Ramadan is the holiest month in the Muslim religion. It is a time for prayer, community support, for spiritual and physical cleansing. It is also, traditionally, the peak of consumer spending as families prepare for family gatherings, visiting of relatives and friends.
Whilst these things are going to be limited greatly by CoVid19, it is certain that the lives for local communities will change: as someone put it to me, ‘days become night, nights become days’.
However, Ramadan can be a marketing minefield, so here are the definite don’ts for any marketer or business targeting the female Arab consumer:
- Don’t flaunt your product out of context: focus on the feelings the product evokes, not about its attributes. Brands are contributing to the festivities and the raison d’etre of the Holy Month. They are not the raison d’etre. Show how your brand contributes to those special moments. The 2014 Ikea advertisement sets this out beautifully, where the brand is the facilitator to an evening Souhour gathering of family and friends.
- Don’t isolate your brand; Ramadan is about closeness: to God, to each other. Coca- Cola depected this beautifully where a Muslim and non-Muslim woman silently bonding over bottles of soda at sunset. Coca cola managed to immerse itself in a culturally relevant way, and, simultaneously, evoke emotions of closeness.
- Do not stereotype on the role of women. Showing women as the bearers of the ‘hearth’ is contrived and it stereotypes their role in society. Ramadan ads overtly show women as the cooks of their family feasts. Yes, this is an important part of the activities undertaken in the Holy Month but brands need to understand that women are much more than just the family chefs. Show women performing tasks which break them out of the stereotypical kitchen shackles – such as studying (Ramadan is the month of learning too), supporting or running a not-for-profit or a community project (Ramadan is also the month of giving back).
- Do not be contrived, be authentic: the message and the tone of voice should be emotive, evoking positive feelings of unity. The 2014 Ikea advertisement above sets this out beautifully.
- Do not overlook the cultural no-nos: Modesty is an imperative during Ramadan, so don’t feature improperly attired people. Visuals are just as important as the narrative. Whilst the amazing Coke ad referred to above showing 2 women bonding on a sunset, the attire of the non-Muslim woman could have been a bit more culturally respectful, just by replacing her singlet with a T-Shirt to cover her shoulders (and revealing bra-strap).
- Do not depend on ‘shareability’: marketing campaigns during Ramadan need to be more integrated than ever. In a world withs some of the highest Social Media usage, ensure that narrative is also supported to more than just the advertisement reel. Brands need to drive engagement to support their advertising narrative by reaching out and supporting communities of local audiences. This drives the what we call ‘TV -to-individual activation’ and builds emotional connections rather than depending on the success of the advertising reel and its shareability. For example, brands can partner with existing online communities which are organizing virtual events with their target market, and highlight their involvement underlining their campaign narrative. In the CoVid19 times, this is even more imperative in order to grow personal engagement when the digital airwaves are extremely ‘noisy’.
Treading carefully during Ramadan reduces the risk of falling into the cross-cultural gaps. We are here to support you in reducing this risk and enabling you to reap the benefits of marketing to Muslim women during Ramadan.