Advertising Throughout Ramadan and How an Engagement Platform Helps

Editor’s notice: Ramadan advertising and marketing/vacation season, a time of sharing, caring, and constructing group, is only a month away. Whereas the final couple of years has been restricted to digital interplay, this yr guarantees to be a trendsetter. 

For sure, this brings a superbly opportune second for entrepreneurs to drive engagement however with care and empathy. To emphasize extra on these factors and what may be anticipated on this particular season of Ramadan by way of developments and techniques, we caught up with Rohan Kapoor, Head of Digital Advertising at Careem.

Please share a short introduction about your self, your background, and your function at Careem.

Rohan: 12+ years of expertise throughout Retail, Journey, Classifieds & Leisure within the area. Labored for some prime manufacturers in management roles, reminiscent of Emirates, Souq (Amazon), Property Finder, OSN+, and at the moment, I head the Digital Advertising group at Careem. I’m commissioned to arrange the whole digital infrastructure, construct a group from the bottom up and personal the whole digital P&L of multi-million {dollars}. I’m actively main digital branding, efficiency advertising and marketing (Activation and Retention), content material, and partnership methods at Careem to develop the super-app within the area together with the a number of companies the App gives.

How do you anticipate this yr’s Ramadan Season to be? Do you suppose there could be some new developments noticed in comparison with 2022?

Rohan: This yr, Ramadan is anticipated to be comparable and completely different on the similar time. Whereas a few of the developments which had been noticed within the final couple of years will stay, there may be some new developments being fashioned, both as a result of seasonality or simply pure demand.

1. Elevated Advert Spend: This yr Ramadan being in March and April coupled with ordinary seasonality, it’s anticipated that many advertisers will improve their advert spending to interact their audience successfully.
2. CTV Platforms: As shoppers spend extra time in consuming content material in the course of the interval, video content material is anticipated to play a big function in Ramadan promoting. Manufacturers are prone to put money into creating visually interesting and fascinating video content material to seize the eye of shoppers on CTV platforms.
3. Personalization and AI:  Many manufacturers are anticipated to make use of AI to personalize their content material and make their campaigns extra impactful. Through the use of knowledge and insights, manufacturers will create extra tailor-made messages and gives that resonate with Ramadan.

Ramadan is a interval of prayers, reflection, and group. How do you see manufacturers together with empathy of their campaigns? Is there any marketing campaign that you can imagine for instance of this?

Rohan: Sure, Ramadan is a big time for many individuals world wide, marked by religious reflection, elevated devotion, and acts of charity. Manufacturers can present empathy and sensitivity in direction of their viewers throughout this time by creating campaigns that mirror the values and traditions related to Ramadan.

For instance, an excellent app reminiscent of Careem might create a marketing campaign that focuses on selling their supply companies to assist shoppers who’re busy with their Ramadan preparations. The marketing campaign might spotlight how Careem companies make it simpler for folks to arrange meals and break their quick with their family members, with out having to fret about going to the shop or cooking.

One other instance may very well be a monetary companies firm reminiscent of a financial institution or an insurance coverage firm, making a marketing campaign that promotes their services and products that help households throughout Ramadan, reminiscent of financial savings accounts or insurance coverage insurance policies. Whatever the particular marketing campaign, the important thing to making a profitable Ramadan-themed marketing campaign is to indicate empathy and understanding of the cultural and non secular significance of the vacation and to concentrate on how the model can help and enhance the lives of individuals throughout this time.

One other essential side we have now noticed is that clients desire procuring after a sure time period or gross sales witness a spike at a sure time of the day. Much like these, what are some insights that you just take a look at whereas constructing a Ramadan Marketing campaign?

Rohan: Completely, throughout Ramadan, clients have completely different buying habits and behaviors, reminiscent of elevated spending on meals supply or a shift of their procuring habits from brick-and-mortar shops to on-line platforms. Careem understands these modifications to make sure our campaigns are efficient. 

When constructing a Ramadan marketing campaign, Careem additionally considers quite a lot of different insights to make sure the success of campaigns. Among the key insights embody:

1. Timing: as everyone knows, Ramadan is a time-bound occasion, and we’d like to pay attention to the precise dates and instances of the vacation to plan our campaigns successfully. For instance, the timing of Iftar can differ by market, and we’d like to pay attention to this to make sure we’re selling our companies on the proper time.
2. Demographics: Understanding the audience is essential for any advertising and marketing marketing campaign, and that is very true throughout Ramadan. Careem understands the age, gender, faith, and cultural background of our viewers to create related and efficient campaigns.
3. Knowledge evaluation: As an excellent app we might additionally use knowledge evaluation to grasp buyer habits and preferences throughout Ramadan. This might embody knowledge on the preferred companies throughout this time, in addition to developments in buyer spending patterns.

An extension to the earlier query – the function performed by a buyer engagement platform to offer you the insights?

Rohan: A buyer engagement platform performs a vital function in offering us with insights that inform our Ramadan campaigns. The platform permits us to gather and analyze knowledge on buyer habits, preferences, and engagement, offering helpful insights and is used to form our campaigns. For e.g –

1. Surveys and suggestions: we conduct surveys and collect suggestions from clients on their experiences and preferences throughout Ramadan. This data is then used to tell marketing campaign methods and guarantee they’re related to our audience.
2. Knowledge evaluation: we acquire and analyze knowledge on buyer habits, reminiscent of buy historical past, preferences, and demographics. This data can also be used to grasp developments and patterns in buyer habits throughout Ramadan, and to tailor campaigns to the wants of the audience.
3. Personalization: Buyer engagement instruments are used to create customized experiences for purchasers, reminiscent of focused promotions and gives primarily based on their earlier purchases or preferences. This helps Careem construct a deeper reference to clients and improve engagement with their Ramadan campaigns.
4. Buyer segmentation: Buyer engagement instruments are used to phase clients primarily based on their habits and preferences, permitting us to tailor our campaigns to particular teams. 

In brief, by utilizing a buyer engagement platform, it helps us to construct buyer loyalty, improve engagement, and drive gross sales throughout Ramadan.

What are some methods manufacturers ought to develop to make sure that there may be not a significant drop in engagement metrics submit the vacation season?

Rohan: To make sure that there may be not a significant drop in engagement metrics submit the Ramadan vacation season, manufacturers ought to develop the next methods:

1. Repeatedly interact with clients: Manufacturers ought to proceed to interact with clients and supply them with helpful content material and experiences even after Ramadan has ended. This might embody creating new promotions and gives, in addition to common communication by channels reminiscent of e-mail, social media, and SMS.
2. Preserve relevance: Manufacturers ought to guarantee that their campaigns and choices stay related to clients even after Ramadan has ended. For instance, they may concentrate on creating promotions which can be aligned with different essential cultural occasions or holidays, reminiscent of Eid al-Fitr.
3. Spend money on expertise: Manufacturers ought to put money into expertise and instruments, reminiscent of buyer engagement platforms, that may assist them join with clients and supply customized experiences. This might help to extend engagement and construct buyer loyalty, even after Ramadan has ended.

Thanks a lot Rohan for connecting with us and sharing your ideas on how manufacturers can interact with clients throughout such a particular time.

Readers, you possibly can join with Rohan for extra suggestions and recommendation on buyer engagement throughout Ramadan.