“If you are not a brand, you are just a commodity,” said Philip Kotler, a legendary marketing expert. He emphasized the importance of brand awareness as the initial stage for consumers to distinguish a product from other products that are its competitors. Without brand awareness, a product does not have a special identity in the minds of consumers.
A brand is not only an identity for market interests alone, but also an identity in legal aspects. A brand is a protection of ownership and exclusive rights to the use of a sign or symbol in trade. It differentiates a product or service from other products or services.
In Indonesia, ownership of a brand is even protected by Law Number 20 of 2016 concerning Brands and Geographical Indications. Brands are so important that special laws are needed to protect them.
Perhaps it was from this thought that the Head of the Aceh Ministry of Law Regional Office, Meurah Budiman, handed over brand certificates to three business actors in Aceh, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. We support this effort as a form of protection for brands in Aceh, especially since the business was pioneered by Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
Unfortunately, of the many MSMEs that are already widely known and whose products have loyal consumers, on that occasion only three products received brand certificates, namely Bread Boy, D'Pos Kupi, and Bumi Kandung 36. It must be admitted that there are several stages and requirements that business owners must go through in order to obtain a brand certificate.
It must also be admitted that brand awareness among MSMEs in Aceh and even in Indonesia is still low. For this reason, related institutions such as the Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and the Trade Service, have strategic programs to build brand awareness and support MSMEs in managing brand certificates.
And it is not just administrative procedures that need to be provided, but also strategies for finding and establishing brands that are easy to remember, beautiful, meet aesthetic standards, and are in accordance with the products and services they trade.
Efforts to provide this direction are not only about administrative and legal aspects, but also creative work that sometimes requires inspiration like an artist. In the book The Art of Creative Thinking by Rod Judkins, it is explained that several famous brands that have survived for hundreds of years, were discovered in various creative ways, sometimes even born from coincidence and through anomalous thinking and acting processes.
With such conditions, provision and training for MSMEs on brand awareness also requires a creative touch from artists. There are hundreds or even thousands of MSMEs in each region, and that requires a continuous work program as one of the drivers of regional and even national economic growth.[]
