When speaking of exports we can never discount how crucial branding is. Having and exporting branded products is a must in terms of a country's vision.

Even though selling good quality products to the world is really important, being recognized around the world for the brand is equally, if not even more important. Turkey, to this end, recognized the need to increase the stature of its brands and is making investments in this direction.

The Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) has established the TIM Brand Council to seize global opportunities during the pandemic and increase branded exports that add value.

Better late than never, this is a pertinent step. Branding, which is an important issue that needs to be addressed, will raise the bar considerably.

Many companies that support exports by contract manufacturing should create their own brands and assume their place in the international competition. In this new era, in which branding determines the dynamics of competition, the TIM Brand Council was established to encourage companies to increase their branded exports, to create a road map to contribute to the image of the country and to make progress in global indices.

Made in Turkey

Although there are many factors in determining the direction of international trade, branding is very prominent. If you have branded a product, you can overcome any crisis.

After becoming a brand, it will always be easier to recover from a negative situation by utilizing the necessary promotional activities. We have sufficient opportunities to create sustainable and high-quality brands.

While production continues at full throttle, the proliferation of Turkish brands will bring good opportunities in the new world order.

Being a brand means not compromising on quality and embracing the customer like family. It sometimes means taking heed of the demand and sometimes assuming a leadership role. To control and maintain the quality of branded exports, the "Brand Council" will be on duty.

TURQUALITY

In Turkey, we have TURQUALITY, which is the world's first and only state-supported branding program. Within the scope of the program, there are 178 exporters of goods and 22 companies from the service sector.

These companies have a unit export value above both the Turkey average and the top 1,000 company average. The export value of these companies per kilogram is $1,000 (TL 8,732.58) in the jewelry industry, $254 in the defense and aviation industry, $33 in the steamboat and yacht industry, and $31 in the ornamental plants and products industry.

Companies within the scope of TURQUALITY have been more successful in terms of market diversification. We see that TURQUALITY companies export to 78 countries on average.

Road map and goals

The 2021 road map and main objectives of the TIM Brand Council can be explained in five steps.

The first goal is to improve the image of branded Turkish products in the international arena. At this stage, that entails improving product and service quality. There will be continuous promotional and marketing activities, including global publicity of the Turkish brand, advertising and corporate identity activities.

The second main goal is for companies to gain direct access to global markets by purchasing foreign companies and brands that are known or have the potential for development. In line with this goal, mechanisms will be established to provide information, consultancy and technical support to exporters.

The third main goal is to create a data infrastructure to monitor the exports of companies' own brands. Unfortunately, there is no database of branded exports in our country. The TIM Brand Council will create this database and will contribute to both field and scientific studies.

The fourth main goal is to promote branded Turkish products more effectively on digital platforms. In this context, it aims to increase the visibility of companies through e-commerce marketplaces where the world's leading buyers and sellers come together.

The fifth goal is to strengthen the promotional activities for the Turkish brand and export sectors within the Turkey Promotion Group through the work of the TIM Brand Council.

Of course, there will be training in addition to these five goals. To achieve these five main goals, it aims to increase branding activities in target markets.

The Ministry of Trade initiated "First Step to Export Mentoring in 81 Cities" training to SMEs to help companies create competitive national brands through international merchandising activities, thus reducing dependency on international brands.

There are no boundaries to branding, any object can be made a brand, as can any person. And branding can elevate a country's position through a domino effect.

A person can turn a product into a brand, and the branded product, in turn, can transform a whole company into a bigger brand. As a result, the sector and country to which the branded company belongs can become a well-known huge brand.

Just like in this simple example, Turkey will likely grow with branded exports in the following years and have an elevated export unit value.

Our mission throughout this process is to work hard like bees, carrying our country further by the day by creating value internationally.