The month of good is upon us so we are bombarded with ads on charitable events, recipes, smiling families and 3 am content increased video consumption.  It’s the equivalent for super bowl in the  muslim world.  Don’t you think? 

Nour Hamam, International Participants Manager, at Expo 2020

It’s time for brands to flex their creative muscles, and get busy with creating content that packs a punch while pushing for sales. 

A campaign I really liked was Tesco OOH time-lapse showed empty plates then after sunset the plates filled up with food in a campaign titled “Together for Ramadan”. So much thought was put behind it that even nail polish wasn’t visible on the ladies hands. 

The best part? It’s in London which is not in a Muslim dominated country

That shows inclusivity, creativity and above all relevance to this holy month of Ramadan. 

A bit closer to Home, my most favourite and effective campaign was the Empty plates campaign, which saw cars driving without plates in UAE. The objective was to raise awareness for the one billion meals campaign launched by Sheikh Mohammed. It’s the perfect OOH campaign for Ramadan! It was effective, simple and packed a punch. People were left wondering why this was happening and why cars didn’t have any car registration plates. 

While Ramadan is associated with Fawazeer (the 90’s kids would remember sherihan and her famous Egyptian fawazeer!) in association with Vodafone. Brands must be strategic in their media placements also. A nostalgic twist on the Fawazeer showed her journey after her near fatal accident. It was heart warming with very subtle branding from Vodafone. 

On the other hand, During the month of Ramadan, Meta has launched a brand-new initiative #MealsForReels and will invite content creators, story tellers, subject matter experts, food content creators, chefs, food fanatics and enthusiasts to participate by creating a reel and sharing their content with a donation link across their Meta pages.  

We saw many mouth watering meals being prepared, foodies coming up with amazing recipes and having a call to action with the hashtag #mealsforReels.

Brands must utilise this time to push for charitable donations, doing good deeds and above all have an ROI. 

 While brands are still in recovery after the past 2 years been on lockdown during Ramadan, it’s the best time to target the right audiences, with the right messages and avoid the usual cliches. 

After all Ramadan means different things to different people, so here are some key tips to target your audience 

  • Pay attention to how the audiences feel, the Vodafone ad with Sherihan brought back nostalgia and when polled 65% felt positive about it 

  • Facebook is one of the most engaging platforms

  • Picking the right celebrity is key , it is important to dig deep into the demographics of the audience to understand who they are and what they are interested in, this data should be at the Center of the marketing strategy 

  • Its not all about ROI during Ramadan, pushing for charity and spreading kindness must also be present. 

  • Whether it’s OOH or social campaign, brands must be relevant and have a clear call to action.