MARKA 2003

Everything You Wanted To Know But Were Afraid To Ask

MARKA 2003 hosted one of the most important brand conferences in the world. As in previous years, MARKA 2003 again brought you together with brand experts from different disciplines, where people who have become brands in their own fields shared with you their latest ideas and touched upon the different aspects of the brand concept. With its state-of-the-art presentation, surprises, and comfortable setting, MARKA 2003 kept you on your toes and made you fall in love with your profession all over again!

The fixed director of the MARKA conferences
BJ CUNNINGHAM was back at MARKA 2003, so was his animated style!

Branding genius, creator of extraordinary ideas, founder and owner of the Enlightened Tobacco Company. He studied design at Middlesex University. The world got to know him by a maverick idea: Thanks to his idea to market cigarettes under the brand Death, he began to make headlines frequently in the media and branding world. Thanks to his extraordinary personality, BJ is able to add a lot of himself to the smallest presentation; his sense of humor and energy light up any room. He currently lives in London and acts as a strategic consultant to many brands.

The man who lives in the mind of the consumer
Michael R. Solomon
(Consumer Behavior Expert - Writer - Researcher)
Consumer Trends 2004

Products no longer only serve a function, but also define who their users are and who they want to be. Consequently, companies no longer offer products geared toward homogenous market segments for the masses, but develop customized and exclusive products that will enable customers to express their individual differences. This approach illustrates that the rules not only of marketing, but production as well. And the question that consumes all brand teams the most: How can we conquer the consumer? One of the most notable experts in the US on consumer behavior, Solomon shared with MARKA 2003 participants, new consumer trends that will guide brands in the very near future with an energetic, lively, and colorful presentation.

Michael R. Solomon is the owner and manager of the marketing and consulting firm Mind/Share Inc. He provides consumer research services to leading US companies such as DuPont, Black & Decker, Visa, and Calvin Klein. Solomon investigates what purchased products and services actually represent to the people who buy them, he is also a supporter of the strategic thought that emphasizes the importance of understanding consumer behavior. He proves to the whole world that daily regular consumption figures actually point much more complex and remarkable realities than it is thought. In his 2003-book Conquering Consumerspace: Marketing Strategies for a Branded World, together with Consumer Behavior in Fashion, Solomon once again proved his expertise in relation to consumer behavior.

Creator of the revolutionary "emotional branding" concept:
Marc Gobé
President of the Desgrippes Gobe Group - Creative Director
Emotional branding - The new paradigm for connecting brands to people

What makes successful brands different is the emotional bond they forge with people. Today we live in a world where the emotional identity of a brand is much more important than its corporate identity. Nowadays, brands that establish a personal bond with people, capture their emotions are the ones that achieve success. Through the desires and emotions they awaken, brands can become indispensable. So, the real aim in brand communication and management is to create powerful brand identities that capture emotions, and brand designs that make people's hearts beat faster. Although the branding world was quick to embrace this new understanding, Gobé thinks there are not many brands that have accessed the true power that underlies human emotion through good use of sensitivity and intelligence! The person responsible for this powerful point of view, one that impacts the foundations of the brand world, explained it in detail to the MARKA 2003 audience, using the best examples of emotional branding.

Marc Gobé graduated from the Ecole Professionelle de Design Industriel in Paris. He is the founder and manager of the Desgrippes Gobe Group, one of the newest brand image creation companies in the world. He is the creator of the latest identity and packaging design of Coca-Cola, which generated great returns in terms of market share. He shares 25 years of experience in the field with brands such as Coca-Cola, Air France, Ann Taylor, Victoria's Secret, IBM, Gilette, Reebok, Sears, Starbucks, and Godiva. His book Emotional Branding - The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to People is a bestseller. Gobé's work has received numerous awards in the field of design, and reaches a wide readership via noteworthy media such as The New York Times, The Economist, Leaders, and Brand Week.

