Marketers have a golden opportunity to engage with Ramadhan audiences through YouTube

According to Think With Google, Ramadhan is a very special month for marketers in MENA. Consumer spend increases 53% during the month of Ramadhan, especially on regular household items - this rise was recorded in KSA and the UAE among other countries.

Broadcast content on YouTube peaks for the year during Ramadhan, Google said. Marketers also have up to two weeks post-Ramadan to engage with their audiences as people catch up with their favourite shows on their own time.

There are typically shorter working hours and more free time, which is reflected in online spending habits. According to the Think With Google Ramadan 2018 guide:

A month before Ramadhan, cooking videos on YouTube become popular. Watch times peaks at almost 30% higher than average in the first week of Ramadhan, Think with Google said. Searches for recipes are also 50% higher than the annual average, especially at the start of the month.

During Ramadhan, people are more willing to watch videos in longer formats - there is a 60% year-on-year increase. Audiences also spend more time on mobile, and organic viewership of advertising increases.

Source: Think with Google report. Overall engagement with YouTube videos increases during Ramadhan.

The changes in behaviour continue for two weeks post-Ramadhan, so marketers can capitalise on engagement at this time. Searches for air travel and hotels go up 20 to 25% around Eid, too.

YouTube is more popular than TV, AThink with Google said. With TV ads set at a 100 baseline, YouTube ads were scored at 150 by KSA respondents, according to the Ipsos MENA 2017 Ramadan Insights report.

Google also runs the Lantern Award, which celebrates MENAs most engaging and creative Ramadhan and Eid al Fitr YouTube campaigns. Last year’s Lantern Award winner, from VIVA Kuwait, described how frustrated women can get when their Tupperware is forgotten at guests’ homes, in a humorous manner.  

To master content during Ramadhan, Think with Google suggests:

- Use storytelling, and use multiple stories instead of repeating content

- The idea of giving back to society is a favourite for audiences during Ramadhan

- Be authentic, addressing real user needs, passions and relevant real-life issues

- Get reliable consumer insights

- Leverage on the increased interest in travel, beauty and fashion during Eid


Think With Google has also shared Ramadhan advertising figures for 2017 in a blog post.
According to the Google division, 23% of ad spend was dedicated to Ramadhan in MENA, quoting to Ipsos 2017 research. In contrast, Ramadhan viewership on YouTube over the last three years has increased threefold compared to TV, whose viewership remained flat. 

Explore:

Download the Ramadan 2018 guide from Think with Google

Entries for the 2018 Lantern Award close 24 June.

View the 2017 Lantern Award winner and finalists (generally in Arabic. Some have English subtitles)

Why Viva Kuwait's YouTube ad got so many views in Ramadhan 2016

Starcom Mediavest Group and Caviar Creative won the first Lantern award for delivering the most engaging video advertisement on YouTube during the Ramadhan season with a campaign for telecommunications provider VIVA Kuwait in 2016.

Described on the Think with Google blog,  the media and creative agencies decided to take a different approach instead of running TV advertisements which are then repurposed for YouTube and print. The companies decide to go directly to made-for-YouTube content instead, centred on a locally-relevant theme: guests losing their cookware after bringing food to someone else's home, delivered with the same fast-paced comedic tone that had been used with Viva's 2015 Ramadhan campaign.

“Go native: use all your resources to make the story local, relevant and close to the heart of the target audience. In this case, sharing food is a big part of Kuwaiti culture, but what’s more interesting is what happens after the food is delivered, and the odyssey that many a dish might be misplaced before being reunited with its rightful owner,” says Haitham Al-Hajji, Managing Partner, Caviar Creative on the Think with Google post.

By using sequential storytelling, the team created a situation for users to eagerly anticipate what would happen next, in order to create high engagement within social media channels. The teaser video had a view completion rate of 94%, while the second part delivered a view completion rate of 100%. 

Mark Khoury, Client Managing Director at Starcom Mediavest Group, suggested that brands "start big, buy smart and go for high reach and impact". "Keep your eyes open and optimise, optimise, optimise – fine-tuning the intensity as needed will drive results,” he advised on the Think with Google post.

Interested?

Read about the case study

Watch the Viva Kuwait video

Almarai leverages Youtube to reach KSA population in 10 days

In May 2016, dairy and food company Almarai unveiled its biggest product innovation of the year – powdered milk. Due to the high consumption of the product during Ramadhan, Almarai wanted to launch the product in the 10 days preceding Ramadhan.

With just 10 days to build awareness, advertising agency Mediavest decided not to go with TV, which would require a longer lead time, and planned a 10-day YouTube campaign instead.

Ramzi Ghanem - EVP - MD Publicis Media – KSA, said in a Google case study that YouTube was appropriate as it has over 90% reach on the mobile population in Saudi Arabia. "The YouTube blast was a new take on YouTube – it provided us with an opportunity for the first time to build high levels of targeted frequency-controlled reach in a short timeframe,” he said.

