The Effects of Social Media Usage on Brand Resonance during and After the Gezi Park Protests in Turkey

Ebru Gokaliler,Ayda Sabuncuoglu

doi:10.29333/ojcmt/2551

Abstract

The social media was actively used during the Gezi Park events that existed in Turkey, which is one of the most important social movements in Turkish history. Starbucks was chosen as the research object since it got the worst reaction from the protestors. The study’s primary objective is to reveal the differences between the Starbucks’ brand resonance during the protests and five months after based on the negative accusations on the brand. The main finding is that the brand resonance of Starbucks increased after the Gezi Park events according to the time of the events’ brand resonance. Also the youth social media users had an effect on Starbucks’ brand resonance during the events. Besides the study discovered that while the content about the accusations on Starbucks were active on the social media the customers didn’t purchase the brand’s products until the events were ended and the contents were lessened.

Highlights

The Gezi Park protests, which can be considered as one of Turkey’s biggest social movements, began on the late of May 2013 as an environmental movement about preventing Taksim Square’s Gezi Park
This study revealed that the social media usage of Turkish citizens had an effect on Starbucks’ brand resonance during events
Similar with the literature data, this study brought out the information that the users of social media during events were predominantly youth individuals who shared and spread constant information about the protests

Summary

Introduction

The Gezi Park protests, which can be considered as one of Turkey’s biggest social movements, began on the late of May 2013 as an environmental movement about preventing Taksim Square’s Gezi Park. A special section was developed to answer the research questions about the relationship between Starbucks’ brand resonance and Gezi Park protestors and the protestors’ usage of social media about Starbucks.

Results

Conclusion