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A lot has happened since last Ramadan. The vestiges of Covid have almost entirely disappeared in most places, but have been replaced by widespread conflict, and humanitarian, social and environmental crises.
The harrowing impact of Israel’s relentless and ongoing bombardment of Gaza has, understandably, been the main focus of many people around the world over the past few months, and will continue to be so during Ramadan, Eid, and beyond.
While it may still be a divisive issue in some communities – specifically in the West – the conflict has both coincided with and amplified a wider interest in Muslims and Islam – an interest we saw translated into a greater respect for professional Muslims, their beliefs, their traditions and their needs during Ramadan last year.
In the UK, for example, the Ramadan Tent Project marked its 10th annual Ramadan Festival with its biggest event to date, followed by the ever-popular Eid in the Square celebrations hosted by the Mayor of London. The Project’s Open Iftars saw huge numbers of people — Muslim and non-Muslim — attend meals at iconic venues such as the British Library, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Chelsea FC’s stadium Stamford Bridge, and Manchester Cathedral.
Also in the UK and Ireland, Spotify used the striking cover art from wildly popular podcast The Digital Sisterhood for its billboards during Ramadan last year, while the popular Ramadan Suhoor Festival in Dearborn, USA, saw it’s biggest turnout ever, welcoming people of all faiths to share food together, build cross-cultural bridges, and raise money for local charities.
The corporate world also saw an increased effort to show solidarity with Muslim employees, including Salesforce, where the Salesforce Ramadan Challenge saw non-Muslims forego food and water from sunrise to sunset, and both Muslim and non-Muslim colleagues shared short blogs about their Ramadan experiences.
These positive notes aside, the conflict in Gaza — not to mention crises and struggles for other countries and communities around the world such as Sudan, Yemen, and the Uyghur people, among many — is sure to impact the way people approach Ramadan this year. And there may also be a change in the way some companies react, with some being more sympathetic and understanding towards Muslim employees, while others might do the opposite. There have, of course, been several cases of discrimination again pro-Palestinian employees reported in the news and on social media — again, predominately in Western countries.
So as we share this updated version of Designing for Ramadan, we do so with sensitivity, humility, and the intention of hope, peace, love, and cross-cultural understanding.
We are taught in the Qur’an that God made us into ‘nations and tribes so that you may know one another’, and are encouraged to have ‘Husn adh-Dhann’ (to think well of or have a good opinion) towards people. So in this spirit, we hope that Ramadan 2024 will see even more brands take the opportunity to connect with and understand their Muslim audiences in deeper and more profound ways than ever before.
Refresher: What is Ramadan?
This year, Ramadan will start on or around March 10. For 30 days, the majority of the world’s 2 billion Muslims will abstain from food and drink from dawn til sunset, while taking time for deep inner reflection; strengthening their connection to their faith, and enhancing their spiritual growth.
The annual fast will be followed by a three day festival – Eid al-Fitr – where friends and family will typically get together to pray, feast, and celebrate the end of the holy month.
During those 30 days (or 29, depending on when the new crescent moon is visible, signalling the start of the next month – Shawwal), Muslims do not only fast from food and drink, but also refrain from bad speech, bad behaviour, sexual relations and any particular vices they might have during fasting hours. There is also a much greater focus on charity, nightly prayers, and recitation of the Qur’an. Some key words you might associate with Ramadan are self-discipline, self-control, sacrifice, empathy, generosity, humility and looking inwards.
In fact, a Meta study conducted across 12 countries during Ramadan 2022 showed that there were 7.8 million interactions on Facebook containing the word ‘kindness’ on the final day of Ramadan, while Instagram saw more than 13.4 million interactions mentioning ‘togetherness’, ‘connection’ and ‘community’ during the month.
Looking at Ramadan from another angle, it has become an unrivaled opportunity for conscious brands to connect meaningfully with their audiences, with statistics showing that spending and social media use increases exponentially during the month — opening up avenues for brands to play a genuine and positive part in people’s Ramadan experience.
