Turk Telekom tops Turkey's leading brand list

By Dilara Zengin and Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - A leading U.K. consultancy on Wednesday named Turk Telekom as Turkey’s most valuable brand for 2017.

According to the London-based Brand Finance valuation consultancy's list of top 100 Turkish brands for the year, the integrated telecommunications service provider topped the list with a brand value worth more than $2.6 billion.

The leading communication company's value was up 11 percent in 2017 compared to last year, the survey read.

Turk Telekom was followed by another Turkish communications company -- Turkcell -- with a brand value of $1.96 billion, a rise of 37 percent during the same period.

The brand value of Turkish Airlines, which topped last year's survey, slipped by 22 percent to reach $1.92 billion; the Turkish flag carrier is now ranked third.

Akbank ($1.58 billion), a Turkish lender owned by the Sabanci Group, and Garanti Bank ($1.55 billion), one of the leading lenders in the Turkish market partly owned by Spain’s second biggest lender BBVA, took fourth and fifth place, respectively.

The top ten also included durable consumer goods producer Arcelik with a brand value of $1.2 billion.

State lenders Ziraat Bank ($1.3 billion) and Halkbank ($806 million), as well as private lenders Isbank ($1.25 billion) and Yapi Kredi ($951 million) were also on the list.

Turkey’s banking sector performed well on the list with six brands in the top ten, with a combined value of $7.5 billion.

Brand Finance also revealed the total worth of Turkey's 100 most valuable brands decreased by six percent year-on-year to stand at $27.4 billion in 2017.

Muhterem Ilguner, managing director of Brand Finance Turkey, noted there had been a downward trend in the brand value of the hundred companies listed in 2017 and 2016.

"Foreign exchange rate differences affected this adversely. However, the result of 2017, which was prepared by financial data of 2016, reflects the impact of an extraordinary year.

“Turkey is a country that knows to produce. It needs to gain ground in the path of adding value to what it produces," he told Anadolu Agency.

Ilguner underlined the difference between brands and valuable brands, adding that valuable brands endeavored to identify and understand consumers while brands expect to benefit from intensive communication efforts.

Brands should strive for permanent and sustainable success in order to be valuable, Ilguner stated.

Ilguner also pointed out that the total value of the most valuable Turkish brands hovered around $25-35 billion in the last decade.