Gözde Elönü on trends, Labubu and who furnishes a home now

But I mean, I don't usually have any contact with them. I prefer home-cooked meals and things like that much more . You're kidding. This is scamming people . I'm not a fan of fast food at all. Barış, do you like things like hot dogs ? I love all kinds of them. Exactly. Hamburgers, pizza, and stuff like that. I'm wondering if you're the only person at Longton who put the "I can't do it" emoji on a cola bottle.

Maybe, but he says he's not talking about it or anything like that here. Of course, you know, we're now into home-cooked meals and things like that. That would be great then. I'll do it right away and start. Ok . Hi. Greetings everyone. Hello everyone, and welcome to episode 12 of our podcast . I hope it's the right episode. So, our guest this week is Gözde Elönü. From British Home.

Greetings Gözde, greetings Berkay. Greetings, Barış. How are you? How are you all doing? How's it going? We're fine. Busy times are beginning for us. It's time to head back to the city, you know. Everyone is going home. So I can say it's been a busy and enjoyable period for us too. Super. What's new with you? So, are there any holiday plans in Spain? Have the schools opened there?

It hasn't opened here yet, but... well, going back to the city... I didn't feel it this much in previous years. September started off very harshly this year. Suddenly, the traffic, the crowds, etc., increased by about 34 times here. It's been a week for me too, trying to adapt. It wasn't very pleasant, but I hadn't missed it, so it felt good to stay. Traffic immediately changed course this week.

I'm waiting for Monday. Let's see what we'll do on Monday. So, when exactly is back to school, like when it's really starting to feel like it's going to start with the campaigns, e-commerce and all that? Is September 1st the official start date, or is it going to be pushed back a bit to the second three weeks ? As with every period, the retail calendar is actually shifting back a little bit .

Compared to previous periods, we're seeing more sales earlier, more product launches, and digital investments are a concern here, but of course, we need a little more time to bring project examples and the discovery process to the forefront. So this time, what I saw were brand positioning issues. So, starting in mid-July, the first batches of Back to School collections and products actually landed in store channels and online.

These are a bit more of a back-to-school trend, of course. We're more of a back-to-school brand, but like DNR and Nez, the hardcore back-to-school types started more in July, I'd say. It's like Black Friday has now stretched out throughout the whole of November . It starts early here, but the activity naturally becomes more noticeable in the second half of August and in September . With the products now being a bit more diverse and Korean trends being so prevalent, we can say that many brands and brands are focusing on Korean personalities, and that Korea is pretty much taking over both cosmetics and the back- to-school trend this year .

So keeping up with trends is becoming more difficult. That's exactly what I was about to say . Honestly, I can't keep up. So, that's why I'm sometimes happy to be on the data side of things . So, being involved in production or something like that, understanding customer trends in that business , figuring out what sells, etc. I find it incredibly challenging to gather and manage all of these things.

I don't know, Berkay, how are you doing with this? Well, it's clear that you're quite up-to-date with trends, Gözde. So, I never told you that I was born, and that's when the period started, and I'm learning about the characters too, because everywhere they show me what this is and so on, like, "it's the same thing, that's the same thing, girls take it more," and so on, and they pass all of that on to me.

How old is Gözde? She's 7 years old. When I was 7, I wasn't leading anyone like that, showing a trend or a movement. We had one thing, I'll never forget it. This is our normal lunchbox. In my lunchbox, if I was a boy, it was Power Rangers, and if I was a girl, it was Barbie. That was our line of business, and I would buy whatever was available at the stationery store.

I mean, there are so many of them, really, that Korea, that China, they have so much wealth, they're so successful at creating characters, at setting trends . In Türkiye, brands can't produce many products like this. So they create an animal, and through that animal or character, they really have an impact on the whole world, from end to end . So, I think that here, as a market, we have sufficient resources in terms of humor and creativity.

But we can't really get into these kinds of local characters and animations. Our banks have shown some success in this area for a certain period. Now we don't see as many different characters in them either. This is what Arçeli's steel has been like for many years, into the 2000s. Exactly. This Vada had a purple thing. Yes. Anyway, its name was Turkcell, and Turkcell had a bee, something like that, a bee-like thing.

Like Turkcell's bee. and I think there was something similar in Korea too. I don't know, Korea? She's probably Asian. Pop art? We had a conversation just the other day. It's such a small toy. What kind of toy was it? Are you talking about Labubu? Yes. Yes. Labubu. Yes. So Lebubu is an incredible phenomenon, by the way. So I guess it's not in the toy category anymore. the company that owns Lebabun, the person who owns it, I mean, that person isn't the same guy who owns Lebabun.

