None of the surveyed companies had an environmental policy, and all but two of them (LVMH and Burberry, with middle ratings) scored worst for their Supply Chain Management. There wasn’t a single Ethical Consumer ‘Best’ rating in the Environmental Reporting or Supply Chain Management categories. The last time we covered luxury fashion, the report highlighted the apparent ‘vow of silence’ on CSR in the designer fashion sector. The point is, the conversation needs to continue post-Ramadan and throughout the year. After all, if 62% of UK Muslims are disappointed during Ramadan when there is at least some engagement, just imagine how disenchanted they must feel during the rest of the year. So instead of saying goodbye to this segment on Eid, instead think of it as the beginning of something beautiful.Our research shows that most designer brands are now publishing corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports, which is great news. If Ramadan has been a smorgasbord of high-calorie food and sumptuous desserts, getting yourself to the gym or into personal fitness to shed the pounds you’ve put on can be equally appealing. If you’ve lost weight and become more focused on health during Ramadan, keeping it up can be appealing.

Other airlines are starting to offer Eid travel deals too.įitness post-Ramadan is increasingly on the minds of Muslim audiences. Halal travel company Serendipity Tailormade, which curates travel for Muslims, has been offering special Eid packages. Of course, there are some immediate needs that follow Ramadan and Eid that are often overlooked. Ramadan is a physically and emotionally challenging time, so travel is increasingly popular. And many of the answers might surprise you in terms of how they engage directly with Muslim audiences but at the same time serve the needs of other consumers too. Is your beauty product vegan? Does your fashion brand lend itself to modest style? Do your financial services support and empower women, particularly those from under-represented backgrounds? There are all sorts of questions you can ask in order to extract and refine the insights for an effective and long-lasting engagement. Then ask yourselves: how does your brand and product offering intersect with Muslim lifestyle? Your product might have specific characteristics that support Muslim lifestyle choices. They are seeking products and brands that are the best there is on offer, but which uphold their faithful lifestyle. At Ogilvy we have defined this as Generation M – the Muslims bringing faith and modern life together. The foundation, of course, is understanding who exactly is the Muslim audience. You can begin a calendar of activities that, in 11 months’ time, will lead to your own shining moment of Ramadan.

So what if you have engaged with Ramadan and Eid, but not reached out during the rest of the year? Or if you’re at an even earlier stage than that and saw the missed opportunity of Ramadan, but wondering what to do now? This is a shining moment of the year, but there does need to be a year of activities. It’s time to realise that a Muslim consumer is not just for Ramadan, but also for the whole year. It’s the opposite: the chance to put a shine on the year’s activities and remind your consumers why they love you. Think about how brands do Christmas it’s not about putting your head above the parapet for a few weeks at the end of the year and then disappearing for 11 months. And the failure to think of the people, their needs and their emotions is what lies behind the glaring absence of engagement with Muslim audiences for the rest of the year. What comes through in much of the current Ramadan engagement is a product focus, rather than the people who are consuming them. And that is despite the fact that it is a clear occasion, with defined parameters, habits and, above all, clear product needs. Simply for the industry to get its head round Ramadan is still proving a challenge. Muslims are also a young demographic 58% are under 30. It’s time to realise that a Muslim consumer is not just for Ramadan, but also for the whole year. Perhaps some numbers might help: UK Muslims spend £20.5bn every year and make an annual contribution of £31bn to the economy.

Muslim consumer group