#helloTürkiye — Turkey’s Latest Attempt to Rebrand Global Voices

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A screenshot taken from the promotional video shared by TRT World on YouTube.

Turkey’s Communications Directorate launched a new #helloTürkiye campaign on January 14, in an attempt to “raise world awareness of the use of the country’s original name”. In a statement released by the Presidency’s Director of Communications, Fahrettin Altun said: “We believe it is important to use the phrase ‘Türkiye’ in the international arena to further strengthen the brand and reputation of our country”. The name change follows a presidential circular signed on December 4, 2021, requiring the use of “Türkiye” instead of “Turkey” in all correspondence with other states, international institutions and organizations.

The circular issued in December further reads:

The expression “Türkiye” symbolizes and conveys in the best possible way the culture, civilization and values ​​of the Turkish nation. In this framework, the expression “Made in Türkiye” instead of “Made in Turkey” started to be used in our export products; as a result, our products, which are the pride of our country in international trade, are promoted and presented to the rest of the world using the “Türkiye” brand. Our goal now is to represent the thousands of years of experience of our state and our nation in all sectors under the brand “Türkiye”.

According to Middle East Eye, an online news platform, Turkish officials have already started the process of registering the new name with the United Nations. “The exact timing of the name change is still under consideration by the government, but the process is ongoing,” Middle East Eye quoted a senior Turkish official as reporting.

While Altun and the president stressed that the rebranding would boost the country’s reputation, others joked that the campaign was aimed at disassociating the country from a certain namesake bird. “Type ‘Turkey’ into Google and you’ll get a confusing array of images, articles and dictionary definitions that confuse the country with Meleagris – otherwise known as the turkey, a large bird native to North America – which is famously served on Christmas menus or Thanksgiving dinners,” reported TRT World.

As the country grapples with runaway inflation, experts say now is not the time to switch brands, and there is no point in doing so.

Others criticize the government’s choice to use taxpayers’ money for this rebranding when countless other issues plague the community, such as a recession, job loss, unchecked violence, discrimination gender-based and a push from Omicron, among others.

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