For some quick and easy Ramadan tips, here are six key reminders for brands and companies to consider. For a more comprehensive look at what it takes to build a meaningful Ramadan strategy, scroll down to read our deep-dive article.
Ramadan is the spiritual pinnacle of the year for many Muslims, providing not only an opportunity for deep spiritual focus and inner reflection, but also gatherings with community, friends and family, charitable giving, gifting, and celebration.
It’s a month during which the Islamic Economy is at its peak, meaning heightened opportunities for brands with heart-centered intentions to forge genuine connections with Muslim communities.
By serving and supporting, rather than selling and marketing, brands can garner mutual respect and build lasting relationships that continue long after the fast has ended.
Before we look at the specifics of Ramadan, and how brands can be of benefit during the month, it’s important to consider the wider economic context, and where the opportunities are for interacting with Muslims audiences.
According to the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report 2023 by Dinar Standard, Muslims spent more than $2.29 trillion in 2021 across the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, fashion, travel and media/recreation sectors – a figure that is expected to grow to $3.1 trillion by 2027.
Food spending is expected to reach $1.89 trillion by 2027, with modest fashion expected to reach $428 billion, media and recreation $344 billion, pharmaceuticals $142 billion, cosmetics $129 billion, and travel $174 billion. What’s more, Islamic finance assets are expected to reach $5.96 trillion by 2026 – up from $3.96 trillion in 2022.
With a growth rate of more that 41%, the report identified five demand-sider drivers to the Islamic Economy, including: A growing youthful Muslim population; Islamic values-driven lifestyle and consumption patterns; affluence of Muslim consumers; digital connectivity and the rise of e-commerce; and the intersection of Islamic values with sustainable and ethical consumerism.
The supply-side drivers are identified as: Government bodies functioning as enablers; national Islamic economy strategies; global brand involvement; Islamic economy investment activity; and the rise in trade agreements and intra-OIC trade (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation).
The growth of the Muslim middle class has also been a major factor in the long-term growth of the Islamic Economy, according to Shelina Janmohamed, vice president of Ogilvy Noor. In her seminal 2016 book Generation M: Young Muslims Changing the World, Janmohamed explains how a huge youth demographic (two-thirds of Muslims are under the age of 30) is leading a Muslim middle class with increasing wealth and buying power.
“The Muslim middle class, with greater affluence and sophisticated tastes as well as pride in their religion, are likely to triple from an estimated 300 million in 2015 to 900 million by 2030 … The Muslim middle classes are driving a boom in products and services aimed at Muslim tastes,” she wrote.
This economic growth means greater avenues and opportunities for brands to connect with Muslims — and these opportunities are even more prevalent during Ramadan.
It might seem counter-intuitive, but spending increases significantly during Ramadan. Research by Think With Google found that consumer spend in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt increases by 53% overall during Ramadan – with spend on regular household items increasing by 90%. A 2023 report by Snapcart also showed that in Indonesia, 84% of consumers spend more during Ramadan.
With meals to shop for and prepare, clothes to buy for gatherings, online courses to join, iftars to attend, Eid gifts to buy, charity to give, and more, it isn’t hard to understand why spending increases so drastically at this time of year. To put a figure on it, Statista showed that online spending in MENA alone during Ramadan was $6.7 billion in 2023 – up from $6.2 billion in 2022.
It probably sounds obvious given today’s digital omnipresence, but when it comes to connecting with Muslim audiences, online is the place to be.
This is normally the case, of course, but even more so during Ramadan when people are online more than usual. More than 90% of Muslims worldwide will use social media (with Facebook and WhatsApp being the most popular platforms), while 51% of people spend more time shopping online during the month, according to Onest Data’s 2021 Ramadan Report. A Google survey showed that e-commerce sales in the Middle East increased by 61% during Ramadan, with clothing and electronics being the most popular categories.