Lately, they've reached the level of the top 10 richest people in China or something like that . Because the product came out of nowhere. So, for example, I can add this to what your eyes are saying . In Türkiye, certain figures usually emerge. Actually, there have been similar things emerging recently as well. For example, there was a time when the TRT1 series Kelolan became popular in Türkiye, or there was Pepe, and so on.

Yes. But they remain in the category of very young children. Well, I think something that China and Korea do well, for example, Labubu, is that it's available for both young girls and, really, for adult women, like an accessory to something like a Louis Vuitton shunt, or a version of it that's being exhibited in an art gallery for $230,000,000 or something . They expanded in a very interesting way .

Well, that's why it exploded so much. It's a very interesting marketing process, in my opinion. Exactly. In fact, seeing that product alongside the luxury segment was one of the turning points in the product's success story. The kids were scared at first, so I listened to and followed podcasts. Later on, actually, this trend became a bit more influential, you know, visually, and when people saw it on iconic, popular figures, people started to gravitate towards it.

I find TRT (Turkish Radio and Television Corporation) to be very successful. This character, in terms of creating cartoon characters, TRT Çocuk's work is, in my opinion, at a good level both globally and in Türkiye; they have very large studio teams. They are making serious investments here. There, in order to catch up with global trends and standards in terms of technology. But we rarely see the Rafadan Tayfan character used by anyone other than children, or a figure or object that can be adopted, like a bedsheet, being turned into a licensed product at a point of sale .

It remains in a very narrow market. Well, I think this is necessary. This is one of the phone's toy gadgets this Sunday. And nowadays, with the Korean and Far Eastern trend, I think this is a topic that could be discussed more thoroughly. At English, we're a bit more of a design-focused brand, so we didn't go into too much of those... things. We didn't delve too much into iconic and symbolic approaches .

We're trying to convey that a little more through the patterns . Of course, popular trending products, Pinterest products, so to speak, are essential for Human Guard; we bring these products and objects that suit taste and style to our collections. Well, they also turn out to be products that elicit a positive response . So, when users see similar products globally on social media, or experience them at a British show, the products we've combined with our original designs and style immediately—even before we move from the product discovery stage to advertising—it transforms into a product that's pushed from the user to marketing.

Well, that makes it an absolutely delicious situation. Because when it becomes a product that the end consumer pushes towards without dancing or touching, it becomes much easier to build its success without imposing it. Because all that's left is for the current to actually control the wave . So, that's why selecting these things as carefully as possible is something our collection and category teams succeed at, and it comes from a bit of difficulty.

They spend a lot of time and effort. They try to follow trade fairs and international trends very closely . And they're also trying to bring these in at reasonable costs and margins, according to the Turkish market. That's another aspect of the job, a balance to be maintained . However, there are still categories that are challenging in Türkiye. For example, you might have difficulty finding a frame product from a local manufacturer, and so on; unfortunately, there are aspects where you become somewhat dependent on foreign countries to have the frame you want modeled.

This was n't something we had planned to discuss, but since it seemed interesting, I'll continue from here. For example, I've been seeing incredible things lately. In products like these, I see interesting or much brighter colors, more vibrant colors; for example, well-known brands like Zara Home or IKEA are using a lot more colorful colors globally . Is there such a thing as a trend, or is this just another approach they've put forward?

What do you see over there ? For example, let me give a few more examples. I mean, in the past, the products I saw were mostly white, black, brown – frames, cabinets, furniture. But now, I'm seeing a lot of light blue, red, green, yellow, retro colors, etc. So, it made me wonder if there's some kind of return to the past, to the 80s and 90s. Or was it just a matter of creating an interim capsule and then continuing on like that?

This raised a question mark in my mind regarding where medicine in the world is headed. Yes, when it's something I don't know anything about. I wanted to ask a question. Actually, what we see are two extremes in these trends I'm following. Firstly, in the homes and home decor of this new generation, fun and colors are a bit more prominent. So, trends like the juxtaposition of leather and glass, and the use of different metals, objects, and textures together, have emerged.

There are more modern, that kind of homes. In some parts, of course, he likes to arrange these spaces in a retro style. Well, because as humans we need to feel peaceful at home, and natural textures and colors are what calm, soothe, and relax us the most. And perhaps, emotionally, we also need to remember those happy moments of the past . Well, in this regard, we're trying to strike a balance with our products.

