Hurriyet - Superbrands

Market
An average of 4.3 million newspapers were sold
each day in Turkey in 2003, according to
statistics of the Press Advertising Institute.
This figure grew to 4.7 million by the end of
2004, an increase of 8.56%. A number of factors
contributed to this growth in sales, not the least
of which were the lessening of the effects of the
economic crisis experienced in 2001, the clear
division of newspaper segmentation and the
increased availability of low-price newspapers.
The rapid expansion of the Turkish economy
in 2004 created a favourable environment for
both greater consumption on the part of
consumers and increased investment in
advertising by producers. One of the results of
this was the swelling of advertising expenditures
to US$1.237 billion that year – a growth of 37%
compared to the previous year.
Hürriyet’s sound management enabled it to
take advantage of positive economic
developments that year. The paper raised its
total advertising revenue by 47%, giving it not
only 14.8% of total revenue of the advertising
sector but also, perhaps even more importantly,
41.3% of total newspaper advertising.
Advertising revenues could not have grown to
such an extent without adequate sales of the
newspaper, which, in 2004, hovered around an
average daily figure of 495,000. This has enabled
Hürriyet to become a leader in the sector in
terms of both circulation and advertising
revenue.
Maintaining a stable reader profile is also
important to sustaining newspaper sales, and this
has helped reinforce Hürriyet’s leadership
position. It is a major reason behind its strategy
of keeping the prices of the newspaper stable
rather than adjusting it in the hope of making it
more competitive vis-à-vis others.
Not only is Hürriyet the popular newspaper
in Turkey, it is the most-read Turkish-language
newspaper outside the country. In Europe, it is
the highest selling Turkish newspaper, with an
average daily circulation of 140,000. It is also
one of the continent’s best selling foreign
newspapers. Hürriyet is sold through the AxelSpringer distribution network at 30,000 points
throughout Europe of which there are 20,000
in Germany alone. The newspaper is sold in
23 countries, including the US, Canada, Great
Britain, Romania, Italy and the Scandinavian
countries.
Achievements
Hürriyet supplemented its domestic offering
by publishing in Germany from April 16th 1969,
becoming the first Turkish newspaper to be
published in Europe. Twenty years later, in
October 1990, it expanded its European base
by moving into the East German market. For
years, Hürriyet had been sent to the US after
being printed in Germany. The newspaper took
another important step on November 1st 2004,
when it started printing the newspaper in New
York. It has continued expanding in the US and
its latest edition is now published in a number of
other important cities.
Hürriyet is the first and only media institution
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SUPERBRANDS
to have received a credit rating from the
international credit assessment body Fitch
Ratings. The BB- (stable) received on long-term
foreign currency credit, the BB- (positive) on
long-term domestic currency credit and the A+
(Tur) on national credit, gives Hürriyet one of
the highest institutional credit ratings in the
country.
Hürriyet issued an initial public offering in
1992. Its stock ranked among the highest
performing stocks on the ‹stanbul Stock
Exchange between December 2001-December
2004. Its stock, because of its strong liquidity,
has proved resistant to fluctuations on financial
markets. At the close of trading on the ‹stanbul
Stock Exchange at the end of 2004, the market
value of Hürriyet shares in terms of dollars had
increased by 12.4%.
In 2003, Hürriyet was 66th on the ‹stanbul
Chamber of Industry’s list of the 500 Largest
Companies in Turkey and 57th
on a list including only private
sector companies.
The Computer-to-Plate
(CTP) system, which works
with the latest technology to
directly position pages on
templates, was employed for
the first time by ‹stanbul Do¤an
Printing Centre (DPC) to print
Hürriyet.
Hürriyet is committed to
good corporate citizenship and
has conducted a number of
meaningful social campaigns.
For example, following the
mining catastrophe in Kozlu,
Zonguldak in 1983, Hürriyet
launched a campaign to assist
the families of the 96 men who
were killed.
In the aftermath of the
August 17th 1999 earthquake,
it organized an extensive
campaign to help rebuild
homes and schools.
After the Bingöl Earthquake,
it helped to reinforce and
rebuild damaged public
boarding schools.
‘An End to Domestic
Violence’ campaign created in
October 2004 helped focus
attention on this issue, – one
of Turkey’s most serious problems, and educate
people throughout the country.
History
Hürriyet began publication on May 11th 1948,
a period fraught with social and political tensions.
The first Hürriyet was prepared by a 48member team and consisted of only six pages.
Six months later, it began using coloured
photographs for the first time in Turkey. At the
end of the same year, it issued the first ever
New Year’s Supplement in Turkey.
In 1952, a serious obstacle to transmitting
photographs, both domestically and
internationally, was overcome when Hürriyet
brought the first telephoto machine to Turkey.
Hürriyet classified advertising commenced on
July 1st 1954, which made it possible, for the
first time in Turkey, to place ads by telephone.
In 1965, it held the Golden Microphone
Competition, through which
many talented singers were
discovered. A few years later,
in 1973, it initiated the Golden
Butterfly Competition, to find
the artist of the year, in a wide
variety of fields such as cinema,
television and theatre. The
winner was chosen by a vote
amongst the paper’s readers.
