Top executives of national and international companies and leading representatives of the digital field attended the Digidays 2021 programme held by Istanbul Commerce University Faculty of Communication on April 9-10. In the event moderated by academicians within the Faculty of Communication; Information and experiences were shared on topics such as artificial intelligence, social responsibility in the digital age, the power of gamification, cloud technologies in digitalization, sustainability, and digital opinion leaders. In the two-day event, 13 speakers shared their sectoral experiences in the field of digitalization and digital communication in 12 sessions.
“Digidays is on its way to branding in its fourth year”
Within the “Digidays 2021” programme that is held by mainly İstanbul Commerce University Faculty of Communications and with the cooperation of Public Relations and Advertising and Media and Communications Departments, Istanbul Commerce University Rector Prof. Dr. Yücel Oğurlu made an opening speech and pointed out that digital technologies have developed rapidly in the last 30 years and have entered all areas of life, causing significant changes in the field of advertising and public relations, and that new media tools have started to be preferred much more in the communication world, and artificial intelligence has an important effect in this process.Then, Head of Public Relations and Advertising Department Prof. Dr. Gülay Öztürk stated that Digidays events, the first of which were held in 2017, were organized for the 4th time this year, and that the sectoral and academic pulse of the digital world beats in this program. Öztürk emphasized that for the first time in this two-day event, digital communication will be handled in a multidimensional way on many issues such as artificial intelligence, digital social responsibility and gamification, and Digidays has now turned into a brand event.
“We Go Together with the World in the Software Industry”
On the first day of the event, Prof. Dr. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Turkey, Kazakhstan & Kyrgyzstan General Manager Güngör Kaymak, who spoke at the session titled “How Artificial Intelligence Will Change Life” moderated by Gülay Öztürk, stated that artificial intelligence consists of components such as deep learning and machine learning and is used in many sectors today, and said, “It is in artificial intelligence. We see that there are various disciplines. We are going together with the world in the software industry. What matters is how you can use the data. Analyzes that can take months can be done in a very short time with artificial intelligence.”
“We Didn’t Stop Investments During the Pandemic, We Decided To Increase It”
In the second session that is titled “Platform Combining Tourism and Technology: Bizigo” moderated by Bilal Ayan, Erka Group Founder and CEO Serhat Kahraman gave information about the corporate travel brand Bizigo, which they created as an in-house initiative by changing the company culture. Noting that they transformed their corporate travel service into a digital platform, Kahraman said: “We made a decision by analyzing the past crises in the pandemic. During this period, we did not stop the investments, on the contrary, we increased them.”
“We Provided 95 Percent Efficiency with the Mc Robot Application”
In the third session that is titled “Employer Brand and HR Efficiency Studies in the Digital World” moderated by Prof. Dr. Zeliha Hepkon, McDonald’s Turkey Human Resources Manager Ece Demet Kuran explained how McDonald’s used digitalization and artificial intelligence in the human resources process and said: “We have developed digital applications in our human resources system. . We achieved 95 percent efficiency with the Mc Robot application.”
“Social Responsibility Should Be in the DNA of Companies”
In the fourth session, that is named “Corporate Social Responsibility in the Internet Age” moderated by Prof. Dr. Celalettin Aktaş who is the dean of Communication Faculty, , Vodafone Turkey Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Vodafone Foundation President Dr. Hasan Süel shared his knowledge and experience about Vodafone’s corporate social responsibility activities. Expressing that companies should be sensitive to social problems, Süel said; “Trust should be considered together with reputation. Companies can establish sustainability in the hearts and minds of consumers. This social benefit perspective should be in the DNA of the company in its success in social responsibility activities. To date, we have made an investment of 47 million TL in the field of corporate social responsibility. We touched the lives of 4.3 million people. We provided coding training to 110,000 children in the field of digital technology. We handle these processes professionally and attach importance to measurement.”
“Generation Z is Part of Innovation and Wants To Be Involved”
In the fifth session, moderated by Ass. Prof. Dr. Nihal Kocabay Şener, that is titled “Understanding the Consumer in the Digital World”. Akademetre Research and Strategic Planning Company FounderDr. Halil İbrahim Zeytin talked about the changing consumption habits from the value economy to the moment economy and the transformative effects of digital technologies. Halil İbrahim Zeytin, expressing that the current value of today is to have experience, said, “Generation Z is more focused on using rather than owning. This is due to the desire to be involved. Generation Z is part of innovation and wants to be involved.”