Brand of luxury products
Marie France Pocha
Author - Consultant - Educator
Luxury Brands

Nowadays, fashion is one of the most powerful dynamics that direct social change. The fashion industry has been gaining speed for the past 20 years, and has reached sales volumes that keep growing worldwide. The most important factor for this achievement is that fashion brands develop concepts of luxury products and services. So, can other sectors benefit from the experiences of these brands and become more attractive to their customers? Can luxury brands be pioneer business models that can be used for different industries? Marie France. At the MARKA 2003 Conference she shared with the participants the results of the years of studies and work she has carried out in Europe, the Middle East, and the US, with her idiosyncratic, impressive style. Her presentation was virtually a magical journey to the world of luxury brands.

Marice France Pocha graduated from the Paris University Law School. She worked in the Paris and New York offices of the international law firm Coudert Brothers. Some time later, she put an end to her career as a lawyer. She lived in Europe and the Middle East for many long years, and wrote biographies of famous names. She won international acclaim in 1996 when her first book Bonjour Mr. Boussac, a biography on the founder of the house of Dior, was translated into English and published in the US. Other important biographies she has written include Nina Ricci, Christian Dior, and Paul Ricard. An exceptional consultant who has won numerous awards because of her work in style, fashion, and luxury brands, Marie France is a lecturer at ESSEC, one of the leading business schools in France teaching an MBA class on luxury brands.

An artist that cares about differences between women and men
Paul McMillen
Women, Men, Shopping, and Brands

Women and men think differently, act differently. Consequently, they often experience difficulty in understanding what the other is doing. We know now that this state of being different, full of big unknowns, is not only rooted in social or cultural factors. And the area this difference makes itself felt most clearly is, without a doubt, shopping. Brands and marketing communication must begin to take a closer look at this very sensitive and risky issue; to better evaluate this fundamental difference, which has a significant impact on shopping habits and brand perception. One of the leading photographers and ad creators in Turkey, at MARKA 2003 Paul McMillen based his enjoyable presentation on the ad campaigns created for the brands World and OK, and talked about the impact of the differences in thought and behavior between women and men as consumers, on brands and marketing communications.

Paul McMillen is the Chairman and Creative Director of RPM/Radar. He studied Fine Arts at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Fine Arts in New York. He established his first company Paul McMillen Associates at the age of 18 in New York, which offered creative consulting. Later, in 1970, he settled in London and established the corporate communications consulting firm Millions Ltd. Prior to moving to Turkey in 1974, he taught at the Watford College of Art. In Turkey, he became a faculty member for the master's program at the Middle Eastern Technical University in Ankara. He moved to Istanbul in 1979, and until 1981, when he became the founding partner of the first studio of directors in Turkey, called Imaj, he worked as creative director at various advertising agencies. In 1984, he became a founding partner of RPM, considered one of the most creative agencies in the sector and ranking second in the local creativity awards won in recent years. Paul McMillen continues to actively contribute to activities geared toward the advancement of photography and design in Turkey, such as the Pamukbank Photograph Gallery.

Legendary consultant of legendary brands
Shaun Smith
(Forum Corporation, Vice President)
Uncommon practices - Impact of company employees on brand strength

These days, brand success is determined by the style of behavior exhibited by its employees. Open management, encouragement to embrace the work, awards, training, investment, and sharing… These factors enable employees to get to know the brand and embrace its values by living it. This, in turn, allows them to reflect the brand value much more effectively. In these details, the secret to powerful brands lay hidden. Shaun Smith's dynamic, surprising, and inspiring presentation will feature his interviews with the creators of these strong brands, and the secrets of success of the brands he examined as case studies. His unique presentation did not only broaden our horizons and challenge the limits of our creativity, but helped us come up with brand-new ideas as well.

Shaun Smith is an authority in brand consulting in Europe, and especially in Britain. He is the vice president of FORUM, a firm that provides brand consulting services to numerous international companies. Smith ensures differentiated services are provided to the brands they offer consultancy to, in order to build them into "legendary brands." Smith examined the success stories of legendary brands, and examined each as a case study in his bestselling book Uncommon Practice-People who deliver a great brand experience. Smith currently provides consulting services to many leading organizations on brand management and creative customer services for brands. He is a sought out speaker throughout the world at conferences on brands and marketing.