Hürriyet introduced a newly
designed logo on June 1st 1975
by well-known graphic designer
Bülent Erkmen in a change that
symbolized the newspaper’s
contemporary outlook.
Hürriyet has won a number of
international awards over the years,
including the International Golden
Globe for ‘superior achievements in
creative development’ and the
Whittaker Gold Prize for printing
quality, both received in 1979.
In 1991, Hürriyet began issuing
regional supplements – an
innovation in newspaper journalism
in Turkey – in ‹stanbul, Ankara, the
Aegean, the Mediterranean, the
Black Sea and SAP (the Southeast
Anatolian Project region).
In February 1992, it issued 10%
of its total shares to the public.
Two years later, on December
23rd 1994, the Do¤an Group
acquired Hürriyet.
Brand Values
Hürriyet is a strong defender of free speech,
irrespective of political orientation, and opposes
all forms of racism and prejudice. The only
restriction the paper places on the expression of
ideas is that they are contained within the
framework of democratic principles and are
peaceful and non-violent. Hürriyet holds dear
the principle that the legitimacy of the state
flows from social, economic, political and legal
principles rather than religious ones. Hence, in
addition to being a democratic institution, it is
also a secular one. With regards to the
standards by which it publishes, which are set
out in its book, Publishing Principles and
Hürriyet Journalism, it believes in allowing for
differences in language, religion, nation, race and
sex to be respected without calling for bigotry,
sexism, chauvinism and the like. It adheres to
universal journalistic principles. Describing itself
as a partner in solving the problems of society, it
supports all attempts to raise the quality of
newspaper publishing, which is its main area of
expertise.
Product
Hürriyet aims to provide accurate
news and information and honest
interpretation that is accessible to
all Turkish speakers in the world.
The newspaper managers and
shareholders believe that they will
ensure the highest rate of return by
maintaining the newspaper’s
autonomy.
Hürriyet seeks to run the
newspaper according to proven
principles of corporate management
and the highest journalistic
standards. For more than half a
century, Hürriyet has been the
symbol of autonomy and freedom of expression
in the Turkish press. It opens its pages to a
broad spectrum of political viewpoints. Hürriyet
prepares supplements and regional editions of
the newspaper, which contribute to the quality
of life of its readers and provides its advertisers
with many opportunities.
Reintroduced in March 2004, the daily
supplement Kelebek has positively contributed
to the newspaper’s circulation. In addition,
Hürriyet puts out a ‘Human Resources Section’
(‘IK’), which speaks not only to companies but
also to corporate professionals and it has gone a
long way in strengthening Hürriyet’s leadership
in the field. Pazar, the newspaper’s Sunday
supplement has enabled the company to carve
out a significant share of the Sunday newspaper
market. Its travel supplement, Seyahat, is a travel
guide for both local and international
destinations and an effective advertising tool for
the tourism sector. Oto Yaflam is a supplement
devoted to automobiles, motor sports and
commercial vehicles.
Recent Developments
Hürriyet launched www.hurriyet.com.tr on
January 1st 1997. In December 1999, Hürriyet
became the first newspaper in Turkey to be
published on the Internet under the name
www.hurriyet.com.tr
Hürriyetim (‘My Hurriyet’). hurriyetim.com.tr,
provides a rich and satisfying array of round-theclock news and information to an average of
two million visitors per month where 90 million
pages are accessed. This makes Hürriyetim the
leading provider of online news in Turkey and
places it among the major European companies
active in this area.
Promotion
Do¤an Publishing is a holding company of 22
companies, one of which is Hürriyet. It is
engaged in a number of activities in print and
broadcast media. It operates by the principle of
combining resources and, because of the
amalgamation of the different companies
operating under its auspices; it has created a
powerful synergy.
To highlight the notion that newspapers are
the best advertising tools available, Hürriyet
organized the second K›rm›z› (Red) Awards for
the Best Press Advertisements in 2004. These
awards, which are the first and only of their
kind in Turkey, were enthusiastically supported
by the entire sector during its second year, with
some 830 advertisements being submitted by 85
different advertising agencies.
Hürriyet is determined to remain the highest
circulation daily in Turkey and plans to take
steps to maintain its
leadership, including
maintaining a
profitable sales price,
introducing a different
weekend price, issuing
new supplements
designed to increase
circulation while at the
same time preserve
revenues, increasing
product differentiation
to enhance circulation
and forming a
database to aid
increased
communication with
its readers.
THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT
Hürriyet
In 1948, Hürriyet was the first newspaper in
Turkey to print a coloured photograph.
In 1954, Hürriyet introduced the first telephone
call-in advertising service to Turkey.
In 1969, Hürriyet was the first Turkish
newspaper published in Europe.
Hürriyet used the first offset printing technique
in ‹zmir in 1971 with the introduction of the
‘CottrelV-2’ model machine.
Hürriyet was the first newspaper to enter
Nagorno-Karabakh following the outbreak of
civil war between the Armenian gangs and Azeri
Turks living there.
The CTP system, which can produce 4,800
template poses each day, automatically and
error free, was used for the first time in Turkey
by ‹stanbul DPC. The fact that it does so at this
rate at a single location makes ‹stanbul DPC the
top centre of its kind in the world.
SUPERBRANDS
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