Khon Kaen University’s Faculty of Agriculture led a workshop tailored to the Non Chai Village Loom Weaving Group on “Logo creation and digital marketing to enhance product value and expand product market.” The workshop took place in Non Han, Chum Phae District, Khon Kaen. The event, advanced as part of the U2T Project, aimed to develop OTOP products, increasing distribution channels and community income.

The workshop was led by Asst. Prof. Fakjit Palinthorn, the project leader, and a U2T working group on 23 June at the Non Han Subdistrict Administrative Office. Honorable presenters included Mr. Napadol Klinsrisuk and Miss Sasiyapha Samranrom, designers and product developers, and Miss Natthakarn Otton, Public Relations Officer working in the Corporate Communications Department of the Science Park located at Khon Kaen University’s Office of the President.

The workshop was organized in response to the problems and needs expressed by the Non Chai Village Loom Weaving group. The group is run by agriculturist housewives who have been supported to build careers as loom weavers. Their OTOP-certified products include loincloths, shawls, scarves, male and female sarongs, and cloths dyed using tie-dyed patterns and natural dyes.

Despite the high quality of their products, the group has had trouble attracting enough customers. After some surveying, this was partly attributed to the logo and packaging of the products, which lacks distinction, does not help to make the product memorable, and does not do justice to the identity or origin of the products. In addition, it was found that the COVID-19 situation had affected the group’s traditional sales platforms, and their sales had visibly decreased.

The Non Han Subdistrict U2T working group used this information to develop the workshop. Through the course of the day, they hoped to design a logo and packaging that would convey the loom weaving group’s identity and distinguish their products from others. They also hoped to develop an online marketing model, which would allow the community’s income to increase despite COVID-19 and which could be built on to reach new markets in the future.

The day’s activities attracted 50 participants, including the chairperson and members of the Non Chai Village Loom Weaving group, the U2T working group, and Non Han subdistrict administrators.

The workshop was divided into 2 parts, a lecture component and a hands-on component:

1. Lecture topics included product and logo naming, selecting shapes and elements, selecting fonts in line with messaging, using memorable tones and colors to convey emotions, features of packaging, packaging materials, packaging design principles, material selection, and new, interesting, and recently developed forms of packaging. In terms of market expansion via digital marketing of community products, lecture topics included basic marketing knowledge, the 4P strategy, pricing techniques, competitor analysis, consumer behavior on digital platforms, and popular online marketing platforms. Participants showed a high level of interest and had strong participation during the lectures.
2. During the hands-on workshop component, participants brainstormed in smaller groups, allowing everyone to reflect on the uniqueness and identity of their products. Each group then created their own logo and packaging design based on the concepts they had brainstormed. After the groups had presented their work and explained the concepts and ideas behind the different elements in their designs, everyone then assigned scores in order to vote for their favorite logo and packaging. Finally, at the end of the workshop, there was a demonstration of how to open an online shop on Facebook, and participants tried out selling their products using Facebook Live. The participants were excited to join in and very interested in the interactive workshop activities.

Thanks to the active participation of everyone who attended this event, the designers and product developers and the U2T working group were able to gather all of the design ideas and information shared in the small groups. They will use this information to design a logo and packaging, as well as an online marketing plan. This will help meet the U2T project goal of increasing community members’ income.