The first day of the Istanbul Marketing Summit, which is preparing to open its doors for the ninth time in its seventh year, concluded with intense interest from the participants. On the opening day of the 3-day event; Many important names took the stage, including Melis Sökmen, Director of Human Resources and Corporate Communications of TSKB, communications specialist Gülcem Bayer Deniz of UNICEF Private Sector Resource Development Partnership, MediaMarkt Marketing Communications and Media Group Manager Banu Yolcu, EasyCep META Agencies and Ecosystem Partnerships Manager Serkan Tavşanoğlu.

“Companies in Turkey have come a long way towards sustainability by 2024”

During the opening of the Istanbul Marketing Summit, Batuhan Çevik, founder of Istanbul Marketing Group, stated that this year they have three focuses: sustainable success, youth and brand collaborations. During the opening session of the event, Melis Sökmen, Director of Human Resources and Corporate Communications at TSKB, was on stage. He said that companies in Turkey have come a long way in sustainability in 2024, but there is still a long way to go. Sökmen said that the world is in a transformation: “We can create new opportunities in this transformation process. For this it is necessary to be creative and predictable.” he said.

Another name among the speakers who met the participants of the Istanbul Marketing Summit was MediaMarkt Marketing Communications and Media Group Manager Banu Yolcu. Yolcu underlined that MediaMarkt has received a positive boost in recent years and has been an example for all brands: “In addition to our strengths, we also have shortcomings. Two years ago we became aware of one of these shortcomings. We realized that as MediaMarkt we could not establish close communication with young people. We planned how we could improve. At this point we gathered with young people at events and university meetings, listened to them, identified our shortcomings and created the Gencimm platform. “With this project, which will be attended by university representatives, we will offer young people several benefits.” he said.

EasyCep CMO Samet Ensar Sarı participated as a speaker in the “Social Media Out Artificial Media In” session of the Istanbul Marketing Summit. Sarı said that in 2009 he held meetings for brands to enter social media in Turkey and that social media has evolved both in advertising and marketing, and the brands that have noticed this have done successful work in today’s world .

“Consumers who can get a response to their messages increase their brand loyalty.”

Meta Agencies and Ecosystem Partnerships Manager Serkan Tavşanoğlu was among the names who took the stage on the first day of the Istanbul Marketin Summit. Highlighting that Turkey is one of the leading countries in both Instagram usage and Instagram messaging features, Tavşanoğlu said: “Every day, 600 million conversations take place between brands and people on meta-platforms. While Instagram stands out from these platforms in Turkey, research shows that consumers who can get a response to their posts significantly increase brand loyalty.” he said.

UNICEF Private Sector Resource Development Partnership Communications specialist Gülcem Bayer Deniz, who said that brands must communicate the social impact they create in her speech at the Istanbul Marketing Summit, held this year with the theme ‘Gaps’, stated that in the projects developed by children’s rights companies, the impact of the brand on children should be primarily evaluated. Deniz said you can then partner with a non-governmental organization: “Put together your volunteer teams and communicate your impact well.” he said.

Highlighting the gaps created by new trends in the business world, especially artificial intelligence and creativity, many topics such as new generation marketing, the digital world, the circular economy, gender equality, productive artificial intelligence and the transformation of energy sources discussed by speakers in the panels held at the Istanbul Marketing Summit. The event, held at Zorlu PSM, will continue to receive visitors from December 18 to 19.