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My generation, born in the late 70s and early 80s, has grown up with daily Brazilian soap operas. Although they were silly stories of love, intrigue and revenge, I remember watching them for a few minutes before starting to study after school. At the time of no internet or social network, it was soothing to watch a simple story not to think what happened during classes or what I have as homework that night.
Today, 30 years later, we are hooked to a new kind of soaps… they are not Brazilian or American. They are made in Turkey, produced, directed and filmed locally in the modern studios and streets of Istanbul, Ankara, and other cities in Anatolia. The amazing part is that this recently flourishing drama is not only successful in Turkey but throughout the world.
In an article of the recent Monocle magazine, this new niche segment of the drama production industry is justly called ‘Dream Export’ as many soap operas are exported from the Middle East and Balkans to all the way to Latin America. Why? Simply because beyond the cultural components unique to Turkish people, many universal themes like love, desire, ambition and revenge are present in the scenarios. Especially Muslim Arabs can closely relate with same faith Turkish actors. The international fans’ interest boosts the tourism figures in Turkey. In fact, these TV series work much better than country tourism campaigns to attract tourists. Arab tourists prefer visiting places that their favorite soaps were filmed instead of going to the touristic sites like palaces, museums and shopping centers. With growing international demand, these production companies actively seek out more international clients in different countries.
If you look at the big picture, these shows boost Turkey as a world brand. It might sound patriotic but I am always proud of my Turkish identity and feel sorry about the insufficient coverage of Turkey. I watch marketing campaigns on Greece, Egypt or India and ask myself ‘why can’t we represent Turkey in inspiring ways?’ Maybe the soaps could be a leading product to represent Turkey with its people, rituals and places and have a strong impact on Turkish brand image in the global arena.
Ela Erozan Gürsel writes a weekly column named “Değişim Yelpazesi ” on global business trends for Dünya Gazetesi on behalf of Datassist for almost two years. Her feature topics include: green energy; climate change; impacts of financial crisis on companies, sectors and regions; innovative technologies in sciences, human resources and management; social networks transforming business and politics; changing dynamics of marketing and branding.
She also writes articles for international magazines published in Singapore.
Prior to her writing career, she worked at Datassist as a Project Manager in a project that combines human resources and mobile communications with the aim to connect blue-collar workers and employers through mobile phones. Before engaging in this exciting project, she was in pharmaceutical sales working for a multinational company. She graduated from American University, Washington, DC, majoring in International Studies with a concentration on International Business and Europe. She worked in Washington D.C. as an Account Manager at a boutique telemarketing firm that specializes in fund raising and publication renewals. She speaks Turkish, English, French, and Spanish. She currently resides in Singapore with her husband.
