International companies invest a lot of money into looking for new markets to enter globally to increase their market share and double their sales. They always work on how to market their brands to impress more clients and this also applies to their existing markets. The marketing teams of these companies are constantly researching on the local trends and coming up with marketing ideas to fit these trends and build customers’ loyalty.
International corporations and brands understand that they may have to tweak how they market their products in some countries according to the cultural appropriateness in order to increase its acceptability and success. MENA region is important for companies looking to expand globally. However, marketers of these companies have to carefully design their marketing campaigns in order to tap into the Arab market and culture.
There are several factors that need consideration when designing a marketing campaign in the MENA region.
MENA region is considered a rich market from a marketing perspective due to its diversity, but you need to study the market pretty well as it’s not an easy one. An important factor that you need to consider is Arab consumers are highly influenced by social concerns and tend to buy products recommended in their circle of friends and family. Consumers in the MENA region are also very status conscious and want to buy products that have very good quality. Maintaining a certain social image is a huge concern and affects buying habits in the region. Marketers have to ensure that their marketing campaign shows a trendy, fashionable and high-end appeal with exclusivity. Arab culture also upholds religious values. So marketing campaigns in the Mena region are not like what’s in the west, and marketers should consider this while planning and launching their campaigns.
Top multinational organizations spend a lot to understand these markets to make sure they won’t miss any of the above factors. As a result, they have successfully managed to impress the Arab market. Here are three examples of impressive campaigns:
Here are three such examples:
- Coca-Cola showed solidarity to the Muslim community by releasing an ad campaign that featured a Hijabi Muslim girl and her silent interaction with a passerby. In the ad, the Muslim girl is fasting and waits for the sunset to break her fast. A passerby buys two bottles of cokes and patiently waits with her. Together they share the cokes and some dates as the message flashes “What unites us is greater than what divides us”. The campaign sent out a beautiful message of peace, love and friendship and tackled racism, inner struggles and devotion. The ad generated millions of views on Youtube and was very well received globally.
- Nike did a fantastic job by creating a Pro Hijab Collection that targeted female athletes who covered their heads with Hijab. Nike featured a number of Hijabi athletes in the ad “What will they say about your?” such as Olympic weight lifter, Amna Al Haddad, Emirati figure skater, Zahra Lari, Tunisian fencer, Ines Boubakri, and Emirati Parkour trainer, Amal Mourad. The campaign highlighted the intensity and passion of veiled Muslim athletes and nailed it by using public figures from the MENA region. The ad gained 922l viewership and was shared more than 5000 times.
- Nivea released an ad campaign aimed at promoting men’s grooming products in the MENA region and highlighted that sensitivity and machismo are not mutually exclusive. Nivea’s marketing research showed that men in the MENA region are embarrassed about using grooming products for sensitive skin as the macho culture is quite prevalent there. The campaign was very successful and effectively engaged men in the region and the brand received more than 140,000 followers on social media. Nivea also won GEMAS Effie MENA award for the campaign.
These successful marketing campaigns in the MENA region are a result of studying, researching and localizing this market. Localization service providers like Future Trans have helped international companies and marketing agencies to localize their marketing campaigns, presentations, documents in the MENA region in order to target the local audience successfully. Future Trans has worked with clients like Uber, Gucci, Amazon, P&G, Kia and more.
If you are looking for a marketing translation company that can successfully localize your marketing campaign for any country, you can contact us.
