Design, branding specialists to help promote Thai exports

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Design, branding specialists to help promote Thai exports

(Xinhua) 18:10, September 09, 2013

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Two American design and branding specialists will come to the Thai capital and meet with a top adviser to Lady Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's government to give "creative" tips for Thai export products.

In his facebook page, Yingluck's brother, former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra, disclosed over the weekend that Peter Arnell, CEO of Omnicom's Arnell Group, a U.S. packaging design and branding firm, and Frank Gehry, a noted American architect, are scheduled to visit Bangkok and meet with Punsak Winyarat, the head policy adviser to the Yingluck government, by the middle of next month.

Arnell and Gehry will give suggestions on the packaging design and branding of a wide range of Thai goods for export, mostly products of the so-called SME (small, medium-sized enterprises), OTOP, the acronym for one tambon (local community) - one product, and traditional Thai foods, according to Thaksin.

The lady prime minister earlier confirmed that the government will push for exports of SME and OTOP goods to the world markets, and the "Thai Cuisine Feeds the World" initiative raised by a previous Thaksin government will be put to work.

Thaksin said he had recently met with Arnell and his team somewhere in Italy to discuss the Yingluck government's scheme to have the Thai export goods designed, packaged and branded to the extent that they be comparable to those made in Italy or France.

"Thailand's future generations will be prepared for an era of creative economy. (Thai products) would sell like hot cakes only if they were made on a par with world standards of quality and design," said the former Thai leader.

He said the prices of the Thai export goods will certainly increase, thanks to such commercial creativity.

The former Thai leader said he had hired Arnell and his team at his own expenses.

Yingluck and several members of her cabinet are currently paying official visits to Switzerland, Montenegro and Italy from Sunday until Thursday.

Accompanied by about 50 representatives of Thai business sectors, the lady prime minister primarily intends to promote trade, investment and tourism between Thailand and the European countries.

Thaksin commented that Montenegro, where he used to reside in self-exile several years ago, is viewed as a potentially new market for Thai export goods.