“Chocolate Consumption Doubled During the Pandemic”
In the last session of the first day, that is named titled “Spreading the Love of Chocolate with GODIVA Digital Media” moderated by Prof. Dr. Celalettin Aktaş, GODIVA CEO Nurtaç Ziyal Afridi shared what they did as GODIVA during the pandemic process and their strategies. Afridi noted that they offer the services they offer in their stores as a package service to consumers in the digital environment during the pandemic. Stating that they focused on utilizing the opportunities offered by digital by arranging their multi-channel strategies accordingly in this period, Afridi said: “During the epidemic, chocolate consumption has doubled. With the idea of bringing the happy feeling of chocolate to homes during the epidemic, we wanted to bring this flavor to families by giving chocolate recipes to our chefs from social media.”
“Serious Play Is Actually The Work Of Communicators”
In the first session on the second day of Digidays, that is titled “The Magical Power of Gamification in the Internet Age” moderated by Prof. Dr. Oya Şakı Aydın, Momentum Digital Media Technologies CEO Dr. Mehmet Kemal Özkan explained the concept of serious play and its application areas. Stating that the concept of serious game is an educational content and includes facts such as challenge and competition, Özkan said, “The concept of serious game includes the concepts of entertainment and storytelling. It is used in many fields from defense to health and education. The real transformation in this field was with the game America’s Army in 2002. With this game, the United States was able to select people with certain qualifications more quickly and accurately by doing the recruitment processes with this game. Then companies started to take advantage of it. This method is very effective especially in reaching the new generation. In fact, this field is the work of communicators,”
“Communication is the Most Important Tool of Sustainability”
In the second part of the event, at the the session titled “Sustainability in the Digital World” moderated by Prof. Dr. Gülay Öztürk, The Zero Point Project Founder Ulaş Bozan explained that Sustainability is a strategy and expresses a structure on trivets such as people, brands and NGOs. Bozan said, “All the elements that make up sustainability need to work together. We are transforming the brand’s own space into a medium by providing digital opportunities for brands and NGOs to express themselves. People expect the brand to be sensitive to social responsibilities. Communication is the most important tool of sustainability.”
“Blockchain Artwork Trend Will Also Affect Advertising”
In the third session, that is titled as “Are you one of those we can’t pixelate?” wit the moderator Dr. Erdem Tatlı , VMLY&R Creative Group Head Efe Kaptanoğlu noted that creativity will always be important in the digital world, emphasizing that the idea remains important and that advertisers focus on how to integrate ideas into digital. Kaptanoğlu said, “You can catch people with visual appeal. We are in a period where the idea is expressed more visually. The digital world has moved to the field of art with blockchain. Art works encrypted with the crypto system are produced. This trend will also extend to advertising. This will also affect the language of communication.”
“With Crypto System, Firms Can Get Rid of Paperwork”
In the fourth session titled “Cloud Technologies in Digitalization and Intercultural Work” moderated by Ass. Prof. Dr. Gözde Öymen, VMware South Europe, Middle East & Africa Senior Alliance Manager Sercan Akdemir stated that blockchain technology can be used in all sectors, and that it is possible to transfer document processes to digital and encrypt them with a crypto system, and this is also beneficial to companies. He said it would be a great help and also noted that “We cannot develop technology without creativity. Differences and diversity are sources of creativity.”
“Turkish Influencers Are More Effective”
In the fifth part, that is titled “Digital World’s Opinion Leaders, Influencers and Brands” moderated by Prof. Dr. Gülay Öztürk, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products Group Marketing Director Alperen Özkan and Unite.ad Co-Founder and General Manager Arman Acar talked about the basic features of Influencer marketing and how it is applied in digital channels. Özkan stated that influencers are in a function that enables them to make decisions in the consumer’s purchasing journey and are used extensively in certain consumer brands such as personal care and beauty. Noting that the market for influencers is growing, Özkan pointed out that there are influencers with 5 million followers and that the right target audience can be reached thanks to them. Arman Acar, on the other hand, stated that Influencers are legally named as influential publishers and that they are used according to needs in various subjects such as sales, awareness, product use, and said, “The mutual harmony and understanding between the brand and the agency is very important here. Influencers in Turkey are more effective,”
“Social Media Removes The Distance Between Fame and Fans”
In the last episode of Digidays, that is titled “The Problem of Distance in Social Media Fame and Fan Relationships” moderated by Füsun Alver, Actress Çiğdem Batur stated that problems may arise when the distance between the celebrity and the fan is lifted on social media, and said, “Fame becomes commonplace in the eyes of fans due to being more accessible on social media. Easy access to celebrities on social media makes the reputation of the celebrity ordinary. While easy access increases love for fame, it destroys distance.”
The event is ended with the closing speech of Prof. Dr. Gülay Öztürk, Head of Public Relations and Advertising Department.
