Semarang residents are undoubtedly familiar with Car Free Day, held every Sunday morning. Car Free Day is an event where at that hour and in that area, no large cars or other vehicles are operating because many people are selling at the event. The Car Free Day event attracted many people’s interest and was full of visitors. Therefore, this opportunity was used by Undip Thematic Community Service (KKN) TEAM students to help brand MSME products, especially Pedurungan Tengah MSMEs, which consisted of MSME Infused Water Bu Rena, Ceriping Mania Bu Tarwi, to Salad Wrap Pak Suroto, assisted by a group of Undip Thematic Community Service students in Pedurungan Tengah Village (16/07/2023).
The reason why the product introduction and marketing was held at the Car Free Day event was as a media promotion and marketing variation for MSMEs whose main hope is to expand the marketing reach of MSME products in the Pedurungan Tengah Village so that not only Pedurungan residents are familiar with these products, but it is hoped that Semarang residents can also know the products.
In this event, the Pedurungan Tengah KKN-T team of 15 (fifteen) students from Diponegoro University took this opportunity to promote the product of Infused Water Bu Rena. Infused water is a drink made from fresh fruits such as lemon, kiwi, pineapple, grapes, and so on, with the addition of water and honey and without the addition of preservatives and already has a halal label and due diligence. In addition to infused water, the Pedurungan Tengah KKN-T team also introduced and marketed Ceriping Pisang products from Bu Tarwi to Salad Wrap Pak Suroto products in the hope of expanding the market coverage of these MSMEs actors in Pedurungan Tengah Village.
Of course, promotion is done in various ways. They Infused Water Bu Rena, Ceriping Mania Bu Tarwi, and Salad Wrap Pak Suroto to the Car Free Day visitors. They also provided information about the benefits of infused water, banana chips, and salad wraps and invited Car Free Day visitors to try and buy these products. Not only that, but we are also very open to criticism and suggestions for products that are sold as evaluation material for the future.
The UNDIP Pedurungan Tengah KKN-T team chose to promote Infused Water Bu Rena, Ceriping Mania Bu Tarwi, and Salad Wrap Pak Suroto because they are quality and healthy local products. In addition, they also want to help develop local MSMEs by introducing their products to the broader community.
Meanwhile, Habib Henfian, the coordinator of the Undip Pedurungan Tengah KKN-T team, in his statement, explained the promotional activities at the Car Free Day event were a form of cooperation with MSMEs in Pedurungan Tengah Village and as a marketing tool to introduce MSME products to Semarang City residents.
“We want to introduce this Pedurungan Tengah Urban Village MSME product to Semarang City residents, and InsyaAllah, we hope that there will be support from the Semarang community to empower local Semarang City MSMEs, especially MSMEs in Pedurungan Tengah Village,” said Habib as coordinator of the KKN-T team Undip Pedurungan Tengah. Then, Habib himself added that together with MSME, it was hoped that he could help boost the local economy in the city of Semarang, especially in the Pedurungan Tengah Village. The marketing of MSME products at the car-free day event lasted only a few hours following the applicable regulations. Therefore, we depend on something other than the occasion. We also help with product marketing through e-commerce, such as the Tiktok shop and Shopee.
“The introduction of MSME products on Car Free Day is only done on Sundays. For the people of Semarang City, let’s celebrate and enliven this activity to improve the local economy of Semarang City, especially in Pedurungan Tengah Village,” he added.
Car Free Day visitors welcomed Infused Water Bu Rena product, which the Pedurungan Tengah KKN-T team sold. Many were interested in trying the product and responded positively to its fresh and healthy taste. In less than 1 hour, 15 bottles of Mrs. Rena’s product had sold out. Then, five packs of Ceriping Mania Bu Tarwi products were sold out, and 7 servings of Salad Wrap Pak Suroto were sold out.
Mrs. Rena, Mrs. Tarwi, and Mr. Suroto, as the owners of the MSME partners, also thanked the Pedurungan Tengah KKN-T team for helping promote their products. According to them, promotional activities like this are beneficial in introducing their products to the broader community.
The promotional event for MSME products in the Pedurungan Tengah Village by the Pedurungan Tengah KKN-T team on the Car Free Day succeeded in attracting the attention of many visitors and providing benefits for local MSMEs. Activities like this can continue to be carried out so local MSMEs can develop and be recognized by the wider community.
