Advertising strategies are becoming more human-centered, interactive, and video-based

According to the 2023 Estimated Media and Advertising Investments Report, total investments in Turkey increased by 120% compared to the previous year, reaching 140.69 billion TL. The largest share in media investments, 72.6%, was allocated to digital media, while the most proportionally growing media channels were digital, out-of-home, radio, and television in order. Dr. Merve Zeynep Sarıbek, an academician who evaluated the report, stated, ‘The data shows that digital media is enriching and expanding the advertising sector day by day. The influence of digital media and the new generations is leading to new advertising strategies that are more human-centered, interactive, and video-based.’
‘Turkey Estimated Media and Advertising Investments 2023 Report’ has been published. According to the report, total investments in Turkey increased by 120% compared to the previous year, reaching 140.69 billion TL. While the largest share in media investments was allocated to digital media with 72.6%, the most growing media channels proportionally were digital, out-of-home, radio, and television. Dr. Merve Zeynep Sarıbek, Faculty Member of the New Media Department at Istanbul Beykent University, made evaluations regarding the report. Sarıbek, emphasizing the dominance of digital channels in the sector, stated, ‘In 2023, with a rate of 72% (86.5 billion TL) in total media investments, digital channels have established a complete dominance in the sector. This rate was around 36% in 2022. This situation indicates that digital media is increasingly gaining superiority over other channels every year, and its social impact is also high. Especially, digital channels, which are preferred much more by young people and white-collar workers to access information, news, and entertainment compared to conventional media, have become a real attraction center in terms of advertising investments.’
Sarıbek continued her speech as follows: ‘In 2023, television follows digital channels in media investments with a rate of 20.9%. Television media investments in Turkey broke a record compared to 2022. Television investments increased by 94% in 2023. This situation shows that television continues to remain the strongest medium of conventional media. TV advertising investments, with a 95% increase in 2023, achieved the fastest annual growth rate in history, surpassing the previous year’s record. This data shows that despite all negative external factors such as earthquakes and pandemics, television, which has achieved growth above the annual inflation rate (CPI) for four consecutive years, will continue its existence for a long time against digital channels. The variety of programs, and the fact that television is still perceived as a professional and reliable medium by the masses, has made it preferable in terms of advertising.’
‘Political processes also have an impact’. Sarıbek, who stated that outdoor advertising is also on the rise, said, ‘The revival of media and outdoor activities in the post-pandemic period has led to the increase of outdoor advertising with more sophisticated methods and content diversity. According to the data presented in the report, Out-of-home closed 2023 with a record growth; 138.6%. While the cosmetic and personal care sector accounts for 14% of outdoor media investments, governmental institutions and political parties follow with 13%. Of course, these results are also influenced by the political processes of 2023.’
Sarıbek mentioned that the cinema sector, which suffered greatly during the pandemic, revived in 2023. ‘The pandemic period had fundamentally changed cinema habits and led the audience to shift to digital platforms. Although we cannot say that this situation has completely changed after the pandemic, we can say that a positive picture has emerged for the cinema industry. Cinema media investments increased by 65% compared to the previous year. However, this view is still quite low compared to 2019. The number of moviegoers, which was 60 million in 2019, decreased to 31.5 million in 2023. The mobility experienced in the last period of 2023 with the emergence of new films indicates that the coming years will be brighter for the cinema sector.’
Sarıbek continued, ‘In 2023, the top three digital media investments are video advertising with a rate of 34%, display and click-based ads with 31%, and search engine ads with 16%. Considering the high usage rates of platforms like Youtube and other video sharing sites in Turkey, this result is not surprising at all. Turkey ranks visual media at the top in terms of social media usage rates (Youtube, Instagram). Social media companies globally plan their applications more based on moving images, videos, and photos. The TikTok effect, especially the spread of the reels culture on Instagram, reaching more people with video content leads to the integration of advertising investments with video.’
Sarıbek stated that in 2023, there was a significant transformation in digital media investments and marketing strategies in Turkey. She said, ‘The data shows that digital media is enriching and expanding the advertising sector day by day. The influence of digital media and the new generations is leading to new advertising strategies that are more human-centered, interactive, and video-based. Especially with the rise of artificial intelligence technologies, the increase in mobile device usage, and digital audio ads, we can say that advertisers are increasingly turning to more specific and community-oriented advertising strategies. While cultural and cosmetic areas are on the rise in advertising, especially the political processes and sporting achievements in Turkey also have their reflections in advertising. The increase in internet and mobile technology usage rates, advancements in artificial intelligence also suggest that advertisers will increase and diversify their investments in this field in the future. However, industries such as cinema and television continue to exist as important mediums.’
‘Influencers’ lives also serve as advertising on their own’. Öznur Dağlı Kesim, the General Manager of Channel Factory Turkey, who stated that another remarkable area in digital media investments is influencer advertising investments, made evaluations on the subject. Kesim said, ‘The sector has increasingly started to work with a larger number of brands with micro or macro influencers. The 2023 media report also reveals this. Influencer advertising investments, which were previously examined under the title ‘Other Investments,’ have been separated from this group to be included in the report on their own due to the market volume they have reached. Compared to 2022, influencer advertising investments increased by 67.3% (3.28 billion TL). This includes campaign promotion content agreements. We see that advertisers are adopting the advertising strategies preferred by this generation, especially the Z generation, who have a more limited interest in conventional media compared to digital media. Influencers take on the role of experiential figures that users refer to before purchasing a product. Besides directly showcasing advertisements, influencers’ lives also serve as advertising on their own. Therefore, brands meet users by working with different names with high or medium numbers of followers whom they think reflect their own profiles. The growth in this area is an indicator of how rapidly brands’ interaction strategies with consumers are evolving.’
‘New technologies are leading to new advertising areas’. Öznur Dağlı Kesim stated that 81% of digital media advertisements are made on mobile devices and said, ‘Mobile devices compatible with social media applications highlight target-oriented and interactive advertising. The 2023 data shows that the innovations in digital technologies in Turkey are quickly adopted by users and that new technologies are leading to new advertising areas.’
‘Advertisers are moving away from newspapers’. The press medium, which realized a total media investment of 792 million TL, grew by 42.5% in 2023 compared to the previous year. While there was a slight decrease of 0.5% in the number of advertisers using magazines, an increase of 2.9% was observed in terms of advertising duration. The top three sectors that invested the most in magazines were textile, industrial and machinery products, and construction and decoration services.
‘Decrease in the number of advertisers investing in newspapers’. Saygı Ünlü, a Press and Publications Consultant, who stated that digital and visual media are eliminating print media, said, ‘The press medium, which accounted for 1.1% of general media investments with 556 million TL in 2022, received 792 million TL in general media investments in 2023. Although there was a 42.5% growth compared to the previous year, there is a 16.5% decrease in the number of advertisers investing in newspapers and a 5.6% decrease in advertising duration. The top three sectors using the newspaper medium were finance, retail, and construction home decoration. The decrease in newspaper usage by readers, especially the tendency of the generation classified as Z generation, born after 2000, to access news from social media, leads to printed newspapers being followed by a narrower audience.’
‘Television still maintains its power’. Saygı Ünlü, who said, ‘New digital technologies intensely preferred by young users are causing advertisers to update their traditional strategies,’ also stated, ‘On the other hand, television still maintains its power and appeals to both viewers and advertisers. Growing by 94.5% compared to 2022, the medium reached a total investment of 24 billion TL.’