It’s not all about buying - people also spend more time on their devices for communication, entertainment, research and spiritual study or enrichment during Ramadan. In 2023, people made 123 million Google searches related to the holy month, and TGM Research’s Ramadan 2022 Global Study showed that 87% of people used social media ‘to learn new things I care about’. The study also showed 85% used it to send greetings, 79% used it to make a donation or help volunteering, and 77% to watch videos online.
Google reported that searches for quick recipes such as ‘10-minute biscuits’ grew 1,000% week-on-week during the month, as people looked for new ways to make traditional recipes, and Facebook revealed that 69% of people in Saudi Arabia use Instagram – and 70% of people in the UAE use Facebook – to search for gift ideas.
YouTube is also a big part of people’s Ramadan routines, with Google research showing that as well as searching for recipes and cooking videos, TV dramas become more popular, with viewership increasing by 151%. The platform also sees a 447% increase in likes, 228% increase in shares, and 490% increase in subscriber sign-ups.
Meta’s Meet Meta Ramadan Report added that 65% of people spend more time watching video content during Ramadan and Eid.
Gaming has also become increasingly prominent during Ramadan – partly on the back of Covid-related lockdowns and periods of isolation in recent years. In 2021, Google reported a year-on-year increase in entertainment app downloads of 37%, while online gaming across MENA went up by 107%. And more recently, Digital Turbine’s 2023 Ramadan research showed that 51% of people in Europe, the Middle East and Africa will spend more time playing mobile games during the month, while more than 71% in the Asia Pacific region will spend more or equal time playing.
On the theme of entertainment, TikTok’s post-Ramadan evaluation by IPSOS in 2022 showed that it was the number one platform for mobile entertainment across the MENAT region during Ramadan, beating messaging, video, social and gaming. Video views increased by 44% over 2021, while videos published increased by 28%. The report also showed that TikTok inspired people to shop 1.6 times more than planned, with 70% of users saying the platform ‘made them buy new things’.
These impressive stats all add up to greater opportunities for brands and organisations to connect, learn and engage with Muslim audiences. And Muslims want to be engaged, with evidence of this stacking up over the past decade.
Discussing Generation M back in 2016, Shelina Janmohamed told The Guardian newspaper: “Brands have been a little bit over-cautious. It seems to be a really radical idea that Muslims actually buy stuff. Muslims are saying: ‘Hello, we’ve got lots of money to spend, we’re young, we’re cool, please can you deal with us in the same way you deal with everyone else?.”
In 2018, Ogilvy’s The Great British Ramadan report revealed that despite 62% of UK Muslims saying they are not served well by brands, some 78% said they would be interested in companies that did stock for Ramadan and Eid.
TGM Research found that 71% agreed that ‘it is important that brands understand my faith, while 74% agreed that brands should have religious awareness when marketing products to them.
Things have improved in the intervening years, with a recent Meta study showing the difference engagement can make.
The study showed that 58% of shoppers in the UAE felt more connected to a brand after seeing Ramadan or Did content on Facebook or Instagram, and that 66% felt more connected to a brand or business during Ramadan and End through instant messaging.
The months leading up to Ramadan are your chance to get to know Muslim audiences, and for them to get to know you. Now is the time to show them that you care about talking with them.
Being present during Ramadan isn’t as simple as adding a crescent moon to your marketing campaign and sending out a generic ‘Ramadan Kareem’ on the first day of the month. Here are some important things to consider when planning your Ramadan campaign.
“Being present during Ramadan isn’t as simple as adding a crescent moon to your marketing campaign”
Islam is universal, but Muslims are not homogenous. Quite the opposite. From Detroit to Dubai and Sao Paulo to Sydney, different nationalities, cultures, communities and families celebrate Ramadan differently. With 2 billion Muslims worldwide, there’s obviously a lot of diversity. And while it’s impossible to understand everybody’s habits and pour them into a seasonal marketing campaign, it is important to understand your target demographic’s nuances, as well as the threads that tie Muslims together during Ramadan.
