Backfiring boomerang brands in Jakarta: The case of the Great Garuda

Abstract

This chapter presents a case of how branding was used as a strategy to bind actors and motivate them to work together on an adaptation strategy and how, subsequently, the branding campaign "backfired." A team of Dutch water experts developed a flood management strategy for Indonesia's capital city Jakarta. The Dutch experts decided to combine an offshore dam with land reclamations in the shape of Indonesia's national symbol and branded this project as "the Great Garuda" that would protect the city from flooding and create a world-class waterfront city. At a certain point, however, the brand became contested, and opposition rose to destabilize this strategy. A counter-brand emerged of the Great Garuda, framing the project as "megalomaniac" and as a transformation of Jakarta Bay in a "septic tank" at the cost of the urban poor. By the time the Dutch actors decided to abandon the idea of the Great Garuda, the brand identity had been hijacked by actors opposing the master plan. In this chapter, we show up to what point branding is a useful instrument to enhance the commitment of stakeholders for a climate adaptation initiative and what, simultaneously, the risks of branding as a strategy are.