During the sacred month of the year for Muslims worldwide, Ramadan offers brands a unique opportunity to connect with consumers, showcase their products and services, and reach a wide audience in one fell swoop.

Advertising during Ramadan requires a different approach than the rest of the year. Overall, it demands a deep understanding of the cultural and religious significance of the month, as well as an awareness of how consumer behavior changes during this period.

Through careful planning and strategic execution, brands can successfully reach their target audience and build lasting relationships with consumers.

What Makes Ramadan Advertising Different?

Ramadan, much like Christmas, has become a season marked by consumerism and increased shopping fervor. Marketers have no choice but to understand how to market their products and services intelligently to capitalize on every opportunity and avoid costly mistakes.
Advertising during Ramadan is different for several reasons. Firstly, Ramadan typically sees a significant increase in household consumption expenditures. This provides businesses with the opportunity to boost their sales through targeted advertising and promotions.

Buying behaviors during Ramadan are complex, as consumers in different countries use both online and offline channels to shop. Meta released an interactive report exploring changes in behavior and attitudes of Ramadan observers and shoppers across 12 key markets. The evolution of e-commerce and digital accessibility has blurred the lines between local and global shopping, greatly facilitating access to products and services across borders. With people open to new experiences during Ramadan, cross-border discoveries are increasingly taking place.

The conclusion from this report is that if you want to increase your sales, you wouldn’t want to miss a huge opportunity like Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, during which sales in Muslim countries tend to double and sometimes triple.

It goes without saying that Ramadan is first and foremost a sacred spiritual occasion. Therefore, advertising during this period must be culturally sensitive and respectful, while tapping into the emotional and spiritual significance of the month. Insensitive ads can be perceived as offensive and lead to negative reactions.

Furthermore, it’s important to note that consumer behavior changes during Ramadan. Many people adjust their daily routines, including eating and sleeping habits. Therefore, businesses must consider these changes and adapt their advertising strategies. For example, ads promoting food and beverages should be aired at appropriate times to coincide with breaking the fast.

Lastly, there is increased competition for advertising space and attention during Ramadan. Many companies see it as a key moment to reach their target audience, which means competition is fierce. This necessitates creativity in designing and disseminating advertising campaigns to stand out from the competition. Recently, many brands are turning to social media platforms, which attract more audience during Ramadan, especially young people.

Mobile Advertising

Today, people spend a lot of time on their smartphones, a trend that intensifies during Ramadan. Google has released data clearly showing that the MENA region population spends more time online, uses smartphones more, and watches more YouTube videos during Ramadan.
Despite this, Google has stated that most brands in the MENA region are not taking advantage of this opportunity. Instead, they continue to struggle for limited advertising space in traditional media, notably television. The digital opportunity is undeniable. Advertisers can therefore rely on mobile advertising to convey relevant and engaging messages.

It’s important that ads are optimized for mobile devices. This includes creating ads with mobile-friendly designs, using smaller file sizes, and ensuring that web pages are mobile-responsive.

Influencers

Influencer marketing is a powerful tool during Ramadan because it allows brands to connect with consumers through trusted and appreciated influencers. What makes influencer marketing during Ramadan unique is that people often turn to social media to stay in touch with loved ones and find inspiration for recipes, decorations, and gift ideas.
By partnering with respected influencers within the community, brands can draw on their authenticity and the collective energy of communities to reach a wider audience. Through creative collaborations and engaging content, influencers can bring your brand to life and demonstrate how your products or services can be integrated into the Ramadan experience. To get the most out of your influencer campaign, it’s important to set clear expectations, provide a comprehensive brief, and monitor campaign progress.

Ultimately, the goal of an influencer campaign during Ramadan is to connect with your audience meaningfully, add value to their lives, and enhance your brand’s reputation within the community. With the right approach and the right influencers, you can emerge victorious from this Ramadan season.

Humor

Using humor in digital advertising during Ramadan can be a delicate exercise requiring nuance and wisdom. However, when done correctly, it pays off. A safe approach is to use culturally relevant jokes that play on shared experiences within the community.
Another approach is to use light visuals or animations to convey the message in a fun and engaging way. Short “snackable” videos are particularly well-received as they require less effort from the consumer and allow them to have a pleasant moment while being easily shareable on social media.

Going Beyond the Product to Touch the Human

During Ramadan, people are often more receptive to creative, emotional, and engaging advertisements. Therefore, it’s important to create visually striking, emotionally convincing, and memorable ads. Consider using images, videos, and catchy messages that evoke the spirit of Ramadan and connect with your audience on a deeper level by focusing on shared values during this sacred month.
Undoubtedly, there is a significant increase in charitable donations and community engagement during this month. Ads should be designed to align with these values, such as promoting charitable causes and community events. For example, Coca-Cola launched a Ramadan campaign titled “Share a Coke,” where they printed the word “Ramadan” on their bottles, encouraging people to share their Coke with friends and family during Iftar.

Offer Special Deals and Promotions

Offering exclusive promotions and discounts during Ramadan can be an effective strategy for your digital advertising. For example, you can create specific offers for this time of year, such as discounts, bundle deals, or free gifts with purchase. To make these promotions more attractive, gamification is an interesting option to explore by offering quizzes, games, or challenges on social media, allowing your customers to win rewards or discounts.
You can also collaborate with other brands with a strong presence during Ramadan to create joint promotions and reach a larger audience. Finally, you can add a charitable dimension to your strategy by making donations to charities or offering charity purchases where a portion of sales will be donated to a charitable cause.

By using these different techniques, you can create effective and engaging advertising campaigns that appeal to your Muslim audience during this important month. The goal is to attract new customers and increase revenue over a specific period.

Capturing Offline & Online Synergies

Webeuz stood out during this sacred month of Ramadan by focusing on extraordinary creativity, not only in terms of the message content, but also in the technicality distilled in the capturing mechanisms.
For the Addoha Group, Webeuz capitalized on the blessed month of Ramadan by offering, in addition to the prime time TV spot, an extraordinary digital-offline synergy.

A first of its kind in Morocco and Africa, this campaign, based on 3 emotionally intense spots, was a reminder of the strong sensations experienced by all Moroccans during the 2022 World Cup, regarding the relationship players had with their mothers. Indeed, the true magic of this operation is reflected in the end message, which is a call to action, prompting viewers to produce content in the same vein and broadcast it via a dedicated platform, to try to win an Umrah for their parents.

By focusing on complementarity between television and digital, the Addoha Group managed to make headlines with a campaign that is unique in every sense, marking a first on both a national and continental scale, laying the foundation for a new trend in Smart communication, putting the viewer at the center of action, and transforming the advertising practices of offline channels, through the extension of user journeys, and the generation of relevant conversations.

Discover more!

Link to the first spot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Nu-5SpVyXo

Link to the second spot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5zKWeQGhTI

Link to the third spot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hVkUv3AWK4

Ramadan is more than just a fasting period; it’s a time for introspection and celebration for millions of people around the world. And for brands looking to connect with this community, there is a golden opportunity. By adjusting timing, content, platform, and targeting, brands can forge lasting connections and support their audience throughout this sacred month, and beyond. Most importantly and memorably, convey inclusive messages and highlight common societal values.