The Brand Week Istanbul event took place at the Haliç Congress Center on November 4-8. During the 5-day program, many speakers addressed brand management, developing technology, artificial intelligence, sports, economy, politics and entrepreneurship. Among the speakers were local and foreign managers of international brands, writers, academics, TV presenters, Ata Demirer, Kenan Doğulu, Fatih Altaylı, Celal Şengör and many other famous names. The program was organized by Kapital Media Group and the participants included creative agency heads and many professionals.
Now let me come to the most important topic: The theme of the program this year was "The Beginning of a History". With developing technology, artificial intelligence has also entered our lives. As an expert and in line with the idea I have received from my speaker colleagues, while it would take days to create everything we dream of under normal conditions, we can create it in minutes with artificial intelligence. Although it may seem to make our job much easier, when there are no concepts such as spirit, emotion, labor and excitement in a production, it is only "artificial". If we define advertising as an art of conveying emotions, I think that productions created with artificial intelligence will be "artificial" as the name suggests. This was an important opening regarding my profession.
Since the name of the program was "Brand Week", more emphasis was placed on the impact of artificial intelligence on the advertising profession. Under titles such as advertising, brand, and creativity, topics such as what artificial intelligence has added to the sector and what it will take away from the sector were discussed. Monks Founder Victor Knaap concluded his speech by saying, "If I'm alive and artificial intelligence doesn't take my job, I'll see you next year." This ending is valid for many professions. Sometimes I think: It's like the hard work we've put in for years being taken away from us all of a sudden... It's certain that we need to develop a work plan adapted to artificial intelligence in order for our success to be sustainable. I believe that this transition should be adapted to every field, from law to health, from informatics to the machinery sector.
In the program, Donald Trump's election was discussed as much as artificial intelligence. Issues related to the world's agenda and Turkey's economic agenda in 2025 were touched upon. While some speakers viewed Donald Trump's election positively, some argued that Kamala Harris lost because of her elegance.
Let's come to social media, the center of our lives! Everyone works as a content producer, a news source. TikTok Turkey, Central and South Asia Leader Barış Aldanmaz gave figures that are even impossible to imagine about content production. We produce content non-stop! Everyone is a content producer! No matter how much the content produced increases as of 2022, the consumption rate remains the same as 2023 and 2024. If we watch the content we produce continuously without leaving the screen, 24 hours, that is, 1 day, is not enough. When the content we produce per unit of time does not fit into the time, TikTok has scaled its algorithm according to the interests of the users. That's why, for example, we can no longer see the content of our nearby car; this algorithm is important for all social media channels. Whatever we talk about, whatever we watch for more than a few seconds between content, we encounter those content more. Moreover, those content producers are not our close friend Ayşe, or our relative Erol; we are watching the production of someone completely different. Social media channels care about our emotions and choices, so we may not realize how time passes in front of the screen.
In the program sponsored by many national and international brands, brands continued to market with stands where they created the perception of 'choose and buy my product' to the participants. In other words, brands actually conducted a marketing activity aimed at the advertising producers who made them brands. As a brand professional, I do not find such intense consumption incentives appropriate. As a consumer, using the product I buy properly means a lot to me. This is important both for the protection of the world we live in and for a product and service that has been worked hard for to find its value.
Famous artists and speakers added color to the program. They shared their own success stories, their perspectives on life and their relationship with technology. Now we can see them in advertisements developed with artificial intelligence.
As an entrepreneur and an advertising professional, if I had to summarize the program: Produce. Produce with artificial intelligence or produce with your traditional management. There is abundance in action. Every moment you move is a point, and the points you create can take their place "at the beginning of a history". From an artificial intelligence agenda… "The future is in our dreams."
Çiğdem Arıman
Designpr Founding President / Creative Director
