlus’ secrets behind its success for the past twenty years in building a solid institution, and deserves to be set as an example for other professional service firms.

MarkPlus, Inc., formerly a one-man-show, relying Hermawan Kartajaya, has now grown to have 200 and more employees who work either as a Consultant, Researcher, Trainer, Editor as well as Administrator.

Its business has also expanded, from consulting and education, it has now become a "three plus one" business units in MarkPlus, Inc., namely MarkPlus Consulting, MarkPlus Institute of Marketing (MIM) and MarkPlus Insight, and plus Marketeers: The Club, The Mag and The Net.

During the past twenty years, the effort to bring Indonesia's name abroad has been continously pursued. As a marketing "pioneer" in Indonesia, MarkPlus has now entered into the Asean region with an international reputation. As of this moment, MarkPlus is already present in Jakarta (Head Office), Bandung, Surabaya, Kuala Lumpur (Hub-Office), Semarang, Medan (Branch-Office), Singapore (Contact-Office), Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City (Rep Office) and Makassar, Denpasar, Palembang (Spoke-Office).

In addition, MarkPlus, which is also referred to as the "University of Life", has given birth to many alumni who are now involved with the many multi-national companies. A number of the alumni have become quite famous, including Handi Djuwardi Irawan at Frontier, Handito Juwono in Arrbey, Sumardi in Octovate, etc.

Grow with Character contains two sides: One side of the book tells the story of MarkPlus’ 20-year journey from Surabaya to world-class level and the other side explains a model framework for an entrepreneurial company to run its business, based on a character that is ethical, professional and excellent. A number of MarkPlus, Inc.’s journeys and achievements in redefining marketing to the world level in the past twenty years was realized due to a mind that is set to "grow with character", which are implemented throughout the whole company.

Prof. Hooi Den Huan, Director of Nanyang Technopreneurship Centre, Singapore, who is regarded as Hermawan’s own brother also gave his speech on stage. He prepared a slideshow with nostalgic photos and even told a short story about MarkPlus.

As a closing to the morning show, the Beatles community from the Black Bird Café (Jln. Imam Bonjol, Surabaya), dedicated a performance. The performance that was led by Yoseph Sudiro used the Wii console gaming device, in which two of Yoseph’s friends played the guitar and drums, while Yoseph sang to one of the popular songs from The Beatles.

Champion’s Tipping Point
The next session after the opening plenary session is the Champion’s Tipping Point, in which the ballroom was divided into three classes, where three subcultures were discussed in the three different stages.

Putu Ikawaisa Mahatrisni, the moderator on the YAMAHA stage during the Champion's Tipping Point session discussed the women subculture, carrying the theme New Wave Marketing in Venus: Managing the Market. This seminar that talks about the role of women marketing introduces two panelist, Nyoman Anie Puspitasari (Savings and Time Deposit Products Head of Bank Internasional Indonesia) and Agung Mundi (General Marketing Manager, PT Yamaha Motor Kencana Indonesia).

The Netizen stage was also attended by two panelists, Artini Rachman (Marketing Manager, Lintas Arta) and Enda Nasution (Blogger). As moderator, Waizly Darwin discusses the role of Netizens in the world of marketing, carrying the theme, The Galaxy of New Wave Marketing: Organizing the Heart.

The Telkomsel stage was filled with topics that surround the youth subculture, which discusses the role of young adults who are increasingly becoming more powerful in influencing their friends. Kristofel Joseph, as the moderator for the Telkomsel stage, introduced two panelists, Sarwoto Atmosutarno (CEO of PT Telkomsel of Indonesia) and Yoseph Sudiro (one of the Youth Champions in Surabaya).

Special Lunch Session
While enjoying lunch, participants were still able to take part in three different seminars that took place on the three stages. The Special Lunch Session was hosted by three Councils from MarkPlus Inc., Suryo Soekarno (Principal, MarkPlus Consulting) carried the theme, Boosting Sales Productivity, Alexander Mulya (Chief Executive, MarkPlus Institute of Marketing) carried the theme, Improving Marketing Competencies, and Hasanuddin (Chief Operation Officer, MarkPlus Insight) carried the theme, What is CATI? Computer Aided Telephone Interview.

Leaders’ Prime Time Session
After the Special Lunch Session, the event continued with the Leader's Prime Time Session, where Suryo Soekarno (Principal, MarkPlus Consulting) hosted the Sales Session, carrying the theme Sales vs. Commercialization, on the Telkomsel stage, Bayu Asmara (Senior Consultant, MarkPlus Consulting) hosted the Service Session, carrying the theme, Service vs. Care, on the Yamaha stage, and Alexander Mulya (Chief Executive, MarkPlus Institute of Marketing) hosted the Brand Session, carrying the theme, Brand vs. Character on the Netizen stage.

Door Prize
Before Hermawan presented his lecture of the decade, lucky participants were awarded with a door prizes from sponsors, including three gold coins from King Halim, five bicycles from Polygon, five oil packages from BM 1, and a Gemini BlackBerry from Telkomsel

Lecture of the Decade: Redefining Marketing to the World
As the peak of the event, Hermawan Kartajaya presented the audience his lecture of the decade entitled, "The Lecture of the Decade: Redefining Marketing to the World".

As Hermawan recaps the history of marketing in Indonesia, Jacky Mussry (Chief Knowledge Officer, Markplus, Inc.) accompanied the presentation by playing famous songs in each decade on the piano, while Waizly Darwin (Head of Marketeers) showed the audience a slide show of ads and videos of typical advertisements in each decade. The audience also participated in the presentation by guessing the songs that are played by Jack Mussry. Lucky audiences were awarded with a book for every right answer.

As Hermawan said, "We created the slogan ‘Redefining Marketing to the World’, because we've always been in the forefront when it comes to marketing redefinition from time to time. Everything we offer are from Indonesia for the World! Because we do not want to only be the best in the country!"

MarkPlus’ world-class achievements are not to be doubted. As told by Hermawan during his "Lecture of the Decade", ever since MarkPlus’ establishment in 1990, it has continued to perform knowledge-discovery processes in order to participate in determining the direction of the latest marketing concepts in the middle this constantly changing business landscape.

Hermawan’s strength and spirit can still be seen burning passionately as he invited the audience to sing the First of May once again as the event closes to the end. Hopefully MarkPlus, Inc. continues to grow and remain prestigious in the future.