One thing that most Muslims would likely agree on is that daily (and nightly) habits change during Ramadan.
For example, people are often awake and asleep at atypical times. It’s not unusual for people to nap during the day, and be awake longer into the night – especially if they plan to eat suhoor, a meal taken shortly before sunrise ahead of a new day of fasting.
To highlight specific Ramadan behaviours, Think With Google put forward seven Ramadan personas – four traditional, and three that have emerged in the past couple of years.
The traditional four are: The foodie, the spiritual faster, the entertainment lover, and the Ramadan shopper. While the new three include: The seeker of mental refuge, the escapist, and the progress seeker.
The ‘foodie’ is based on a 125% year-on-year growth in food-related queries on Google during Ramadan (in MENA), and a 23% year-on-year increase in grocery delivery apps in the UAE and Saudi Arabia in the first week of the month.
Meanwhile, the ‘spiritual faster’ focuses on prayer and charity, and is based on a 1,860% year-on-year increase in searches for ‘religious app downloads’, with the ‘entertainment lover’ based on a growth in digital content searches from gaming to shows to podcasts. Entertainment app downloads increased by 37% year-on-year.
The ‘Ramadan shopper’ highlights the growth of e-commerce app downloads, with shopping queries up 30% year-on-year in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and 45% in the UAE.
The ‘seeker of mental refuge’ tries to 'build a positive state of mind through home workouts, yoga, moments in nature, and self care’, according to Google, based on searches for ‘exercise’ growing by 115%.
The ‘escapist’ touches on arts and crafts – with a 50% search increase across MENA in queries for Ramadan decorations – as well as gaming, with search queries up 107%. And finally, the ‘progress seeker’ aims to be as productive as possible, with searches about ‘routine’ increasing by 120%.
On top of this, Google has also suggested six Ramadan customer types, including: Generous giver, foodie, binge watcher, traveller, gatherings host and gamer.
Ramadan is the longest-celebrated religious festival of the year, according to consultancy-me.com, which clocks it at around seven weeks in total, including pre-Ramadan preparations, the month itself, and Eid celebrations in the days after. By comparison, Christmas celebrations run for two weeks, with three weeks for Diwali and Chinese New Year.
This means there is a long period of Ramadan exposure, which extends and expands your marketing potential, but also necessitates an understanding of how Ramadan changes over time.
As well as the pre-Ramadan preparation phase, and post-Ramadan Eid phase, there are three distinct phases to the month of Ramadan itself – the first 10 days, second 10 days, and last 10 days. You might want to consider each phase separately - or at least differently – as Muslims can have a different approach and experience during each stage.
For example, Google puts the pre-Ramadan period at two-weeks, and says that it’s filled with planning, buying groceries, decorating homes, and readying the house and themselves for guests. In fact, it reports that online grocery shopping and delivery searches in MENA reach their annual peak one week before Ramadan, while there is a 72% increase in dressing up and fashion-related content on YouTube.
After the buildup to the Ramadan, Google splits the month into two sets of two weeks. The first fortnight is characterized by excitement, emotional connections, and spirituality taking centre stage. This is seen in an increase in downloads of religious apps, viewing of beauty tutorials featuring simple, natural looks, and searching themed recipes — by both men and women.
The second fortnight focuses on the countdown to Eid, with beauty and grooming searches becoming more festive, dining moving from homes to restaurants, and people searching for gifts for loved ones.
To accompany this, many Muslims will follow the traditional 10-10-10 split of Ramadan.
In the first 10 days, many people are spiritually invigorated — determined to make the most of Ramadan, but also trying to adapt to a new schedule that can see their energy flagging. Evenings are active, with people hosting and attending iftar gatherings, as well as making use of the night to read Qur’an.
