Ramadan: Top 5 things advertisers need to keep in mind for their campaigns

Only a few weeks until Ramadan. Now is the time for advertisers to prepare their campaigns. Otherwise, they will miss out on the chance to reach about one fifth (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2010) of the 7.77 billion people worldwide but mostly in the Middle East and Asia Pacific region with Ramadan-specific ads (German Foundation for World Population, as of 12 March 2020). 41 % of people in the UAE increase their spending during Ramadan. But to get their attention you need an attractive and successful campaign which is based on understanding your customers and coming up with creatives ideas.

In this article, we take you through the basics of Ramadan campaigns.

Background basics on Ramadan

Ramadan is an Islamic holiday and takes place during the 9^th month of the Islamic lunar calendar. In 2020 the month of fasting will be from 23^rd April until 23^rd May. During this time period Muslims do not eat from sunrise to sunset. It is in this month that Muslims commemorate Muhammad’s first revelation. They are focused on fasting, prayer, reflection and community. The fasting not only includes eating but drinking alcohol and smoking as well. In the digital era many also try to avoid smartphones during the day. In the evening families get together to break the fast and enjoy their time together. The end of the fasting is marked by Eid al-Fitr, the festival of breaking the fast.

Here are our top 5 Ramadan campaign tips:

1. Show respect and focus on the meaning of the holiday itself

Ramadan is about community, family and prayer, not about cheap deals. Creative Ramadan specific ads that highlight the meaning of the holiday. So the focus of your creatives and campaigns should be on the holiday and motivations and less on the prices.

2. Use prominent Ramadan symbols

To help improve the connection between your brand and the customers you can use special Ramadan creatives and templates for all your content. Well-known symbols are for instance the crescent moon, lanterns or dates. It will help to touch on how your audience may feel and think during this time and can also improve brand awareness.

3. Include locals to approve you messaging

Please keep in mind that Ramadan is a religious tradition with strong emotional ties in the society. You need to make sure your creatives and messages are not offensive or insulting. If possible, the creatives and messaging should be reviewed by multiple locals to approve. Otherwise you could risk damaging your brands identity.

4. Optimize your mobile site and app

According to Google Smartphone penetration reached 60 percent across MENA in the last years during Ramadan. Therefore, you should optimize your mobile site to be speedy and mobile friendly because half of the users leave a site if the pages do not load within three seconds. You can check your page speed with Google here.

5. Keep in mind the different time schedule

Due to a different time schedule than the other eleven months, most Muslims are online before dawn. Usage peaks at 3 am during Ramadan among Facebook’s active users in MENA. During daytime nobody will be eating so brands such as food retailers or fast food restaurant would only waste ad send when placing ads during that time. Also, most Muslims celebrate the fast-breaking after sunset so advertisers would not reach them with their ads.