The Concept of Brand Culture: A Qualitative Analysis Directed to Turkish Airlines

Culture is an important aspect of branding studies. There is a mutual relationship between culture and brands: While culture and cultural perspectives have strong effects on branding, brands also have serious effects on culture. The concept of ‘brand culture’ refers to the cultural codes developed by brands. A brand’s culture indicates the set of values which create that brand’s inspirational power. This study covers the relationship between brands and culture and the concept of brand culture. A qualitative research has been carried out focusing on Turkish Airlines (THY), which was chosen to be the best airline company of Europe in 2012. Research objectives are determined as: to point out the effects of culture on THY, to display how culture is used by the brand, to define the brand culture and its represantation in intercultural environments. Finally, to compare the diverse perceptions from the point of view of the brand and the customer. Primary information for the qualitative analysis has been based on interviews made with the brand manager of Turkish Airlines and a customer of THY. Secondary information for the case has been gathered via the corporate website and articles about the brand. Content analysis was applied to the data by composing the codes and themes, and finally the results have been reported.