Translating religion into modern parlance

The context: It is an obligation on Muslims to give 2.5 of their wealth to charity on an annual basis. This is known as ‘zakat’. Even though it is mandatory, sometimes it gets forgotten, or people feel they are in need of their money themselves. Often, people need encouragement to donate the money without seeing it as a loss, or something painful

The concept: The 2.5% charitable giving is re-positioned as a special offer and special promotion, rather than something to be considered a loss or a difficulty.

The campaign: During the Eid period, stores in Indonesia usually offer promotions. Stickers were created to intentionally resemble the promotional materials used in windows. People were attracted to them because they thought the promotional offer had been increased. The sticker reminded people that “2.5% of your happiness and wealth are a right for poor people”.

What we liked: The discount sticker translated the concept of 2.5% of income being given in charity, into a daily idea that Muslims could connect with. the idea of a ‘sale’. This is something that everyone is familiar with and implicitly relates the idea of charity as a way to benefit from religious blessings through the discount. The sticker was well placed in a location where Muslims would be used to seeing the sale posters, and were also already inclined to spend money. It would undoubtedly trigger a thought in the audience that they should give some of their money in Zakat as well. Since the stickers were put up at Eid time when people are usually out buying gifts this message is more likely to resonate. In short, the modern idea of ‘sale’ is used to catch the attention of Muslims and make charitable giving an appealing and easy prospect.