The Charismatic Jokowi: A Political Brand Study

Abstract

In 2014 Indonesian presidential election, the political newcomer Joko Widodo or Jokowi has managed to defeat Prabowo, a senior political elite with 30 years of history in politics. Jokowi’s leadership has managed him to garner the support of the people in a relatively short time, which made him deemed as the most successful example of political branding in Indonesia. The aim of this research is to explore how charismatic leadership influences political brand equity of a newcomer based on the successful example of Joko Widodo. This study explores voters’ perception which are divided to four groups, by utilising marketing theory such as Keller’s Customer-Based Brand Equity Model (2008) and charismatic leadership theory by Conger & Kanungo (1998). This study used Leximancer to assist in exploring themes. We find Jokowi’s charismatic leadership contributes to his brand equity. Jokowi’s unique approach the “blusukan” would be the main theme of his political brand.