Ramadan 2020, the first Ramadan in the midst of the ongoing global pandemic saw reduced marketing activity from many brands as budgets were slashed. By comparing Ad Awareness scores for the Ramadan period this year versus the previous year, YouGov have identified some interesting trends in terms of whose communications are reaching more of the adult population in the country.
The top 10 list has been compiled using the Ad Awareness score- which measures whether a respondent has seen any advertising for the brand in the past 2 weeks.
YouGov BrandIndex data shows Global Village has emerged as the top mover this year, with a change in score of +14.2 compared to Ramadan 2020.
Despite ongoing Covid19 operating procedures in place, Global Village decided to extend its open season into Ramadan this year. This extension, coupled with it being the silver jubilee (25th year) season, saw it promote its 25th world record-breaking event, which clearly reached a wide audience in Ramadan.
The Ramadan campaign had a positive impact on the brand’s Ad Awareness, raising its score from 20.6 during Ramadan 2020 to 34.8 during Ramadan 2021.
Notably, the list of top movers is dominated by destinations and leisure and entertainment venues all vying to attract customers back to their properties after a challenging year. Given Ramadan typically sees families spending more time together, it’s not surprising that these family destinations have been pushing their message to visit out strongly during this period.
Additionally, online retailer, Noon.com was the second-best improver, with a change in score of +11.1. Aligning with the spirit of Ramadan, the e-retail giant extended daily deals and discounts, giving up to 75 per cent off on groceries and household items, especially useful for households hard hit by the pandemic.
It seems UAE residents have responded to the communications as the brand noted a significant improvement in its ad awareness this festive season vs the previous year.
Talabat.com is the third-best improver, with an ad awareness bump of +7.9. The leading food-delivery platform partnered with the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) to launch the ‘Ramadan Heroes’ campaign with the aim of providing iftar meals to those in need. The virtual charity endeavour struck a chord with people and helped the brand enhance its ad awareness this Ramadan.
Similarly, Starbucks joined the festivities by introducing Ramadan cups as a seasonal edition. The holiday cups seem to have attracted customers’ attention, raising the brand’s ad awareness by +6.7 compared to last Ramadan.
Swedish retail giant IKEA and ADNOC also made the top ten list- at sixth (6.6) and seventh (6.4), respectively.