The second 10 days usually see people getting more into the flow of Ramadan; perhaps more settled and less fatigued as they get into a rhythm and routine. Spirituality can become somewhat more serene, with a focus on turning inwards and undergoing deeper contemplation.
It is during the last 10 days that Muslims typically immerse themselves more fully in spiritual matters. Traditionally, many would go into I’tikaf – retreating into isolation, whether at home or a mosque – with the intention of dedicating their time to worship. There is a sense that this is a last chance to make prayers, give charity, do good deeds, and see through all the good intentions you made at the start of the month. As a result, your Muslim colleagues might want to take these 10 days as leave from work. If not, be mindful that they may be fatigued due to spending much of the night in spiritual immersion.
Things change quite dramatically in the fifth phase of Ramadan, which is actually not Ramadan at all, but Eid. This celebration of the end of the month (and the end of the fast) features parties, gatherings, and often lively festivities full of eating, gifting, and socialising.
Ramadan should not be approached as a money-making opportunity, but rather a chance to connect with potential, new, or existing customers and show them that you care.
“Ramadan should not be approached as a money-making opportunity”
It’s important to learn what people need, what people care about, and how you can be of service. Perhaps you could address Ramadan food wastage? Or be people’s go-to guide for home-made kids’ activities? Being a part of your audience’s community will help you to craft a campaign that really means something to them, allowing you to flow naturally with the spirit of Ramadan rather than trying to shoehorn your brand into people’s thinking.
With the recent advances of artificial intelligence, it may be tempting to ask an AI platform to help you understand what people really need and care about during Ramadan, but this is no substitute for talking directly with the people you should be talking to.
In fact, AI might have a negative effect on your relationship with Muslim audiences – especially if you use it for images and videos. Despite the capabilities of many platforms such as Midjourney and OpenAI’s Sora, people tend to view AI-created content less favourably; often creating a mood of distrust for customers in what they see. So while AI is gaining traction among brands, it is unlikely to be a plausible avenue for forging authentic and meaningful connections with audiences.
As you already know, having all the data, insights and understanding in the world can count for naught if you haven’t got the right design. Design can play a major role in the success or failure of your communication, and Ramadan is no exception.
Two key studies have illustrated just how important design is to brands from a business perspective. Back in 2018, consulting firm McKinsey published its report The Business Value of Design, which included its McKinsey Design Index. The MDI tracked 300 publicly listed companies over a five-year period, collecting more than two million pieces of financial data and recording more than 100,000 design actions.
Based on four themes of good design – analytical leadership, cross-functional talent, continuous iteration, and user experience – the index rated how strong companies are at design, and how that links with their financial performance.
Top-quartile MDI scorers enjoyed 32 percentage points higher revenue growth, and 56 percentage points higher total returns to shareholders growth.
Similarly, the Design Value Index illustrated the advantages for design-led brands. Launched in 2013 by consultancy firm Motiv and the Design Management Institute, the index measures the impact of investment in design in relation to the overall S&P Index.
The most recent version of the index was based on a portfolio of 16 publicly traded stocks in the US that met DMI’s criteria for being design-led: Apple, Coca-Cola, Ford, Herman-Miller, IBM, Intuit, Nike, Procter & Gamble, SAP, Starbucks, Starwood, Stanley Black & Decker, Steelcase, Target, Walt Disney, and Whirlpool.
The DMI found that “over the last 10 years, design-led companies have maintained significant stock market advantage, outperforming the S&P by an extraordinary 228 percent”.
As well as designing thoughtful campaigns and communications for Muslim audiences, you should also look close to home and design inclusive, accommodating and empathetic environments for your Muslim colleagues.
A 2021 study by the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation showed that a majority of Fortune 100 companies fail to include faith or belief in their websites’ main diversity landing pages. Religion is mentioned 92 times across 43% of the pages, while racial diversity, for example, is mentioned more than 1,000 times across 95% of pages.
