A Scenario Integration Study in Brand Communication: “Let's Turn Off the Taps” Advertising Case

Introduction

The advertising industry in Turkey emerged in the middle of the 19th century. In the aforementioned years, which coincided with the last periods of the Ottoman Empire, the newspapers that emerged after the widespread use of the printing press began to receive advertisements to meet their costs and the first advertisement examples emerged. From that period to the present day, the advertising sector has continued to develop and has emerged as one of the cornerstones of the cultural economy. In other words, the Turkish advertising industry has developed depending on the social, political, and economic dynamics of Turkey and has become one of the main structures of the country. In this context, the advertising industry is a global industry that is growing day by day for Turkey, which has been changing and transforming sectors. When the development process of advertising in Turkey is examined, it is possible to say that printed media organs have developed primarily. The development of printed publications led to the expansion of the readership of newspapers and contributed to the development of press advertising. The development of press advertising has also enabled the advertising sector to develop. The period between 1957 and 1961 is called the “dark years” for the Turkish advertising industry because of only the “Official Announcements Company” has the right to place advertisements in newspapers and magazines. But the 1980s are considered decidedly important for the history of the Turkish advertising. In the 1980s, advertising agencies with foreign partners were established; advertising discourses changed and the advertising industry underwent a major transformation. The concepts of “creativity”, “authenticity”, “success in advertising” gained importance in the mentioned years, and competitions involving “different” and “original ideas” gained momentum during this period. It can be said that the 1980s was one of the most intense periods of globalization for the advertising industry in Turkey. Each developing and changing technology has brought different and new channels, and the 1990s has become a period in which advertising measurements were made and advertising types developed and changed. In the 2000s, advertisements that benefit from the innovations offered by internet technology are not only used as paid messages to promote goods and services, to create changes in consumers' attitudes and behaviors, to direct them to a certain thought, to increase sales figures, but also appeared to draw attention to social problems and raise awareness. In this context, there have been more complex communication campaigns in which various media are integrated, rather than advertisements in which a single medium is used. These communication campaigns, which are more effective, faster, and more attractive, are an effort that brands use quite a lot today.

In the digital consumption era that we live in, advertisements are also frequently used to inform, raise awareness and mobilize the public. The reasons such as the increase in the awareness of the consumers, the importance of the concept of sustainability, the increase in the number of environmentally sensitive consumers, the ability to give rapid feedback to advertisements through social media, the existence of advertisements that repeat the same messages, and the increase in global competition have led to the change and transformation of concepts such as brand communication and advertising communication. For instance, nowadays, similar advertising messages make ads ordinary, reduce the attractiveness of advertising messages, and cause consumers to be insensitive to the same advertising content. In today's competitive conditions, where products and brands are so similar to each other, it is considered very important to call out to consumers by producing different strategies in postmodern marketing communication studies.

“Postmodern brand communication”, where different strategies are blended with the right messages, new approaches are in question, and differing from traditional communication studies, aims to raise awareness by considering the attitudes, behaviors, and also values of the society. In this context, it is necessary to evaluate the concept of “brand communication” as a concept that aims to convey the right messages to the right target audience at the right time and use the right strategies. Due to its nature, the postmodern period we live in decidedly allows for the coexistence of differences. For this reason, advertising messages in postmodern brand communication strategies can consist of content that brings different subjects, people, and positions together.