A Case Study of the Strategic Role of Design Processes in Brand Name Development in Turkey

Abstract

A Turkish footwear brand owned by one of the largest footwear manufacturers in Turkey started a series of design activities in 2002 but failed to sustain these activities five years later. This case study focuses on the design functions and processes of a specific Brand K in order to explore reasons behind the dissolution of the design unit and its functions. This brand involves a corporate arrangement whereby marketing and sales were managed by one corporate entity, manufacturing by another, while many of the financial and strategic decisions were made by holding corporation, Group Z.The Design Atlas framework, which is an assessment tool that evaluates different aspects of the design processes in a company, was employed as a guide to audit the design activities and processes. The Design Atlas framework was not only used to structure the analysis of design functions of Brand K but also to structure the content of interviews. These interviews conducted between 2006 and 2008 at Company S were used as a primary data collection source.The results of the analysis showed that the reasons behind the failure of the design activities were multidimensional. Company S had shortcomings in the activities of design planning, design process awareness, and management as well as design resources allocation and design skills. The design departments could have prevented these shortcomings if they were able to communicate strategically to achieve long-term design commitment from senior management.