Store design genius
Ron Pompei
Pompei A.D / Chairman of the Board - Creative Director
Contributions of Store Design to the Brand

Many retail brands develop an effective prototype for numerous dealers of retail stores, then apply the prototype at each and every dealer with as little change as possible. However, designing a store that takes into consideration the city, traditions, climate, and color range of the region where the dealer of the brand is to be situated, and thus forging close bonds with the consumer, is also possible. Acknowledged as one of the most creative and modern designers of retail worldwide, the presentation Ron Pompei delivered at MARKA 2003 offered examples from efforts undertaken with countless brands, including Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Levi's, and Mavi Jeans. This will present new and different horizons to retail brands that wish to strengthen customer loyalty to their brand and boost sales.

Ron Pompei is the Chairman of the Board, Creative Director and partner of the creative services firm Pompei A.D. Pompei has created incredible architectural and design work. The intra-disciplinary education he received as a painter, sculptor, and architect is reflected in the firm's holistic design approach. The firm is best known for its Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie designs, but has also developed projects for brands including the Discovery Channel, Levi's, MTV, Sony, UCLA; Volvo, Lantana (a hotel in the Bermudas), and California Academy of Sciences.

Brand and Pop Culture
Prof. Emre Kongar
Sociologist, Educator, Writer
Brand and Pop Culture

Today, pop culture dominates over all other areas of life. The media and especially television have become direct distributors of pop culture. Because pop culture dominates over the masses, it provides an environment most appropriate and productive to brand creation. In the arts and sports, "creating a star" and "producing a brand" have become two fields of business that are now intertwined. Examples of this phenomenon are readily apparent worldwide and in Turkey. Beckham and Ilhan Mansiz in sports, Madonna and Angelina Jolie in the arts are examples of these "brand-stars." Prof. Emre Kongar examined these processes in his own style and offered interpretations at the presentation he delivered during the MARKA 2003 Conference.

Prof. Emre Kongar graduated from the Finance and Economics Department of the School of Political Sciences and Michigan University's School of Social Work. He became a professor at Hacettepe University in 1981. He provided consulting services to the newspaper Hurriyet and was the manager of Kamar Public Opinion Research Center. He was Undersecretary to the Ministry of Culture from 1992 to 1995. He was awarded various medals and orders from Federal Germany, Italy, and Poland. He currently holds tenure and is a full-time educator at Yildiz Technical University, and lectures part time at Istanbul University's School of Political Sciences. His important works include Turkiye'nin Toplumsal Yapisi, Toplumsal Degisme Kuramlari [Turkey's Social Structure, Theories of Social Change], Turkiye Gercegi [Turkey's Realities], and 21. Yuzyilda Turkiye [Turkey in the 21st Century].

Arkin Allen aka Mercan Dede
Mercan Dede and Arkin Allen on the same stage!

Mercan Dede and DJ Arkin Allen… Two different brands for the same person who achieved success in two different fields of music! Mercan Dede subtly blends the hymn tradition of oriental Sufi music with contemporary notes to create a unique style of music. And DJ Arkin Allen finds expression through wide-ranging underground pieces of music he himself has created. Mercan Dede shared the success he has achieved overseas and in Turkey with this unique synthesis, and his objective in creating two separate brands simultaneously with the participants of MARKA 2003. Mercan Dede is a successful and remarkable example of branding in the music industry in our present day, and conference participants enjoyed his presentation very much.

Arkin Allen aka Mercan Dede:
Born in 1966, Arkin took ney [reed flute] classes at the Kubbe Alti Society during his college years and studied under Omer Erdogdular. After settling in Canada in 1988, Arkin Allen first received a BFA degree from the University of Saskatchewan, then an MFA degree from Concordia University's Studio Arts program, where he became a faculty member until he had to take a break a short while ago due to his increased workload in making music. The artist has been working with various Sufi groups creating music in Europe, Canada, the US and Turkey since 1990, and formed the "Mercan Dede Ensemble" in 1997. The artist has also worked as a DJ since he was 23 under the name DJ Arkin Allen, and has made solo albums and joint productions as producer and re-mixer. The year Mercan Dede participated in the conference, he had been nominated for two BBC Radio 3 Awards, considered the most important competition in world music.