The trends are also in that direction. Well, it also comes down to the colors, to some extent. Colors and patterns. For example, that Korean music, the cherry blossoms, the lemon cellos... it really got people talking about it this year . Almost every brand, in both fashion and home textiles, is giving more prominence to these items, which naturally affects all sectors of the home and consumers. That's why, in addition to colorful trends, people are also looking for more subdued, basic, and smart things .

Because, on the other hand, the square footage of the houses is also shrinking. Of course, we also have a desire to go to more refreshing, tranquil worlds in smaller spaces . And how does the way these basics are explained affect digital marketing? In our campaigns, colorful products naturally attract more attention, so their CTRs (Call to Action) and eye-catching qualities are more prominent. But we need to describe these basic smart products a bit more in terms of quality and texture .

It's a bit more difficult to portray them with static images like these . You either need to be a very strong brand . You really need to be able to describe and let people experience this product, saying, "This is the tactile feel I've ever seen, and I'm sure it's of this quality ." Or maybe we need to explain these things a bit more with videos, shorts, perhaps TikTok, user-generated content, rather than just JPEGs .

We are also trying to maintain a balance in that regard, to be honest. But these processes in SERP, AI modes, CTTPs, and the fact that AI mode is currently available in the US market and the trigger rates are increasing, will of course be on the agenda in Turkey as well, by 2026. Maybe the last one to film was a roundup before that, maybe Google is talking about some new features.

And these places... well, I'm starting to wonder if they'll reduce the amount of "surp" a bit more . There are many conversion searches like this, actually. Because people wonder how to fold bed sheets. So, how many times should I wash a white bedsheet? People also do a lot of long searches like " how to remove this stain from this product" . We will, of course, continue to explain the answers to these lengthy searches in the content text sections .

But this is partly due to user experience and the increasing number of video content consumers. Perhaps Google will adopt a strategy of trying to make up for the ground it lost there by bringing in a little more revenue to YouTube. I already know they're continuing to invest a lot in YouTube . But these new toys will need to increase the feasibility of producing them a bit more by making the content easier and more suitable for production .

Yes. I wonder if you noticed anything there ? So, for example, who uses household items now? These are either newly married couples or those who want to move house, etc. Now, it's a bit like what Generation observed or used 5 or 10 years ago; or, for example, as the colors changed, as they became fluorescent, they started to become a bit more flashy. Now, video- based content has started to come to the forefront.

So, in your opinion, especially in the areas of performance marketing or digital marketing, are perceptions changing or differentiating as generations evolve? Can perceptions here also change? For example, instead of more modular, more compact, simpler designs, perhaps design systems that perceive older designs—like those Barış mentioned—may have become more popular , maybe they've come back into vogue. So, in terms of the target audience, have you noticed any differences here ?

Has anything changed in these parts? So, in terms of target audience, there are definitely differences. Because, let's think about the generation two generations before us. Let's think about our mothers' time and the new era in which they enjoyed themselves. When we consider the decision-makers in establishing a home and the areas they decide on, the man's role is very small. Well, actually, I'll be talking a bit more about Turkish society as a whole; I'm not speaking globally, but I don't think it would be very different on a global scale either.

So, the decision-maker there is the woman, she decides on the combination of everything, the pattern, the overall design process. Now, when we look at it today, it's a little different. In newly married couples, purchasing decisions are finalized together, considering both the male and female perspectives and aesthetic sensibilities. We are now seeing that men are increasingly becoming our customers as well . The rates are gradually increasing. Well, because now we're talking about broken families .

It's not a society where large families live in one house, like it used to be . With fragmented, smaller structures, and with the rise in single-person living or divorce rates, single mothers, single fathers, new students, and especially university students, the topic of moving in and furnishing a home is becoming increasingly popular. Of course, this also affects our way of doing business, our decisions, and our choices. Well, especially now, in this period, in the small home appliances category that we entered last year, it's actually a male-dominated market in Turkey.

It varies depending on the product range, but when we think about the big things, like the brands that sell KEA products, or marketplaces like Arçelik, Media Market, and maybe Tekn Savatan, there's a predominantly male technology customer base. Well, even though we tend to think of small household appliances as things like kitchen coffee makers, robots, and air fryers, these are now categories that single men also buy from.

