Media Could Help Promote Handicraft Marketing, Sales

Handicraft is among Iran’s most productive sectors, but it has not grown to its full capacity due to deficiencies in marketing and sales.

Bahman Namvar Motlaq, Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization’s deputy for handicrafts, criticized the press and media for failing to promote the products effectively, Mehr News Agency reported.

“There is neither a specialized publication nor a television program about handicrafts and the material related to the topic does not do justice to them,” he said.

“The industry needs the media to disseminate a specific discourse and present a positive image.”

According to Motlaq, the picture so far presented “has been production-oriented and most documentaries introduce veteran crafts people while the main issue lies in marketing and sales”.

He urged the media to cooperate more with the handicrafts department to encourage the use of crafts instead of only releasing informative material.

The official complained about how another artistic sector (that he did not name) with only 50,000 personnel has its own independent organization and receives a budget of over 200 billion rials ($5 million).

“This is while the handicrafts sector, which has created jobs for more than 400,000 people and generates a tenfold revenue, is poorly funded because crafts people are reticent and bashful, and do not express their discontent.  

  Efforts to Fill the Gap

To address the issue of marketing and sales, ICHHTO has taken measures that, according to Motlaq, are not sufficient but still a few steps forward.

Over the past few years, ICHHTO has established 50 more permanent handicrafts markets and the number of e-markets has increased from five to 200, several of which are linked with international shopping sites.

“Today, handicrafts markets are not confined to seasonal and periodical bazaars,” he said.  

Improving such markets and launching new ones, renovating the traditional bazaars and investing in e-markets are among ICHHTO’s plans to commercialize the products.

“We don’t claim to have been 100% successful in our strategies, but handicrafts trade is growing,” he said, adding that all methods of commercialization must be employed.