Mediavest used the TrueView format, for which an advertiser is only charged when a user watches at least 30 seconds of the ad*. Additionally, Almarai conducted a brand lift survey simultaneously to see what was working well and what could be finetuned. Mediavest Riyadh planners studied the metrics daily so that the strategy could be modified on a daily basis.

The ads went viral. On the first day, they reached 3.5 million unique users in KSA, over a quarter (27%) of the YouTube population. By the end of the 10-day campaign, the campaign had reached 6.5 million unique users in KSA.

Interested?

Watch the powdered milk video in English or in Arabic. At the time of writing the Arabic version had been viewed nearly 7 million times

Download the Almarai case study (PDF)

*If the advertisment is shorter than 30 seconds, the brand is only charged when a user watches the full ad. 

Surf Excel Pakistan requests clothes to be donated this Ramadhan

Source: Surf Excel Pakistan website.

Surf Excel Pakistan, the company behind the viral Ramadhan 2016 video, has created Shelter of Kindness, which is aimed at collecting clothes and sharing with those less privileged. Each item of clothing will be washed and freshened by Surf Excel before sharing it forward.

Interested?

Source: Surf Excel Pakistan website.

Watch the Ramadhan 2016 advertisement (4.8 million views on Facebook, 1.6 million views on YouTube and counting)

View the list of Shelters of Kindness, which may be found in Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, and Multan.

Hashtags: ‪#‎madadekibadat‬, ‪#‎Dirtisgood‬, ‪#‎Daaghachhehain‬

The YouTube Lantern Award is looking for the most engaging Ramadhan ad

Source: Think with Google website.

Marketing around Ramadhan has gone from TV to digital, says Think with Google, Google's platform for marketing tips, tools and insights.

A May 2016 post on the Think with Google site points to successes by Al Marai with أعمالكم من صيامكم  which had 9 million+ views, and Coca-Cola’s Remove Labels This Ramadan which went viral (18 million+ views) on the back of Ramadhan, when people watch more video, perform more searches and spend more time on mobile*. Themes that focus on the spirit of giving, unity and community during the holy month are particularly successful, the post notes.

YouTube has launched The Lantern, a new award for the most engaging Ramadhan ad. The winning video will be determined by an algorithm based on engagement and views the ad will have received by the month’s end. The Lantern award will then be announced together with the creative agency, media agency and advertiser behind the winning video.

Interested?

Email thelantern at google.com with questions.

View some of the top Ramadhan ads on YouTube in 2015.

*Ramadan in MENA: The Digital Opportunity for Brands, Think with Google, February 2016 

Yummy Japan introduces Japanese food and culture through YouTube videos

Source: Yummy Japan website.

Yummy Japan has launched a new portal for visitors regarding all things Japan to meet demand for information about Japanese culture and food that includes a section for Muslims.

The Muslim in Japan section includes pointers to halal food, prayer rooms, Muslim-friendly hotels and souvenirs. 

Yummy Japan is a multi-channel network* (MCN), and hosts some 50 foreign YouTubers and over 1,000 videos which are searchable by keyword categories such as creator, place names and food. The video connected to Google Maps, allowing users to get directions to the venue. Users can create an account on Yummy Japan, save a list of favourites as well as create blog posts.

*MCNs affiliate with more than one YouTube channels. This is what YouTube has to say about MCNs

UAE's Zakat Fund takes to social network, supports e-payments

In the UAE, the Zakat Fund website offers more than 56 e-services for facilitating the process of paying zakat in line with the UAE government's push towards smart government services, the authority specialising in collecting money for zakat and charity and spending it on the eight legal channels of zakat disclosed.

Source: Zakat Fund

Those paying zakat can pay by credit card online, through ATMs installed in shopping centres in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, and the Western Region, or through various online portals, including the official portal of the UAE government, the portal of the Abu Dhabi E-Government, and the official portal of the Dubai government, as well as the Etihad Airways portal, said H.H Abdullah ibn Aqeedah Al Muhairy, Secretary-General of the Zakat Fund.

H.H said, “The Fund offered zakat payers more than 2,000 ATMs owned by Islamic banks, more than 1,000 ATMs for fast collection owned by Max Box, the electronic collector...and other means which facilitate the process of paying zakat."

Other payment channels include mobile phone apps on both iOS and Android platforms, and SMS, he added.

The Zakat Fund's public outreach has a heavy focus on social networking, H.H also said. Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and Google+ are all deployed to enable the public to follow on-going activities and initiatives and to act as a platform for queries, notices and complaints. 

H.H. disclosed that January statistics from the Arab IT News Portal stated that about 81% of UAE users use the Internet to log into social networking websites, representing 3 hours and 17 minutes of daily use each. 

Facebook is the most popular social networking platform used in the UAE, followed by Google+, then Twitter, Linkedin, and Instagram respectively. The study stated that 74% of UAE users have smartphones, which 38% use for e-shopping and 90% use for searching for local services. 

He further added that Zakat Fund, through its pages on social networking websites, aims to increase public awareness of zakat and transparency on the dealings of the Fund. 

*Pictures from the Zakat Fund website