When a single man moves into his own home, he often prefers airfoils instead of ovens, as they offer more practical cooking options . While targeting these things, on the marketing side, of course, we used both creatives and, for our sexual presence, creatives, as well as male partners and influencers we collaborated with. We also tried to influence the perception there a little bit. Besides that, in order to attract this audience, we also went through a period where we used some gamers as well.

We sold PlayStations in English at the start of the broadcast . a. Yes. I am very good. I didn't know that, by the way . We made a PlayStation 5. Well, so a collaboration happened in that way too. Well, it's the latest PlayStation 5. Because gamers are either married, well , mothers, or men. Well, although it might sound predominantly male, there's a very large female audience there as well.

And they generally play in relaxed environments . They are making a room in their house . Actually, the target audience is those who spend a lot of time together in marriage. And here, we also have projects where we try to better integrate brand positioning, to become the brand that comes to mind, and to strengthen the connection between brands . We've been talking about the groom's dowry for two years .

These are projects that came about thanks to our team's idea . So, there too, these students, those who are virgins, who have left home, or who are divorced and living alone, are actually somewhat targeted at men. Because there's always been this perception that women prepare their dowry, that women furnish their homes, but that's changing now. As a brand, we are also trying to adapt to this. So right now, our focus is a bit on...

Well, actually, because we don't sell pens, notebooks, or agendas, but we have products that will refresh your home, prepare your home for returning to the city , products that are relevant to the current period. This is very important for students as well. In their first home, where they embarked on a new era, they actually used a vehicle for the first time in a space that was truly their own...

Show me a vehicle, do n't let it be a joke. We are proceeding with this logic and forming collaborations there . We're trying to position the digital aspect a bit more in this way, as a matter of fact. Or I can add that there. Especially in the past, for example, I think, as far as I can see, people knew exactly how and where to use certain products when they bought them.

I put aside all electronic household appliances. Because it's a bit easier to become a real influencer there . Nobody thinks about where they're going to put an air fryer when they buy one, but when buying a cabinet, a sofa, or a chair, people think about these things a bit more, and we used to see this a lot in reviews, especially in the past. So, if a user is going to buy a product, they actually have a weak idea of where they can use it .

He just wants to buy an object for his home, for example, but a man, for instance, when furnishing his bachelor apartment, isn't quite sure how to use it, and that's why there was even a study specifically about this. It was noticed that in images with usage examples, there were significantly more clicks or much more views of the product images . It's kind of like that, actually, in terms of texture and so on.

That's why we have videos and things like that now. Because the user wants to see that thing. How does this product look? How would it look in my house ? Where can I put it? What have those who own houses like me done? Because she wants to see this, she constantly looks at it and her purchasing behavior changes significantly accordingly . This, of course, leads to more in-depth research into the product and significantly delays in the purchasing process .

I think we can even capture these details, like which pages a user looks at and what they examine when buying a product. Because when you look at it, it's something that only has one size . For example, carpets. How will he use the carpet sets? Which size is suitable? For example, the rug comes in 5 different sizes. Which one should he buy? These things are especially difficult for people who aren't very used to building a home, to decorating a home, and I put myself in that category.

It gets especially difficult as we get older, and the more information you can find online, the better. I believe that websites that do this well ultimately achieve much better conversion rates . Because it really captures the user's attention . As I said, I put my electronic devices aside. Because he's in a much, much easier place. Exactly. Of course, when doing this, and when talking about this visual world, as I said a few sentences ago, video content, influencer collaborations, and work focused more on views are more prominent, and on the creative side, in the groups where ASEF is expanding, we are now dedicating the most time to these things .

Groups including TV. The best platforms to showcase these are, of course, YouTube or social media channels. But these statistical metrics you mentioned, and the behavioral signals they provide, are also important for accurately capturing and engaging the user. For example, we're copying files together, and we're actually strengthening the tagging here through the server site. Because these are the most successful campaigns on social media channels, and the ones we're more likely to use are actually similar to advantage plus campaigns.

You know, these are areas where you can't really manipulate the target audience, but you can strengthen your ratings with stronger signals, allocate your budget, your time, and your format. Campaigns that say, "I'll carry this campaign out for you ." Therefore, accurate interpretation and verification of these measurements are critical for us . Well, TikTok is one of them. Especially since TikTok is relatively new to our lives. I still check the communities I join to see how many people use TikTok, and when I ask that, my fingers don't really lift much due to the distance between them.

Why don't you use it, I ask? Here's some really ridiculous content. It seems irrelevant, etc. Well, it's still a world where some prejudices persist, but it's also a world with a very large market. This year, it's a platform that has been particularly useful for us, and one that we've tried to benefit from. It can also be considered to have offered somewhat more affordable costs compared to other platforms.