Design superstar, the man who changed the world
Karim Rashid
Designer
I want to change the world

These days, very complex criteria underlie the poetic designs of products and brands: social and cultural issues, its economic dimension, shape, appearance, senses, and perceptions by contemporary culture. However, the collective criteria that production is based on are different: capital, market share, growth, brand identity, quality, customer loyalty, ecological matters, permanence… The resultant outcome of all these concepts shapes the goods we use, determines the physical culture, and forms the identity and value of the brand. It was an extraordinary and vibrant presentation on the contributions of design to brand success from Karim Rashid, the man who wants to change the world. You too can start changing the world, beginning with your own brand.

Karim Rashid is the superstar of the design world. Rashid studied industrial design at Carleton University, and has worked with important names such as Ettore Solttsass, and Rodolfo Benetto. From perfumes to lighting, hangers to cake boxes, tableware to fashion, he has designed over 500 products in various areas. He has designed for numerous brands, including Sony, Issey Miyake, Umbro, Tommy Hilfiger, Leonardo, and Yahoo! He collected all his works in his book I Want to Change the World. His work is exhibited in leading museums worldwide, such as the Museum of Modern Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Creator of the David Beckham project
Jon Holmes
(SFX Sports General Manager)
Branding in sports - the case of David Beckham

Real success is no coincidence. Jon Holmes, the creator of the Beckham brand proved this reality once again. At the conference he shared with us the amazing story of the "David Beckham" project, saying they had started out with the aim of creating a brand. How did they create a sports brand that spread across the world like wildfire, whose hairstyle even became an icon? What ideas underlie this brand, which lives, passes the ball, and scores goals? Holmes illustrated once again to the MARKA 2003 audience that the "Beckham-mania" epidemic that began in Britain, continued at full speed in Spain, and hit Turkey as well, was actually a planned achievement.

Jon Holmes is the president of Britain's leading sports representation firm SFX Sports. His lively, humorous personality and energetic character made him a fixed writer for numerous noteworthy newspapers. Holmes is also the program consultant of the BBC's popular quiz show They Think It's All Over. SFX comprises Britain's best sports experts, and manages the careers of many stars, including Gary Lineker, David Gowe, Michael Owen, David Seamon, Steven Gerrard, and David Beckham. Holmes shares his experiences spanning over 30 years in customer management, and television and media companies with audiences at conferences on branding and marketing, and is very popular.

The politician who keeps secrets of political brands
George Ciamba
Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs / State Minister
Branding in International Politics

Governments can change, but in a conservative environment, they will act for their own benefit. They believe in security, economic and social prosperity, democracy, and human rights. They try to govern different structures and strike different balances. So, how do brands and branding come to life in politics, an extremely complex environment where varying disciplines dominate? If the most crucial aspect of brand success is keeping promises made, to what extent is this possible in political life? In his presentation at the MARKA 2003 Conference, George Ciamba examined the political brands in Turkey and across the world, based on his experiences in politics in the US, Europe, and Turkey, spanning more than 13 years.

George Ciamba, one of the young talents of Romanian politics, began his diplomatic career in 1990 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1990-1991 he worked at the Protocol and Disarmament Agency, in 1991 he became the Deputy Foreign Minister, and from 1992 to 1996 he undertook various assignments at the US Desk of the North American Agency. Assigned to the Romanian Embassy in the Turkish Republic from 1999 to 2003, Ciamba has been the Permanent Representative to the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization since 2001. On July 26 2003, he became the Integration and Mutual Relations Minister at the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The grand master of Turkish advertising
Atilla Aksoy
Wunderman Advertising Agency / Chairman of the Board
The role of settings and advertising in the branding process

In a single voice, almost like a chorus line we call out "advertising works; it is an investment that brings returns." And we want everyone to believe that, without feeling the need to prove our argument. We do not look for the answers to vital questions such as "When does it work?" "How does it work?" "Where, and to what extent does it work?" When the industry shrinks, we blame the overall crisis; we blame the contractor's lack of courage for the fact that we are an already small industry. But these questions do have answers. In building brands, "how powerful a role does advertising play?", "what is the function of advertising?" and if it truly is an investment "what are the returns of advertising and how can it be increased?"
-these are the questions we urgently need to place on our agenda and discuss. When this kind of debate developed during the conference, we had no choice but to review the clichés we embrace so readily from our choice of media to what we understand from effective advertising.

