What is the Business Value of Turkey’s Soap Operas?

You are probably aware of extreme popularity of Turkey’s Soap Operas in Arab countries, Balkans, CIS and even Iran. You may also know that it is a $60 million-export market for Turkey since 2008. I am personally an eyewitness of empty streets and re-arranged meetings because of their broadcasting time in some Arab countries. Although there is a big question mark on if it is a sign of Turkey’s being the political role model for them, it is certain that Turkey’s social model is becoming more and more interesting in these regions. Do you think do they facilitate the business between Turkey and these countries? The answer lies behind the value of common business values based on common / similar culture, history and traditions. It can be certainly said that the common values strengthen the trust, and trust makes thing open to communication. Lastly the communication is the fundamental requirement for all kinds of transactions including making business.

It may be helpful to remind that the export increased by 12% to Middle East, 27% to Africa, and decreased by 7% to EU in 2012 according to TUIK (Turkey Statistical Institute) data, and it is a trend since 2008. I believe it may be better to think with “Commoning” -the act of creating, constructing and maintaining a commons- as a useful concept for better predictions about the future. However you may still prefer Differentiation as a competitive advantage :).