But of course, our expectations are different. The expectation there is that it's not really in a field that can be easily recomposed. Trade in exploration actually became a necessity, focusing a little more on... well, that's what it was all about. It's important to boost the signals there as well. Because there are many markets that they are actually trying to grow new audiences for, and they don't have very large data pools.

The accounts and interactions there are very, very new; they are accounts that have recently become active and are growing . There, too, the point where the partners can communicate and share this data together, actually allows for the right strategy to be followed from the beginning . Definitely. Well, especially, I think I'm a huge TikTok supporter here. I've been saying this for years. Because, especially in my opinion, aren't you creating a trend, Barış?

The very bottom. Yes, I am both a user and, if you remember, the old name, TikTok, was it formerly Musical? He had a name like that . Then it turned into TikTok. The concept was also different. Well, actually, my wife uses TikTok even more than I do. But why does he use it? I think that's where people are generally prejudiced. So, he says there are some ridiculous videos on TikTok.

People are dancing and all that, but actually, when it comes to getting ideas, getting inspiration, and following those trends we mentioned earlier, TikTok is an incredible video platform. So, at this point, most of the video content within Instagram comes to Instagram from TikTok. Therefore, I think it's a platform that brands, in particular, should actively invest in order to stay on top of trends. But what you said is very true on that point.

I don't think the conversion rate from TikTok to sales will ever be high for a long time, unless things change. Because it's a doom- scrolling environment. huh. But at that moment, the user thinks, "Oh look, someone decorated their house like this and put this from English Home in it." That's great! Ah, this is how she decorated her bedroom. Oh look, a recent graduate has furnished her first home's kitchen entirely with English Home products.

It's actually very easy to get into users' minds with such small nuances . Because when you look at the comments and so on from these kinds of content creators, you see a lot of that already. Where is that from? Where is this from? I get questions like, "Where did you get this?" And I think that's why TikTok's... well, you know... aspect is so strong. There are content creators for everything, whatever your audience and interests are .

Well, that's why he recognizes you so quickly. yes. According to Instagram, it recognizes content much faster than Google, and in return for that recognition, it brings the right content to you much faster . Exactly, someone he didn't know . That 's not enough. It also brings up content tailored to your needs and makes it much easier to reach your network. So, faster. And that's why it has a higher influence effect compared to other channels.

Well, that's why I strongly support it, but that part is very true. So, there, it's about feeding the data correctly again. So there needs to be good communication between your data and TikTok's data so that you can truly maximize the benefits you receive . I'm excluding the advertising or influencer aspect, especially if you're doing advertising . partnerships and so on. Unless you do this right, you're still somewhat lacking, just like with most advertising channels.

And as you said, since everyone is just learning about TikTok, we see that there are many teams that haven't quite set up the system properly yet or are only just beginning to understand it . But who solves it first, and I think that having knowledge, expertise, on this side will provide a significant advantage to brands and teams in the long run, in my opinion . Yes. Let's promote ourselves while we're at it.

Our TikTok EAPI partnership in Türkiye is a welcome development. We had such a partner, such a partnership. Honestly, I don't use TikTok as a normal social media platform. So, regarding peace, I both appreciate and thank you . I have nothing. So, unfortunately, it's something that doesn't match my normal professional persona at all, nor my persona outside of work. That's generally how I am on social media. So, I even have an old Twitter account from way back, and on that account, I automatically blocked all tweets that contained or could contain the Turkish character "eee," and my location is probably Finland or something .

So when I log on Twitter, I don't see anything that demoralizing. It's so comforting, like a flower, honestly, when it's like that. So what are you doing? Where do you hang out? Are you never on social media? I'm only on LinkedIn. It's unlike anything you've ever seen anywhere else . So, Berkay is trying to use social media as a bit of a source of information, you know, and...

Is that right ? There's a type of TikToker. Well said! I'd like to say thank you for your kind words. it was actually very enjoyable for both of you, as you can see, it's not really that much of a hassle. We're trying not to take it so seriously. The conversation did get a little serious, but... we'd like to invite you again, but... you know, maybe we'd like to joke around , have some small talk.

Honestly, Barış and I usually do things like that too. I mean, if he spent time doing something called a podcast, we could chat. Thank you. Well said! It was a great ending. See you later. Goodbye. See you later. Goodbye . Yeah.