A Decolonizing or Recolonizing Mindset? Semiotic Analysis of a Qurban Donation Appeal to Africa in Turkey

Despite prevailing secularism in recent years, Turkish people have not been abandoning engaging in Qurban rituals. However, as of late, it has been observed that instead of actively participating in Qurban rituals Turkish consumers increasingly prefer donating their Qurbans to those in need. While these poor recipients mainly consisted of people from close to donors, as the Turkish economy grew, people started to donate their Qurbans overseas, especially to African countries. Many NGOs and foundations supported by the Turkish state conduct prosocial marketing campaigns for delivering Qurban donations to Africa. This interest parallels the Turkish government’s interest in African countries which often emphasizes its imperial (neo-Ottoman) background. It is understood that philanthropy, as one of the social marketing outcomes, on occasion serves a neo-colonial mentality. This research approaches a Qurban donation campaign aiming to deliver Turkish consumers’ Qurban donations to Africa with a semiotic analysis to seek neo-colonial cues. Connotations in the advertising are decoded and interpreted by the author, and a tacit hierarchy is demonstrated between donor and recipient in the advertisement and cues for cultural assimilation. This study implores marketing scholars to approach social marketing and prosocial appeals critically within the framework of neo-colonialism. Secondly, it is a call for practitioners to decolonize their marketing efforts.