In the joint event of Istanbul Gelişim University, Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences, Department of Radio, Television and Cinema and the Public Relations and Publicity Department, which is its internal stakeholder, Sevda Solak had a pleasant conversation with the students.
Solak started the conversation moderated by Doctor Esra Tunçay by introducing herself. She stated that she described himself as a communicator, communication consultant, mother, entrepreneur, manager, activist, founder of Time PR and agency president. Stating that they have responsibilities in many different areas in life and business life and a balance must be had to manage all these areas, Solak talked about his student life. She stated that he graduated from Istanbul University Public Relations and Publicity Department, chose this department as the first choice and won. She added that the Public Relations department was among the three trending professions of the future at that time, and that the profession was a profession that had the potential to change and change the perception of the world at many points.
She stated that she spent his student years trying to benefit from the school in every field and made readings in different fields. After finishing school, both enhance the foreign language skills as well as marketing in a training in order to get to go that expresses lefty England, after returning to Turkey, she enrolled in Bilgi University's MBA program and said she also did an internship in various institutions. Stating that there was a need to "see the big picture about brands" in the relevant period, Solak said that due to the need for business management, she enrolled in this MBA program in order to manage the corporate communication and all communication processes of the brand. Stating that she is also an activist, Solak stated that she actively conducts voluntary projects on women's organizations and women's associations, which are the fifth of the Global Compact's 2030 Global Goals. She stated that she carried out various projects to increase the status of women and girls as equal individuals in society and to achieve a gender-balanced structure in the business world and society. She added that she tried to do the best she could in her life.
Continuing the interview by telling the story of Time PR, of which she was the founder, Solak gained the first experience of establishing an agency with a close friend between 2003 and 2007 and learned about entrepreneurship, how a company can manage its finances and the ways of doing business in this process and added a lot to him. She said she had parted ways with this agency. Stating that he received a job offer from the Corporate Communications Directorate of a bank in the same period, Solak stated that he came to a crossroads as to whether he would continue his career in this direction or as an entrepreneur and that she established Time PR by choosing entrepreneurship. He said that IBM's choice to work three months after its establishment was a turning point in the growth of Time PR, after which they had the opportunity to work with many domestic and foreign brands and their companies grew.
Saying that they carried out a six-month study to express the approach of Time PR in short, concise and plain words, Solak stated that they determined the approach of the agency as "Listen, Create and Tell". "We listen to the brands, we pass what we get from them through a new creation process and bring them together with their target audience". “We write stories that brands create on people's perception map. The advertisement creates the picture of them. In summary, when we look at what public relations does, we are actually good storytellers… Think of Apple's example. Visualize the stories and product launches that come to you before the products are released. In fact, all this huge pile of stories can tell you what a PR wonder Apple is. " she continued his words. Stating that the art of storytelling is a process that will never end in the world, Solak said that in previous centuries, messages were conveyed through theater, today these environments have changed, different tools are used, but storytelling is carried out in the same way.
Stating that they divide the agency's work plan into two as corporate communication and marketing communication based on Philip Kotler, Solak said that corporate communication consultancy, employer / employee brand communication, leader communication, CSR management, public and protocol communication, crisis communication and media that they provide services such as communication; She said that they perform product / service communication, campaign communication, project communication and media communication services in the field of marketing communication. Solak said, “Our whole life at the agency depends on brief meetings. We plan a roadmap for a brand to become a brand ambassador for its target audience. There are three responsible units for this: the first is the content production department, the second is the media relations department, and the third is the strategy and project management department. These three units meet and draw out a corporate approach from a brand management perspective. No press release is just news, and the materials produced here are not just stories. Positioning statements and messages that will feed the business goals of the brand are placed in it. Generally, when I say I am a PR, they say that I am reporting in the newspaper. News published in the newspaper with a phone does not contribute to the brand. In order for the news in the newspaper to achieve its purpose, it must contribute to the communication goals and corporate communication of the brand, and carry these messages. " Giving an example to a newspaper report project they carried out for Anadolu Jet, Solak said that the kitchen behind this project is actually very large and comprehensive. The conference management said that they also carried out activities such as holding press conferences, and gave an example from the project they realized for an Airline Line inauguration in Bursa. She gave information about how the process works based on the expression "What does PR do when a line is opened". Saying that they sometimes carry out projects to support the development of sales on the marketing side of the brands, Solak talked about the “Company Raids” projects they carried out for the Little Ceasars brand that they are currently working on. She stated that within the scope of this project, around 50 companies press their meetings with a mascot and take pizza and thus, a great increase in the orders of the brand has been achieved with word of mouth marketing effect. Stating that they reached 50 thousand people with the "Goody Children's Theater" project, Solak added that "they focus on long-term communication, weave the image of the brand like needle lace, and when a project 5 years ago is questioned even today, the place where the brand identity is still the same". She stated that the footprint of communication is not erased in today's internet world and that the footprint must be managed correctly in order to manage the reputation of the institution correctly. He emphasized the importance of the process by saying “In today's communication world, brands do not have the luxury of staying silent, living independently from communication, saying I do not want to manage communication is imaginary…”.
