Gulf Construction Online - Ceramic brands use DJ to spin out message

Turkey Review

Ceramic brands use DJ to spin out message

01 September 2009

HAVING established itself as one of the largest ceramic producers and exporters in the world, Turkey has been increasing its market share every year through offering products that blend the multicultural and multifaceted historical riches of Anatolia with modern designs and technology.

Keeping with tradition, major Turkish ceramic producers will be showcasing their products at Cersaie 2009, an international exhibition of ceramic tiles and bathroom furnishings, to be held in Bologna, Italy this month (September 29 to October 3).
Eight ceramic companies – Termal Ceramic, Ege Ceramic, Hitit Ceramic, Vitra, Çanakkale Ceramic, Kütahya Ceramic, Ercan Ceramic and Seranit Ceramic – will be taking part in the Cersaie fair with their latest designs and technologies. In addition, Turkish Ceramics Promotion Group, which is coordinating the participation, will be present at Hall Machelio (First Floor, Hall 36, No 3).
As a branding opportunity, the Turkish ceramic pavilion is also organising a huge event where it will present Mercan Dede, a Turkish-born musician/producer/DJ, who will take the stage with his band. This follows the major success with the Shaman Dance Show last year and Fire of Anatolia in 2007.
Having established a niche in the ceramic sector due to its rich natural resources and long ceramic history, Turkey is now making efforts to change the perceptions of the quality of its products. Know-how of ceramic production in Turkey has been inherited and developed by different civilisations over hundreds of years and enhanced by combining various techniques.
Since 2007, Turkish Ceramic Promotion Group, founded in 1997, has been working with a marketing consulting firm, Markam Branding Consultancy, to develop strategies to reflect Turkey’s expertise and create awareness in the ceramics field of the high quality of its products, not just its price-competitiveness. The group has exerted collaborative efforts focusing on branding.
As a representative of the Turkish ceramic sector, Bahadır Kayan, president of Turkish Ceramics Promotion Group, says: “Turkish ceramic manufacturers are dedicated to enhance quality perceptions of people using ceramic tile and sanitary ware products worldwide.”
The Mercan Dede concert, one of the most important branding events of the year, will be reflecting the harmony between the modern and traditional side of Turkish ceramics and Turkish culture and history.
“Mercan Dede creates a universal language, capable of uniting old and young, ancient and modern, East and West by putting digital, electronic sounds together with hand-made, human ones,” say organisers.
Dede will be hovering at the side behind his turntables and electronics, occasionally picking up a traditional wooden flute, while masters of the kanun (zither), clarinet, darbuka (hand drum) and other instruments will spin melodies to match the whirling of the group’s spectacular dervish dancers – this creating contrast between electronica and classical or folkloric arts.