Is there actually a potential for growth that we are missing?
Atilla Aksoy is Chairman of the Board of Reklamevi/Young & Rubicam, and the Wunderman agencies under the same group, he is also the coordinator of Bilgi University's Department of Advertising. He is one of the founders of the "modern" advertising industry in Turkey. During his professional life, spanning nearly a quarter of a century, he developed numerous campaigns that can be considered milestones in the industry, and earned countless national and international achievements. He is writing a volume on branding and the communication process entitled Hangi Yarisi Oldugunu Biliyorum! [I Know Which Half!] is due for publication next year.

Efes Conquers Russia
Sergey Koptev
(Mother Tongue Advertising Agency / Chairman of the Board)
Tuğrul Ağırbaş
(Efes Pilsen Moscow / Director of Marketing, Russia)
Efes Conquers Russia

One of the markets that the whole world has been watching recently and wants to enter, is the Russian market… So, what are the characteristics of the Russian market? Who is the Russian consumer? How do Russian consumers live? How do they have fun? These are important questions, the answers to which everyone wants to know. Then there is a successful Turkish firm that has found the answers to these questions, evaluated them, and transformed the brand it created into the national Russian beer. Efes Pilsen Turkey. In their joint presentation at the MARKA 2003 Conference, Efes Pilsen Russia Marketing Director Tugrul Agirbas who has been actively a part of this process since its inception, and president of Mother Tongue Advertising Agency Sergey Koptev shared their success story with the audience. Their animated and vibrant presentation conveyed the incredible story of how the Russian market climbed to being the fifth market in the world, how international beer giants entered the Russian market, and how they convinced the Russian consumer to drink the Efes, Stary Melnik brands.

Tugrul Agirbas graduated from Istanbul University's Department of Business Administration in 1989, and began his professional career as an expert at the Project Development Department of Efes Pilsen. Following his accomplishments during the five years he worked in this department, he was appointed the Istanbul Regional Sales Manager. During the approximately two years he held this post, he achieved many successes. In 1998, he became the Group Product Manager of the Efes Pilsen, Light, and Dark brands. Afterwards, he was appointed Sales and Marketing Manager, then the Miller Marketing Manager. Since September 2001, Agirbas is successfully running the planning, organization, and management of the Russian Marketing Director of the Efes brands, and reaching market objectives in Russia.

Sergey Koptev worked for about 10 years on marketing and market research at All-Union Market Research Institute, then in 1990 transferred to the advertising industry as the chairman of the board of the D'Arcy Agency. In 1994, he lifted the D'Arcy Agency to first place in Russia. In 1997, he succeeded in expanding the D'Arcy operation to the CIS markets. Under Koptev's leadership, D'Arcy Moscow and the Mother Tongue Agency have won many national and international awards. In 1998, he was elected president of Russian Association of Advertising Agencies (RARA). He has been published over 25 times on matters of marketing and advertising. The hobbies he spends most time on are cooking, working in the garden, and raising fish.

Nothing!

BJ Cunningham
Conference moderator

Often, people think brands are only about logos, pantone colors, typical faces, or standard rules. Through this creative and mesmerizing case study, BJ Cunningham shows us that actually the complete opposite is true. A brand is not a logo, it is a promise. The logo only helps to express this promise, it may be a means but it is never a guide. The "Nothing" case proves how a promise can be expressed clearly, without having to turn into a logo, or even a design. It also illustrates how fear is the largest threat to a given job, and how this fear makes people say "I can't." Creative ideas need fearless firms, and following the presentation BJ Cunningham will deliver at the MARKA 2003 Conference, we will be faced with this provocative question: "Are you brave enough to do nothing?"