Perhaps nothing unites Indonesians -- a nation of 230 million people, 742 languages and 17,508 islands -- better than the so-called "beautiful" game. Sepak bola or soccer is as much a national pastime as a cultural signpost.
The nation's obsession with the ball game is, however, getting a worthy rival, albeit in a slightly different domain. Of its 230 million people, 220 million have mobile phones. At least 60% of these mobile phone users are on social media and over 35 million are using mobile Internet services.
Chances are, an avid soccer fan that is most likely a consumer of soccer content is also an avid cellphone user and social media fan.
It isn't really very hard to see the connection, but it took a Singaporean mobile media company and a global consumer goods manufacturer to realize the potent marketing potential.
Together, they created Laga Bintang, a one-of-a-kind soccer destination for soccer fans on the mobile platform. The mobile site and the mobile app both provide content that feeds the fandom: soccer news, celebrity gossip, team standings, promos and contests, photos, play analysis, videos and many more.
It is not as if Indonesians need another media to offer soccer news. Both the traditional media and new media in the country have been providing soccer content in many different platforms. But before Laga Bintang, there is no dedicated medium or platform that exist for soccer content alone, said Anuj Kumar, co-founder and CEO at Affle, the creator of the mobile site.
"Other sites also offer other content such as general news, lifestyle, political news, entertainment news and other sites. We have very solid soccer content, with both local and international flavor, and we hope to get users to join polls and promos and get interested in its many interactive features," he said.
Another challenge, Kumar said, is the fact that Indonesia is not predominantly a market for very high-end smartphones. An estimated 70% of mobile phone users have feature phones, and only 30% are using smartphones. Thus, it is necessary to have a mobile site that can be accessed by most feature phones and a mobile app that can be downloaded by smartphones.