It is that time of the year, when marketers from all across the globe gear up to put their best foot forward to entice the 1.57 billion Muslims. Often dubbed the super bowl of the region, Ramadan presents a once-a-year opportunity for brands to leave a positive mark in a consumer’s lives. Despite all predictions of slowdown and a cautious economy, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is preparing for a busy Ramadan.
All consumer trends and available data have indicated that consumers will increase their spending in Ramadan across a host of activities including food & beverages, travel, gifting and overall shopping. Marketers, consequently, are leaving no stone unturned in attracting consumer attention, and eyeing higher sales in the month.
“We begin to see a surge in the month preceding Ramadan,” remarks Ramanathan Hariharan, Group Director & Board Member, Landmark Group, adding, “This year, May sales had set the momentum, which Ramadan will build on. Given Landmark Group’s presence in various markets, we see even the comparatively smaller Emirates witnessing big upsides.”
He points out that for marketers, including retailers, the most crucial aspect is to inject freshness. “From a retailer viewpoint, it is also important to ensure relevance in merchandise and invest in creating the right in-stores experiences,” he said.
A brand’s celebration of the Ramadan spirit can be uniquely communicated to the audience, as long as campaigns are not limited to pure ‘promos’. Grey Doha’s General Manager, Krikor Khatchikian explains that brands which understand that Ramadan is about deep spirituality, acts of charity, and quality time with family and friends, can’t go wrong with their Ramadan-based campaigns, especially if they want to pierce through the clutter and leave a long-lasting impression on their audience.
The Big Push
The brand rush in Ramadan essentially also means increased clutter. A significant challenge for marketers and agencies is to be hard above the noise. “Ramadan is a very important month, where competition increases. This is why we want to make sure that our clients’ presence dominate the market with relevant content that fits the Holy Month,” says Tarek Sharafeddine, Media Director, Initiative MENA.
In markets such as Saudi Arabia, the push is even stronger as some marketers are spreading broader company messages utilizing the Ramadan platform. Mobily is one such example. Initiative MENA in partnership with MullenLowe initiated a new Ramadan campaign ‘Al Jay Afdal – The Best is yet to Come’ for Mobily on these lines.
“As one of the leading national organizations in the telecom and IT sector, Mobily is proud to be part of this important strategic vision and is committed to its growing contribution to the vibrant society and thriving economy themes of Vision 2030,” states Ahmed Farroukh, CEO, Mobily.
Ramadan will undoubtedly see different kinds of marketing themes from different regions, through the month, which will transcend both legacy and new media.
Digital Ramadan
Digital spends continue to increase across the year, and the Ramadan time period will be no different. “Ramadan is traditionally a big time for TV, and now even more so with Euro 2016 games being broadcast at 17:00, 20:00 and 23:00 (GST) throughout the group stages. More traditional media such as print and radio will likely continue to lose ground slowly,” explains Dara Maher, Senior Director – Digital, OMD.
Marwin Moubarak, Marketing Manager, CPD Mass, L’Oreal divulges that the company would be spending on both TV and digital given the shifts in media consumption patterns that it is witnessing. “People are moving away from print into digital. Digital consumption is increasingly important in this region with the young audience always being up-to-date with the latest trends and platforms,” he says.
Retailers are also engaging customers online with Ramadan specials to create the festive mood. “Digital is a keen medium right now. As consumers are mostly on mobile, we look at mobile as a very important platform. We invest heavily on television for reach and in digital for personalization,” informs Mr Hariharan.
Digital’s ability to customize and personalize makes it important more so during Ramadan, as consumers are receptive towards such messaging in the month. “The increasing use of video by consumers and advertisers is slowly addressing the gap between consumer behavior and ad spend allocation. With video becoming the ubiquitous format across devices and touch points, real video neutral planning is starting to address the difference in spend allocations. The scene is continuing to change positively for digital this year,” adds Mr Maher.
One of the biggest trends in Ramadan marketing is the continued rise of non-ad like content, and the increasing use of native advertising to promote that content. Great storytelling is abundant right now as brands begin to understand that the TVC model of storytelling is simply not suited to digital media. However, great stories are consumed online in multiple formats and will increase time spent and affinity with the brands that do it right. One can expect to see a lot of ‘made for digital’ content in June and July.
Ramadan Vs Euro 2016
A twist this year comes in the fact that Ramadan 2016 coincides with one of the biggest sport properties – Euro 2016. Both platforms are of extreme significance to some marketers leading to predictions on whether advertising spends will see a more than usual increase or will spending on Ramadan focused content lose to sports.
For some brands, Ramadan is the better fit and hence will see no impact. “This Ramadan, we will be communicating mainly around our products related to hair care and hair color. Our core target for this is women, from the age group of 18 year onwards. The viewership of Ramadan programs would be suited better to us among this target. We will align with these programs,” comments Mr Moubarak.
The overlap in Ramadan and Euro 2016 should lead to an overall increase in ad spends in MENA during June and July. For brands that traditionally have a connection to both Ramadan and football, there will be an opportunity to appeal to both audiences, but running separate campaigns will be challenging for brands.
“It is likely that overall advertising spend during Ramadan will increase due to the overlap, as advertisers that are usually not active during this period, will get on board. What may change is the messaging and the type of content that is targeted to broadcast those messages. Traditional Ramadan content may not be as heavily supported as previous years as some advertisers look to focus on football instead,” Mr Maher points out.
The Sensible Side
One of the most important criteria for brands to get right during the month is the sensitivity in the messaging. Some brands, at times, accidentally or unintentionally can hurt certain sensibilities in the region. Larger consumer brands depend on consumer studies to understand their audiences and market nuances. “It is very important to understand audience’s attitude towards the categories we play in. This allows us to develop a strong comprehension and sensitivity to offer the right product and the right communication. For example, we develop TVCs with Ramadan spirit that are used only during this period and we make sure our ad copies are more conservative to cater to the Holy season,” Mr Moubarak says.
Ultimately, Ramadan presents a rewarding and worthwhile season when marketing and branding campaigns strike a responsive chord with the audience. The key to success for marketing during Ramadan, much like it is for any other platform, is to put consumer first.
