The nation’s larget telcom operator PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) is set to change its logo next month to replace its old-fashioned trademark and go for a more modern approach to marketing.

State Minister for State-Owned Enterprises Sofyan Djalil revealed the plan last week to reporters, following reports from the company’s management that a fresh style was being developed and about to be implemented.

Telkom is a state company, with 51 percent of its stake controlled by central government.

“They [Telkom] have reported to the government that they will change their logo, I don’t know exactly when but it will happen soon,” he said.

Sofyan welcomed the company’s plan, realizing that Telkom’s current logo was “very old.”

The current Telkom logo dates back to 1991 and this decision means that the state-owned enterprise wants a more modern image in tune with better positioning in an increasingly competitive and fast-changing telecommunications market.

When questions on this were put to the company, Telkom public and marketing communication vice president Eddy Kurnia confirmed the proposed image revitalization plan to The Jakarta Post.

“It will be in mid [October],” he said on the phone.

However, he refused to go into detail as to why the company needed to invest time, effort and finance into changing and updating the company’s logo.

He also said that the change was made to get rid of Telkom’ old image and replace it using a fresh and new logo. However experts noted that Telkom was experiencing falling profits and increased costs in a tougher market.

Telkom’s net profit fell to Rp 6.04 trillion (US$628.16 million) in the first semester of this year from Rp 6.23 trillion in the same period last year, mainly because operating expenses increased by 7.6 percent to Rp 19.09 trillion.

The rise in operating expenses led to the company’s net operating income dropping by 7.1 percent to Rp 11.5 trillion.

In these circumstances a re-vamped marketing approach could help consolidate sales and revenue.