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Part of building up OgilvyNoor’s expertise is for us to chat to those in the know, and we’ve been doing that recently with academics that specialise in Middle Eastern and Muslim countries. “All the books are out of date!” is the constant refrain. Starting with Tunis, then Cairo and spreading across the Middle East, recent events have dispelled myths about stagnation, apathy and traditionalism in the region.

We’ve put our thinking caps on and have been building on our segmentation of Muslim consumers which we identified as ‘Futurists’ and ‘Traditionalists’. At the time we identified that it would be the Futurists that would be the movers and shakers of the Muslim world. And we were right: 2011 brought about massive change as a result of their passion for a better society.

In our latest thoughtpiece which we are releasing today called “Let’s do it our way: Muslim youth redefining leadership” you can read our detailed findings and analysis of the attitudes that the Futurists brought to the fore. And you’ll be able to carefully unpack our data to highlight more of the trends that are likely to emerge.

There are some interesting shifts. For example, attitudes about what makes good leadership are undergoing transformation. No longer will didactic, rhetoric-driven and paternal approaches go unquestioned. Instead, leaders will need to be consensual, action-oriented and work as partners who show accountability.

There is also a very clear message: that Muslim values still form the foundation of the Futurists’ world view. 95% of Futurists agreed that “its important to live both their private and public lives in accordance with Islamic values”. Any brand wishing to attract these Muslim consumers ought to take note.

You can read the full thoughtpiece here.