Emphasizing that the field of public relations manages a huge world, Solak said that students should improve themselves in many areas; He stated that they need to improve themselves in different fields such as sociology, communication science, marketing, marketing, business science as well as photography. By recommending students to do internships during the school period, Solak gave examples from his own life, saying, “In the period when I started working as Junior after graduation, everything they did to me as a chore that day is the basis of my success today” said that this process is an educational process and it is almost the first five years of working life itself. stated that it qualifies as a university for In the ongoing conversation with a question and answer event, Solak said, "Did Time PR have proactive strategies during the pandemic process and what kind of changes have occurred in the communication strategies of the brands you work with?" “It is up to senior managers to design strategies to overcome uncertainty. It was necessary to manage all communication, it was necessary to communicate 360 degrees. China and America went through the process before us and we followed their reports. While we were planning annual strategies in advance, we started planning daily and weekly strategies. We started working on new strategies every week for each brand. There were times when I did not sleep for 18 hours. If we look at what we have done so, one of the first to implement contactless delivery brand in Turkey was Little Ceasars. You had to be so proactive that you immediately had to plan the next step of the brand. We worked more, our importance as communicators increased even more. This time we had to talk on the phone for hours with the chairmen of the board, whom we had not met face to face before. All communication processes, all message designs, our importance in determining the road map of that period, and the importance of communicators have increased significantly. I can say that Time PR emerged from this crisis situation by getting stronger. The pearl of this year was the pandemic period; In this process, we started to produce information faster. " answered in the form. "What are the certificates that public relations and publicity students should have?" To the question, Solak said, “What is brand management and positioning? Marketing management, what is marketing, let them investigate them. How to produce business strategies related to company management, what is business management and what is not; let them learn. If they have the opportunity, they should get a master's degree, otherwise they should read books in these fields. Because when you don't see the big picture, you're there a little man, a little woman. When you see the big picture, you are big and valuable for that institution. You have to be the one who sees the big picture, leads it. Reputation management, perception management, these areas are very important. Crisis management and crisis communication are very important. They do not need to have certification, they should improve themselves in these areas. You must know communication above all else. You must know a language other than Turkish very well. The more various fruits you have in your basket, the richer you are. " She continued his words in the form. "How do you observe intercultural differences in brand positioning?" Answering the question, Solak said, “We cannot translate global brands as we do when adapting. Therefore, we have to do various studies. Products are also changing, communication is also changing. When a foreign brand enters our country, very serious perception research and product research are carried out. And we plan our communication strategies on the outcomes of these. We are planning a new positioning, a new strategy at the local level. Discourses abroad do not work here, we need to turn it into local. " replied in the form. "How do you choose the people you will work with in the agency?" Responding to the question, Solak said, “It can be a privilege to be a good university graduate and to know English very well, but even if they do not have these qualifications, we can see that some people can realize themselves and create a magic in the institution when given the opportunity. In these cases, being a good university graduate and grammar can be ignored. I can suggest to my friends that CV is the first step in getting inside an institution and therefore generally the CV should be good. " She concluded his words. The conversation ended with the thanks of Doctor Esra Tunçay and Doctor Remziye Köse Özelçi to Sevda Solak.
