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This week we’ll be bringing you Ramadan reflections from the Ogilvy Noor team around the world. Combining local insights with personal experience, it’s a chance to get close up on a month that brings together families, communities and enhances spirituality, through the lens of Ogilvy Noor’s deep experience in building relationships with Muslim consumers.

You can read our previous blogs from Bangkok, the UAE and Indonesia.

Today, the Ramadan view comes from Agha Azfar in Pakistan.

The month of Ramadan brings a wave of changes both tangible and intangible in the lives of all those involved. Physically there is the change in the work schedule (revised and shorter working hours) and the obvious altering in our biological clocks, refraining from all vices and evils committed by us consciously or unconsciously. For it is believed that if one volunteers to refrain from lawful things, they will be in a better position to avoid unlawful things and acts during the rest of the year.

Spiritual reconnection

In Ramadan everyone feels so much more attached to Allah and are careful in their relations with others that it is impossible not to see this. When Ramadan begins, our inner life, thoughts and feelings, are renewed and strengthened. Breezes of compassion, coming in different wavelengths, unite with our hopes and expectations, and penetrate our hearts. We achieve, as Master Shifu (in Kung Fu Panda 2) said, “Inner Peace”, the real source of happiness.

Developing thematic Ramadan campaigns at the agency and moving away from only price promotions

In the months preceding Ramadan, the agency is involved in the development of thematic campaigns specifically designed for this month of mercy and forgiveness. This is a trend which has become quite prevalent in the last decade or so, whereas before brand campaigns were more about running price promotions (most still do) during Ramadan. It has been also established that during Ramadan there is an increased level of spending both on the everyday items (groceries) and shopping for supplements (clothes). The food and restaurant industry also alters its workings with promotions like ‘all you can eat’ or ‘midnight deals’ while during the last few days of Ramadan there is an increased level of shoppers in the market as people start preparing for the celebration of Eid, the culmination of Ramadan.