The "Türkiye Nation Branding Forum, "organised by the Presidency's Directorate of Communications on December 16-17 at İstanbul Maslak TIM Show Centre, brings together experts from around the world.
Speaking at the forum, Bloom Consulting CEO Jose Filipe Torres stated that according to 2022 data, Türkiye has a favourable perception of 3.2 out of 5 in nation branding.
Speaking at the panel titled "Global Trends, Changes, and Transformations in Nation Branding moderated by TRT World Presenter Yusuf Erim, Torres drew attention to the importance of understanding the notion of nation branding.
Torres said, "According to 2022 data, Türkiye has a favourable perception of 3.2 out of 5 in nation branding, and we consider this a good rate."
Emphasising that it is vital to change the perception of a country in nation branding and that there is no clear-cut answer to the questions about how this can be changed, Torres said, "Nation branding is the feelings and emotions that a country or city evokes when its name is uttered. For example, what perception comes to mind when I hear the name of Türkiye".
Pointing out that the feelings about a country also affect the rate of visits to that country, Torres underlined that nation branding and nation marketing are separate issues and stated that nation branding is about perception, and nation marketing is about creating demand and working on it.
Torres stated that they are working on nation branding, and there is a proper balance between perception and desire for nation branding.
"İstanbul comes to mind while talking about Türkiye"
Managing Director of FutureBrand Hispanic America Gustavo Koniszczer said, "What we refer to as brand is a story; when you adapt it to countries or nations, you talk about their stories. Each country or nation has its own story. For example, while talking about Türkiye, İstanbul comes to mind."
Emphasising that the brand should be developed for the target audience, Koniszczer stated that the countries that engage in nation branding benefit from the process.
Koniszczer said, "Following the COVID-19 process, countries' influence and power came to the forefront, and the significance of nation branding increased."
The forum will last two days
In the forum, developments in the field of nation branding, indices and country examples are addressed. The Türkiye brand, the nation branding strategy from history, Turkish TV series, Turkish cuisine, brand cities, soft power elements, and international branding activities are evaluated in all dimensions by branding professionals in the forum.