'Marketing to Muslims', The Guardian

Monday, May 21, 2007

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Marketing: Muslim revelations By James Silver

When MediaGuardian spoke to leading New York trend-spotter Marian Salzman in January, she revealed that she was overseeing the first ever marketing survey of Muslim consumers in the UK and the US. "This is the biggest single issue we face as marketers," the JWT executive vice-president and chief marketing officer said. "Muslims comprise 3.5% of Americans. We know there are things they want [to buy]. But we don't really understand them yet at all."

Launched today, the resulting JWT report, Marketing to Muslims, which included interviews with 350 British Muslim "influencers", sets out to address this "gaping void in the marketing industry's knowledge of Muslims", in order to create "a body of insights and knowledge that will allow [JWT] to foster stronger connections between corporations and the world's Muslims".

Marketers have historically ignored Muslim consumers, deeming them to be an unprofitable "sector" (Muslim Britons have the lowest home-ownership rate and among the highest levels of unemployment) as well as, potentially, politically "risky". However, with a global Muslim population of up to 1.4 billion and growing, advertising giants such as JWT are starting to wake up to the fact that they represent - in the deadening language of marketing-speak - a vast and hitherto "untapped niche market for brands".

While most of the report is devoted to Muslim beliefs, lifestyles and attitudes, it also contains some sobering reading for those working in the UK media. A whopping 65% of British Muslims consider the mainstream media to be biased against them, while merely a third judge major TV channels and national newspapers to be "genuinely respectful or courteous" towards their faith.

Moreover, mainstream UK entertainment is perceived to reinforce "crass, non-Muslim values", while also entrenching "hurtful stereotypes" by all-too-often portraying Muslims as terrorists. British news outlets also stand accused of giving too much airtime to the activities of extremist minorities, while ignoring "the community's extensive charitable work". As one of those interviewed, artist and performer Yara El-Sherbini, said: "Every five minutes, there's some kind of twisted negative framing of Muslims."

Nor does the advertising industry get away lightly, with 69% of those questioned thinking that advertisers should "accept more responsibility for setting a moral standard" and 59% agreeing with the statement that there is "too much suggestiveness or immodesty in most advertising", leading to the "objectification of women". (Interestingly, more men than women thought that.)

However, it seems that while there are concerns about the way the message is delivered, Muslim consumers are more trusting and less cynical about the medium itself than non-Muslims. "Muslims are more likely to accept advertising as a source of information about brands and products", declares the survey, with 49% rating advertising as "very" or "somewhat trusted".

Marketers, Salzman notes, must up their game or risk losing out. "From now on we will have to challenge ourselves as to whether our products and services are in sync with Muslim law and customs," she says. "The brands which will do best are the ones which at the very least acknowledge Muslim visibility."

(The Guardian, May 21st, 2007)

Posted by James Silver - On Monday, May 21, 2007

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