Young, connected and Muslim

They’re young, ambitious and worth at least $2 trillion globally. A new Muslim consumer called “the futurist” is set to change the face of business.

The futurists are crucial to marketers because they are so influential, have considerable spending power and are more “connected” than their older more traditional counterparts. They are also willing to speak loudly and proudly about their identity. They simply cannot be ignored by brands any more, according to Ogilvy Noor, a new Islamic branding practice.

Mohamed El-Fatatry, founder of integrated marketing agency Muxlim, says the Muslim consumer is predicted to account for 30% of the world’s population by 2025. As such, ensuring these consumers are spending could help nations repair some of the damage of the recent recession.

“The financial crisis has accelerated the need for finding new markets,” says El-Fatatry.

But brands can’t simply chase the Islamic pound without genuinely understanding what Muslim consumers want, he says, adding: “You have to go after people in their own language and think about that consumer’s needs.”

Nestlé is an example of a global brand that has already identified the potential of the Islamic consumer. It generates a SFr 5.3bn (£3.2bn) turnover in halal products – acceptable according to Islamic law – globally. It sees Europe as a target market to expand its halal range further.

But Nestlé appears to be a rare example of a global brand getting it right for this market. Ogilvy & Mather says it launched its specialist branding practice focusing on Muslim consumers because so many international brands need guidance in how to attract this market.

Many businesses now realise the potential in this area. Ogilvy & Mather Global director of cultural strategy Nazia Hussain says: “Muslim communities tend to score highly on Hofstede’s collectivism score, which means they are societies in which word-of-mouth and in-group recommendation and recognition are of enormous importance.

We tell marketers not to use overtly religious messages. Most Muslim consumers are very mainstream. If you target the religious minority, then you will be targeting a niche within a niche

Mohamed El-Fatatry, Muxlim

“These consumers can be among the most loyal in the world. When they discover something that’s right for them, they feel it’s their duty to pass on the word – for young connected Muslims today, this is done at the click of a mouse.”

Khalid Sharif, founder of halal food company Ummah Foods and The Muslim Paper, agrees. He believes that British marketers should pay special heed, because if you target the community correctly in Britain, it could propel your brand to a global status. “The UK community is so well connected to the rest of the Muslim world,” he notes.

But the Muslim consumer is a complex one. Many choose to eat halal food and follow the principles of Sharia law, which is laid out in the Koran and governs how people should live, covering topics from diet to economics.

Many financial services companies have adapted their offerings to suit Sharia law. Mainstream banks now regularly provide specialist products for Islamic customers.

HSBC Amanah is a division of the international bank HSBC and its head of global marketing, Mohammed Ismaeel, says he sees young Muslims as a very attractive target market for the institution.

Muslim consumers are much less convinced by an Islamic banking ’window’ from a global bank that is known to operate on non-Islamic lines everywhere else

Nazia Hussain, Ogilvy & Mather

Ismaeel says HSBC Amanah attempts to use aspirational advertising in an attempt to be reflective of its target audience. “The Muslim population is a younger, more progressive segment of the population. Clearly, our goal as a bank is to help this segment achieve their aspirations.” (See viewpoint, below.)

Ogilvy’s Hussain warns, however, that Muslim customers are becoming critical of banks with separate divisions that are Sharia law-compliant. Citibank, Standard Chartered, HSBC and RBS all underperformed in the agency’s Global Branding Index – a list of brands that have been rated for their Shariah compliance by Muslims living in Muslim-majority countries.

Hussain argues that the futurists are demanding more from businesses, noting that Muslim consumers are now questioning how ethical an entire banking brand is, not just its Islamic arm. This reflects the demands made by a wide range of consumers of mainstream brands who want to know that a company is being run ethically and sustainably.

“Muslim consumers today are much savvier and ask more questions than before. They are much less convinced by an Islamic banking ‘window’ from a global bank that is known to operate on non-Islamic lines everywhere else in the world,” she says.

Understanding Islamic values at a non-superficial level is vital for any brand that is thinking of targeting Muslim consumers. Dr Paul Temporal, associate fellow at Said Business School, which is running a forum on Islamic branding and marketing in July, says this is where Nestlé is succeeding. He thinks the brand shows it “understands Islamic values and is not just pushing its own values onto Muslim markets”.

Mohammed Ismaeel, head of global marketing, HSBC Amanah

The Muslim population is a younger, more progressive segment of the UK population. Clearly our goal as a bank is to help this segment achieve its aspirations.

Amanah is the vehicle used by HSBC to make the bank relevant to young Muslims. It is the ultimate expression of what we mean by the brand philosophy of “the world’s local bank”.

It’s taking everything that is positive about HSBC and making it relevant at a local level for a Muslim consumer. When you look at the brand attributes of HSBC, we think it’s a brand that values different cultures and backgrounds.

In Malaysia, for example, a large portion of our customers are Chinese. So those particular consumers are attracted less to the products for their Sharia law aspects but more so for the financial structure of the products.

The challenge with many Islamic food brands is that non-Muslim consumers believe that halal is simply not relevant to them. The concept of halal preparation is not well understood among a non-Muslim audience, so Chicken Cottage has chosen not to highlight it as part of its in-store marketing. Instead, the word “halal” is incorporated into the store’s logo.

That way, both Muslims and non-Muslims are attracted to the restaurants, argues Kazi. “A lot of our competitors promote halal everywhere, but we don’t do that. It’s incorporated into the logo and that is it, and we don’t see the need to double advertise it. Everyone who comes into Chicken Cottage already knows that we are halal.”

While other halal takeaway brands choose to promote this aspect of their business, Chicken Cottage focuses on the food. This investment in product development allows the chain to keep ahead of the competition, argues Kazi. New products are introduced on a regular basis.

This strategy has allowed the franchise business to move beyond the UK. It now has outlets scattered around the globe including Pakistan, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Slovakia.

Any chains that do open in non-Muslim areas have to compete with other food brands on price and product, argues Kazi. Because of this, the brand is not trapped by being seen as a niche player because it plays a role in the highly competitive takeaway sector.

The success of Chicken Cottage has not gone unnoticed. Mainstream global brands such as KFC and McDonald’s have themselves introduced a halal offering in highly populated Muslim areas.

This is an area ripe for expansion, thinks founder of integrated media agency Muxlim, Mohamed El-Fatatry, who says that food brands need to do more to appeal to a wide audience.

“We need to work in both directions. Mainstream is going halal but I also feel that halal needs to go mainstream.” It seems Chicken Cottage, the Islamic high street takeaway, is already ahead of the curve.