Transformation of Brands in Changing World Conditions

We met with PART MAG Content and Projects Director Deniz Bulutsuz and asked how we can evaluate both the transformation of brands in changing world conditions and this process we are in.

We are now at the point where we confuse the days, cannot find a recipe to make, and consume Netflix recommendations several times. It has been 2 months since COVID-19, which was reported in Wuhan on December 31, 2019 and entered our lives by being named on February 11, was registered as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. This epidemic, whose effects we feel globally, has hit every sector we can think of in the worst possible way and continues to do so. Labor force, productivity and productivity have drifted to close to zero. Psychologies are upside down from thinking about how we will make money while stuck at home. The economy is going through crises that rival those experienced during the World Wars. If it is about cause, process and result, in such a digital world, of course, everyone has a voice. Some believe that there is a collusion between states to cool down this Earth, which produces, consumes and warms as if its brakes have burst. Some say it's America's game. Whether this is the case or not, there are millions of people who began to see in the first weeks that it was causing the Earth to slow down.

While people are at home, harmful gas emissions are decreasing, canals are being cleaned in Venice, the ozone layer is healing, and endangered animals roaming the streets of big cities are appearing on YouTube. Thanks to the information provided by scientists, we cannot do this without forgetting that there is good in every evil.

Brands that did not know what to do in the first few weeks have now decided to find a voice, a purpose and a project for themselves and continue on their way. For us magazine writers and those in the fashion and entertainment industry, it can be a disaster from which we wonder how we will get out, or it can be a test from which we will improve ourselves and push the limits of creativity. Over the past period, we have witnessed how all affected sectors responded to the spread of the virus and the obstacles it caused with solidarity, determination and creativity.

While big companies are making million-dollar donations, vocational high schools are developing respirators for hospitals, designers are producing personal protective equipment for hospitals and masks for civilians. Vogue launches the Vogue Global Network project, its first global dialogue series. The dialogues, which lasted four days, were held via Zoom, and global names from Anna Wintour to Marc Jacobs, from Olivier Roustein to Virgil Abloh were guests at our home every day. It has opened our minds to a wide range of topics affecting the fashion industry, from the impact of isolation on creativity and design to the future of retail stores and e-commerce. One of the words we heard many times throughout the speeches was, of course, "sustainability".

In a twist of fate, all this exchange of ideas happened just a week before April 22, which is celebrated as World Earth Day. This day, which emerged with the aim of celebrating the life and beauty of our world and drawing attention to the environmental threats it faces, is actually directly related to the situation we are facing right now and the reactions we give, when you look at its description and purpose. The topic of "sustainability" has been on the agenda for a long time in dozens of countries that have been celebrating Earth Day since 1970. This understanding, which is rapidly spreading in the fields of city regional planning, architecture, fashion, gastronomy and technology, has rapidly doubled its popularity with COVID-19.

However, it should not be overlooked that sustainability, which is thought about and projects are developed from global companies with thousands of employees to boutique businesses that produce at home, has fallen victim to the urgent and unconsidered reactions to the virus epidemic. Tens of thousands of masks and gowns produced without thinking about how and where to deliver them to meet the "need" around the world, becoming waste on the roads before reaching those in need, is just one of these examples. The number of brands running marketing strategies under the name of "COVID-19 discount" is surprisingly high. I think the question of whether those who want to turn the crisis into an opportunity or who say "I will lend the biggest and fastest helping hand in a crisis" are doing more harm than good is one of the first things that everyone should ask themselves in this process.

There is no doubt that the conscious and sustainable production-consumption chain will be more important than ever in this process and beyond. For this reason, we should not forget that how creative, solution-oriented and positive we will be in this process, individually or corporately, will be one of the main determinants of the image and success we create for ourselves and our brand in the future. So what should you do while you're at home now? If you ask me, it might not be a bad idea to research and observe as much as possible and spend all our free time dreaming of better things and developing projects.

Sea Cloudless

PART MAG Content and Projects Director