Expert Blogs
Who says everyone’s coming to London for the Olympics – what about Ramadan?
Bloomberg recently ran a piece with the title “The Harrods Hajj: London Braces for Ramadan Rush”. They report that ‘As the holy month approaches, London’s luxury stores are seeing a spike in shoppers’. http://www.bloomberg.com/video/the-harrods-hajj-london-braces-for-ramadan-rush-POJ3FJxFQ5uESHRywTpcmQ.html Now crassly, some might class this as ‘selling sand to the Arabs’, but Harrods has enjoyed successes with selling high-end abayas […]
Islamic designs in the modern world
In April, I was lucky enough to be invited to speak at the 2012 World Halal Forum, in Kuala Lumpur. One of the other speakers was designer Peter Gould. For those of you that haven’t heard of him, check out: http://www.peter-gould.com/about/ Peter’s session went down really well, so I asked him to share some of […]
UNHATE – edgy marketing, stirring up hate, trying to grab headlines, or a viral stunt?
Benetton launched a new campaign, which I am sure will test the adage, ‘there’s no such things as bad publicity’. On their website they state that: The UNHATE Foundation, desired and founded by the Benetton Group, seeks to contribute to the creation of a new culture of tolerance, to combat hatred, building on Benetton’s underpinning […]
Halal and Kosher meat under the cosh – can there be a meeting of minds?
Recent debates in the Netherlands seem set to have a significant effect on Jewish and Muslim mean slaughtering practices. Here’s a great piece that gives an overview of the landscape and varying perspectives: Should animals be stunned before slaughter? The interesting thing will be whether Jewish and Muslim communities can use this issue as an opportunity […]
Multiculturalism and Diversity well represented at the 2011 American Muslim Consumer Conference
In its third annual American Muslim Consumer Conference, and despite the threat of the first snowfall of the season, the conference was packed. In my third year to attend I felt a great kinship with everyone at the conference, not because they were all Muslim – because they were not – nor because we were […]
Forbes lists ten Muslims among world’s most influential 70 people
Recently released ranking by Forbes magazine lists ten Muslims among the most influential 70 people in the world. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah, was again selected the most influential person among Muslims and the sixth person in all 70 people, due to the location of Islam’s holiest site in KSA and his impressive […]
Mobile with Muslim friendly features launched in India
To cater the needs of more than 160 Indian Muslim consumers, first of its kind Islamic mobile I-Tel i786 has been launched in India by I – Tel Group. The I – Tel Group is already an experienced player managing and distributing the best mobile brands in Africa, Dubai, UK and India over 10 years. […]
Transformational Leadership, Communications and Cultural Branding
We are seeing how stakeholder networks and Web2.0 are driving increasingly dynamic communications, which are both influencing and engaging more parties. The result is the creation of ‘collective individuals’, who converge around culturally embedded and ‘human’ brands; and supports the idea of Global identities, which enhance local cross-border sub-cultures. In the face of this, Transformational […]
Indian Hajj and Umrah Market
Recently released information by Ministry of External Affairs shows the number of applications received for Hajj 2011 is more than three times of its allocated quota. Hajj services in India are mainly performed through a government organization, the “Central Hajj Committee of India” which allocates its quota of pilgrims to all thirty five states as […]
Relief Agency Marketing Campaigns
The current crisis in Somalia and urgent appeals by aid agencies leads me to examine the nature of marketing campaigns launched by those agencies and how they resemble or differ from campaigns for products and services. Some non-profits believe that because they’re not in the business of selling products and services that they’re not required […]
