A discussion titled 'Why Is Turkish Advertising Not Producing Creative Works?' was organized by the Visual Communication Design department of Üsküdar Üniversitesi. The guest of the program, moderated by Head of Visual Communication Design Department Assoc. Prof. Dr. And Algül, was Hakan Kurnaz, Group Head of Advertising Writers at GriCreative.
“Creativity Requires Courage”
Kurnaz, drawing attention to creativity, one of the indispensable features in advertising, said: “Being creative and productive is a very general topic with many parameters. It relies not only on people but also on media, Turkish culture, and way of life. Creativity requires courage. It means the concretization of imagination. It is about making the boring interesting. We can also define creativity as the ability to create socially beneficial products and ideas, and for an idea to take form. Creativity requires breaking away from the herd, trying new things, and making mistakes. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. We find the right paths by making mistakes. If we look at why we need to be creative, first is the issue of survival, and second is being successful. The transformation within a person can show a change towards transforming others as well.”
“Types of Creativity Help Gain Different Perspectives”
Kurnaz, touching upon the types of creativity, said: “Creativity is divided into two: convergent creativity and divergent creativity. Convergent thinking is closely related to knowledge. It is aimed at giving the best or correct answer to a clearly defined question. One of the most important aspects of convergent thinking is that it leads to a single correct answer and leaves no room for ambiguity. In convergent thinking, an answer can be right or wrong. Divergent thinking, on the other hand, involves generating multiple or alternative answers from existing information. It requires trying different approaches, recognizing connections between distant concepts, and transforming information into unusual forms.”
“What Matters Is Not Creating a Product, But Convincing People About It”
Kurnaz pointed out that creating an idea will not be enough in the future, stating that one needs certain qualities to market that product. Kurnaz said: “Especially in this era and in the future, to be different and to carve out a place, we need to be creative in every field. Whether you are in business development, an art director, a writer, or a businessman, creativity is required in all areas. It's not important to create a product; what's important is to convince people about that product. If you're at an agency, you first need to convince the other employees at the agency, then you need to convince the client, and then your consumers. Another skill here is emotional intelligence. This primarily means understanding ourselves well, and then others. We call this direct empathy. The more you put yourself in the target audience's shoes, the more you internalize their feelings, the more effective your advertisements will be. Another issue is collaboration. Without collaboration, you cannot survive anywhere. Because this is teamwork, and without teamwork, you cannot get anywhere.”
“The Biggest Obstacle to Creativity is Brain Laziness”
Kurnaz, talking about the obstacles to creativity, said: “The biggest obstacle to creativity is brain laziness. The brain wants to continue habits through shortcuts. Therefore, try to move away from this path. Don't fall into anxiety. There will be anxiety and fear, but there are ways to overcome them. If you succeed in this, it will not hinder your creativity. Don't be afraid to take risks. Seeking shortcuts and formulas is closely linked to habits. The best part of advertising is that no matter how many successes you achieve, you start from scratch with every new project. Your past successes can benefit you, but every new project that comes is a new problem. You need to solve a new problem.”