Turkish Brand Summit Held at Bilkent
BY CÜNEYT YILMAZ (ECON/IV)
This past weekend, the fourth "Marka Zirvesi," or Brand Summit, took place at Bilkent. An annual marketing symposium organized by the Brand Club, this year's summit was held on November 26-27. An audience of over 200 invited attendees, from Bilkent as well as other universities including Boğaziçi, Hacettepe, İstanbul and METU, filled Mithat Çoruh Auditorium to hear talks by a stellar group of speakers, a number of them names behind the creation of well-known brands.
Prof. Metin Heper, Provost of Bilkent University, 
delivered the opening remarks. He noted that being a brand requires "doing everything better than everyone else." Referring to Bilkent itself as a brand,given its position in the Times Higher Education Rankings (as the highest-ranked university in Turkey, and one of the world’s top universities), Prof. Heper outlined the universally accepted criteria that lead to an academic institution being considered a successful one.
Following this, Bilkent’s Dean of Students Jale Gürzumar highlighted her ideas about the definition of a brand, and the role of self-image in this context. She stated that it is one's own expectations that matter most in the end.
Kürşad Tüzmen, former Minister of State, shared his experiences at various stages of his career, and concluded that "everyone has something to sell, be it the value of your labor or a product - or, as in my case, your ideas." His speech was well-received by the audience, judging by the laughter and applause it generated.
Cüneyt Asan, founder of Günaydın Restaurants, brought his own perspective to the matter. He told
the story of his life from his birth to the present, relating the distance he has come from the "butcher's boy" he was nearly 30 years ago. He now owns a chain of 26 butcher shops, as well as an ever-increasing number of other enterprises. He defined his success as the payoff of his endeavors. "The essence," said Mr. Asan, "is the good will."
Among the summit's many other noteworthy presentations offering insight into the definition of a "brand" were those of Murat Akgün, coordinator of human resources and business development for YKM; Alican Ertem, marketing manager of Oley.com; Semih Güngör, Genpower board member; Onur Dal, owner of Timboo Café and Burger Story; and Batuhan Piatti Zeynioğlu, jury member for Master Chef/Turkey.