Ramadan is a special occasion that brands strategize for and work hard to create and implement their best marketing campaigns. Although it is a religious occasion, it became more of a competition, in which brands in almost all industries compete to become the best or the most liked brand, and to gain more customers. Crowd Analyzer monitored all Ramadan’s series, TV shows and ads, from the beginning of the month on July 6, 2016. The following are the five top brands that made the best Ramadan marketing campaigns. Crowd Analyzer selected them based on which scored the most mentions in the first week of Ramadan 2016. (Download Ramadan Report 2018 )
In the first week of Ramadan, Juhayna released four TV commercials, featuring three babies who were talking to each other. However, each ad had its own story. They discussed the usage of a certain Juhayna product and promoted for its benefits, during the company’s Ramadan marketing campaigns. In the first ad, the babies were promoting for oriental juices. Dressed as a dragon, a sheep and a peacock, one of the babies was freaking out over his look. So, the other babies recommend oriental juices to calm him down.
The second ad promoted for Juhayna’s milk, suggesting that it's healthy for babies and it can help them grow. The third ad promoted for yoghurt, while the fourth ad recommended Juhayna’s sour milk, considering that both are good for smoothing the digestion process and comforting the stomach. As one of 2016’s top Ramadan marketing campaigns, people liked the humor in the ads and the creative ideas implemented. Furthermore, the way the babies acted and talked was very catchy and interesting. That created a word of mouth, and increased the brand’s mentions on the social media.
Etisalat had one TV commercial promoting a simple message to attract more customers and strengthen its company-client relationship. The commercial had several scenes of normal people doing different activities in their daily life. The message was enforcing the idea that Etisalat, which is a telecommunications corporation, is a part of people’s lives. It also emphasized that it has been with them for so long, during happy and sad times.
As a part of their Ramadan marketing campaigns, the company also announced that it will award some of its clients. The choosing of winner would depend on the number of years they have been with the company. The commercial didn’t include any celebrities or actors, but its song was performed by the famous singer Asala Nasry. Nevertheless, regardless of the cheerfulness and the happy spirit that filled the commercial, some people had negative feedback. They claimed that it spoke to a high class in the society and didn’t reflect the life of “ordinary people.”
Almarai executed one TV commercial in which it didn't promote for any product, but was a public service announcement. As part of 2016 Ramadan marketing campaigns, the commercial called to promote the virtue of appreciating every given food and to stop wasting it or throwing it away. In the ad, there were people farming, others harvesting, and some were cooking. Then, they all worked together to prepare a plate full of food. The idea was to show people how many workers, farmers, housewives, cooks and many other people work hard and contribute to provide a meal to a person on-time.
It also discussed how much food and effort people waste when they throw food away. As Ramadan is a month of religious practices and good virtues, the commercial is reminding people to go back to the great values they used to have. This explains why people liked it, making it one of the top Ramadan marketing campaigns; because the company created its message to suit the month, and cared to connect with people and communicate what they care about and practice.
#قدرالنعم #اعلان_هادف_من_شركة_المراعي ثواني فقط https://t.co/I5kYNJT2cC
— عنتر الصيري (@popax123) June 4, 2016
In this year’s Ramadan marketing campaigns, Orange had two campaigns; each promoted for a different message. The first was a TV commercial starring Zinedine Zidane, who assigned an assistant to find the best football fans around the world. The campaign was a call for action. It asked the UEFA Euro fans to take photos of themselves cheering for one of the European teams. Then to post them during the UEFA EURO 2016, using the hashtag #OrangeSponsorsYou. The winner, who posted the best photo, was to win a flight to attend the final game. Although the ad was released by the beginning of Ramadan, the campaign was global. It didn't target only muslims as Ramadan and the champions league happened to take place around the same time.
The second one of Orange’s Ramadan marketing campaigns, featured Abo Hafiza and Ahmed Fahmy, both Egyptian actors, who expressed some of the obstacles that people face when they buy things or visit families and friends during Ramadan. In three different TV commercials, Orange was enforcing the message that it cares about its customers. It also stressed on sharing them in all they do from sunrise to sunset- the fasting period in Ramadan-. Each commercial, however, used an old song and rephrased it to match the holy month. Each was telling a certain story, which is also a tradition that Abo Hafiza implement in his show.
بص .. شوط .. جول .. يافهمي بص .. شوط .. جول .. يالهوي قبل الفطار بصبر نفسي .. نفسي نفسي بعد الفطار بسلي نفسي .. نفسي نفسي #orange_egypt
— Muhammad Zechariah (@zecharitter) June 18, 2016
خلينا متفقين علي حاجة ( م المدفع للمدفع مليون حاجة وراك ) #احمد_فهمي #اكرم_حسني #رمضان_كريم #Orange_Egypt
— Ahmed Youssef (@GoldenBoyRooney) June 23, 2016
The humor of the situations, the lyrics of the song, the rhythm and the story of each commercial were some of the reasons that made people mention Orange in social media. Considering that Orange has just bought Mobinil, which was an old common telecommunications corporation in Egypt, trying to build consumer trust and gain more clients, Orange did a great job planning for one of the best 2016 Ramadan marketing campaigns.
Vodafone made one long TV commercial featuring many actors, actresses and singers, performing a rephrased old song and dressed classically. It's been a tradition for Vodafone to produce high-budget commercials, focusing on families and friends and getting together during Ramadan.
Moreover, just like in Etisalat and Orange, Vodafone is also emphasizing always being with its clients and helping them connect with their loved ones wherever they are. In this year’s Ramadan marketing campaigns, Vodafone changed the lyrics of the traditional song of El Liela El Kebeera (The big night), to describe some of the situations people face meeting families and visiting friends during Ramadan like: struggling to finding an available taxi or a transportation during iftar time, arriving late for the feast, or not cooking well.
خايف أقول رأيي في إعلان فودافون الجديد عشان بيعملو سيرش على إسمهم و عاملينلي فولو و بيبعتولي 15 جنيه رصيد كل شوية وهيزعلو
— حمدي (@ELD0DGE) June 6, 2016