There is a glaring gap that desperately needs to be addressed - especially if websites’ lack of inclusion translates into general company attitude. The good news is there are some easy ways for you and your organisation to support Muslim colleagues during Ramadan.
When working with the Islamic Economy, especially during Ramadan, designing with heart matters. Elements of Islam such as ethics, charity, kindness, honesty, healthy living, and many others are enhanced during the Holy Month, and should be reflected, or at least acknowledged in your seasonal campaigns.
From food to fashion to finance, ethical practice and alignment of values plays a central role in buying decisions - not that it’s a uniquely Islamic consideration.
“From food to fashion to finance, ethical practice and alignment of values plays a central role in buying decisions”
In its 2023 edition of the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report, Dinar Standard writes: “Research shows that more consumers are prepared to spend on sustainable products now than two years ago. While Gen Z seems to be at the forefront of that trend, this increase holds across the ‘generational divide’. Many Islamic values underlying various sectors of the Islamic economy have a wider appeal, resonating with universal principles such as sustainability and ethical consumption.”
For extra context, in its 2021 report, Dinar Standard highlighted a global study by Nielsen that indicated 66% of consumers are willing to pay more for ethical/sustainable products, while younger consumers were even more committed, with 73% of millennials willing to pay more.
So if Ramadan catalyses your brand’s approach to ethics, then all the better for your overall offering.
Religious identity also matters to Muslims. Janmohamed writes in Generation M the Muslim millennials are “a tech-savvy, self-empowered, youthful group who believe that their identity encompasses both faith and modernity”.
This doesn’t mean that you have to talk about doctrine, but it does mean that faith – and heart – is often at the centre of Muslims’ decision-making.
In relation to this, another thing to be mindful of is people’s charitable giving during Ramadan. According to the Charity Commission, Muslims in the UK gave £130 million to charity during Ramadan 2020 alone. And in their 2020 study Embracing Uncertainty: How to Feel Emotionally Stable in a Pandemic, Osman Umarji and Hassan Elway conservatively estimated that the Ramadan donations of the 1,722 North American Muslims they surveyed equalled nearly $2 million.
Entering into this spirit is vital for brands during Ramadan. It’s not about taking, it’s about giving. It’s about being of service, helping others, reflecting, and being purposeful.
At Gould Studio we developed a set of six spiritually-inspired principles that we routinely apply to our processes, in order to create more meaning in our work. We have shared and expanded on these principles during workshops for the likes of Apple and Google in the past three years, and believe they can add tremendous value to any organisation around the world.
The principles include:
Together, they help us to ask better questions about ourselves and the work we’re doing, encouraging us to make a more positive impact on the world around us. They give us a new modality for thinking about our role, responsibility, and potential, as well as keep us connected to the things that our audiences and our clients’ audiences care about – designing for wellbeing, social good, and inclusion.
However you choose to approach your Ramadan strategy, remember the significance of the month to many people around the globe as a deeply special time. Whether that’s in the strategy you undertake, the messaging you put across, the communication you employ, or even the way you understand and support your Muslim colleagues, be excellent in your intentions and execution, and make this a memorable and meaningful Ramadan for your brand and your audience.
Peter Gould is the founder and CEO of Gould Studio; a strategic design consulting firm based in Sydney, Dubai, Beirut and Jakarta.
Through Gould Studio, Peter advocates for Heart-Centered Design to create meaningful brands, cross-cultural understanding and transformative change.Over 20 years, Peter has designed brands, products and experiences for Muslim audiences, and worked with mainstream clients including Apple, Google, United Nations and Greenpeace, as well as being appointed an Australia for UNHCR Ambassador.
Working at the intersection of design, spirituality and entrepreneurship, his diverse portfolio ranges from senior government projects to Web3 startups, and his contributes have brought him international acclaim, including a major award from the Vice-President of the UAE.
Peter’s book, The Heart of Design, is set to be published later this year.
Research and editorial contributions by Neil King.
