Brands x People | Special Edition: Istanbul as a cultural experience

After an intense week at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity — full of inspiration, meetings, and adrenaline — I took a few days off to travel through Europe. My first stop was Istanbul.

I went with one intention: to live the culture. No rigid plans. Just a willingness to let the city lead.

The first days were slow and full of observation. I walked. I listened. I noticed. I learned just a few words in Turkish, but saying something as simple as “teşekkürler” (thank you) or “merhaba” (hello) completely changed the vibe. Smiles got wider. People opened up.

That’s when I confirmed something I’ve been telling brand leaders for a while: Say even one word in someone’s language, and emotional connection multiplies.

People don’t want to be targeted. They want to be recognized.

🧿 Karaköy — chaos and contrast

My first walk through Karaköy was confusing: noisy, messy, overwhelming. But I slowed down. Let the place speak.

The contrast between historic buildings and neon cafés, the call to prayer echoing over a reggaetón beat from a store and suddenly it made sense: Istanbul doesn’t try to make sense. It holds everything at once and it invites you to do the same.

The power is in duality.

💦 The Hammam: the art of surrender

One of the most transformative moments was a traditional Turkish bath, right next to a mosque built in 1580.

You don’t bathe yourself. Someone else does. You lie on hot marble. You surrender. And when you leave, your skin isn’t just clean. Something in you is, too.

It reminded me how rituals matter. How our work can create spaces for presence, pause, and depth. Not everything needs to be optimized. Some things just need to be felt.

🍽️ A breakfast that didn’t want to end

I had breakfast with a local woman at Van Kahvaltı Evi, on the Asian side. Seventeen plates on the table. Cheese, bread, jams, olives, eggs. Tea. More tea. And more tea.

We didn’t rush. We shared. And I realized: in Türkiye, meals aren’t for eating — they’re for being.

In a world obsessed with speed, brands that invite people to slow down feel like a gift. Slowness, when intentional, is powerful.

🧕🏽 Empowerment doesn’t look the same everywhere

As the founder of a creative agency that’s part of the 0.1% of women-founded agencies — and fully led by women — I advocate for female recognition and empowerment.

But in Türkiye, I encountered something that challenged my Western lens: For many women, covering up is an act of autonomy — especially after it was once banned.

Representation is complex. What might seem like oppression from one worldview can mean freedom in another.

📸 A city that knows its beauty

One evening, I did a photo session at Taht Istanbul. Golden hour. The Bosphorus behind me. Palaces. Domes. Water. Everything felt cinematic.

But it wasn’t artificial. It was cultural performance. Türkiye uses its own branding — colors, textures, rituals — to create memory.

Cultural marketing isn’t always explicit. Sometimes it’s a plate, a chair, a gesture — and yes, that also builds brand.

🌉 A literal and metaphorical bridge

Crossing from Europe to Asia — and back — by taxi doesn’t just feel like changing sides. It feels like shifting perspective.

That’s exactly what Istanbul did to me. It changed how I see.

💭 This wasn’t just a trip

I didn’t come back with a list of “places done.” I came back with:

• Stories of duality, ritual, slowness, beauty, and complexity.

• A reminder that the best brand ideas don’t always come from brainstorms. Sometimes they come from breakfast. Or a bath. Or a word in someone else’s language.

This wasn’t a tourist trip. It was a cultural, aesthetic, and emotional expedition — where I allowed myself to absorb the city through many layers: as a traveler, a creative, and a strategist.

I moved with intention, trying to understand how Istanbul’s identity is built — how its visual narratives, rituals, hospitality, and contradictions come together and how all of that can inspire more meaningful brands, campaigns, and human connections.

🧠 Why share all this?

Because branding and marketing are about people and people are culture, nuance, ritual, and contradiction.

Great storytelling doesn’t come from templates. It comes from attention. From feeling.

🌍 The world doesn’t need more brands trying to be everywhere. It needs more brands that know how to see.

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I’m Alejandra Salazar, Founder & CEO of CROING l Creative Agency. I share audience insights, creative industry events, culturally relevant campaigns, and spotlight women in the industry. Follow me and join the conversation.