Facing the "strongest consumer season ever", Snapchat releases new strategy for going global in the Middle East

As social consumption becomes popular throughout the Saudi Arabian Peninsula, social software is no longer just for young people. Just imagine that 90% of the 67 million people in the Middle East use Snapchat, and 71% of parents in Saudi Arabia alone use Snapchat every day, which means diversified consumption habits and huge consumption potential.

The age span of e-commerce consumers in the Middle East is gradually widening. How to make new marketing arrangements? Brand owners may wish to take Ramadan as a starting point to see what new highlights the Middle East market will have in 2022.

(Middle Eastern users share Ramadan on Snapchat)

The Middle East market has great potential during the 2022 Ramadan consumption season

After experiencing the special period of the COVID-19 pandemic, spending quality time with family and friends has become more precious and rare, and people are looking forward to it more and more. 46% of Snapchatters start planning their celebration schedule early, which also leads to shopping plans three weeks in advance or even earlier.

According to Snapchat, the discretionary spending power during Ramadan this year is expected to reach $425 billion, which also confirms the stronger consumption potential compared with previous years. In terms of product categories, during Ramadan, the top consumer categories are personal care (56%), fashion products (42%), luxury jewelry and accessories (42%), and daily necessities (41%).

（ Snapchat’s popular consumer product category ads display）

In 2022, Middle Eastern users are showing a high degree of dependence on social and video apps. Taking the fashion category as an example, 62% of Snapchatters’ purchase inspiration comes from the guidance of social media content, and other categories are also deeply influenced by social media.

Spending Ramadan by planting seeds: a new trend of social consumption among Middle Eastern families

On social media, users in the Middle East celebrated Ramadan in a variety of ways, and using videos to record and share was very popular among the younger generation. Taking Snapchat's story channel as an example, users posted as many as 1 billion Snaps during Ramadan, especially AR, which was very popular. Snapchat AR filters were used more than 90 billion times in Saudi Arabia alone. This innovative form of interaction brought about a significant increase in conversion rate by 94%.

Middle Eastern users generally have a strong sense of family, so family consumption is a key point that cannot be ignored in the Middle Eastern market. In the atmosphere of discussing purchases with family members, parents and children are using Snapchat as a link to influence each other's consumption behavior.

According to the latest survey conducted by Snapchat and Kanter, more than 80% of parents believe that promotions on Snapchat can influence their consumption decisions, and 90% of parents will directly click on ads, read related comments and share information with their families. In terms of consumer categories, the top three categories of goods preferred by children are mobile applications and streaming services accounting for 73%, technology products accounting for 61%, and furniture products accounting for 47%.

A guide to the Ramadan shopping season: a collection of Snapchat tips

With grander celebrations, stronger consumer demand, and more diverse ways of celebrating festivals, how can brand owners make good use of social media to tap into the new ways of celebrating and adjust their marketing strategies during the 2022 Middle Eastern Ramadan ?

During the actual 50-day Ramadan marketing campaign, Snapchat summarized the rules of precision marketing centered on creative strategies.

10 days before Ramadan : Stimulate the first wave of shopping inspiration, use creative forms to tell brand stories and product information, and capture the hearts of consumers ;

l The first stage: the best concentrated promotion period, when people are immersed in the joy of sharing. Find ways to get brands to join the sharing army, quickly convey product information to "softly" encourage consumers to buy;

The second stage: During the critical period when brand owners are rapidly increasing their sales, they need to use direct advertising to directly point out discounts and preferential information, use CTA to clearly guide and encourage behavior, and use advertising forms with direct visual impact such as App Ads and Clooection Ads to help brands quickly reach users;

10 days after Eid al-Fitr : The heat continues during this period. Brand owners need to show the joy of celebrating with consumers and establish a deeper emotional connection. A relaxed and interesting storytelling style is the most attractive content at this stage. National Lens and R&F Lens, which are rich in stories, are good choices.

（ Snapchat Ramadan Celebration Marketing Cycle）

If a newer way of playing is needed, then it is naturally AR filters. Tracy Zhang, head of Snapchat's business in China, introduced that Snapchat has a mature AR ecosystem, which allows brand owners to create freely in it and also brings ideal results beyond other forms. During Ramadan in 2021, Snapchat provided Centrepoint with an immersive experience of AR filters, reaching 7.7 million users of AR lenses, and the offline ROI increased by 13.8 times. Personal care brand OGX successfully reached 1.9 million people through Snapchat, with sales increasing by 36%.

In addition, AR creative marketing has also shown great potential in increasing brand awareness and influence. For example, when Xiaomi's Xiaomi 11T Pro Middle East flagship phone was launched, it created an immersive and high-quality interactive experience through Snapchat AR filters, showing the powerful performance of the 108MP camera, reaching 5.6 million Saudi users within 24 hours, helping Xiaomi's brand awareness increase by 6%.

(Xiaomi × Snapchat AR marketing filter)

Regarding Ramadan, Tracy Zhang suggested that we should not ignore the profound religious ritual connotations of Ramadan itself. According to Snapchat's observation, "generosity" and "charity" are the hot search terms on social media during Ramadan. Brand owners can start their Ramadan marketing by conveying the traditional beliefs of Ramadan, integrating Ramadan elements such as lanterns and crescents into the shining visual designs loved by Middle Eastern people, and combining Snapchat's creative gameplay to share Ramadan blessings with users and attract more natural traffic.

（ Snapchat Ramadan element filter）

Ramadan in 2022 is coming, and many Chinese brands want to be more relaxed, less worried, and more effective. Snapchat has become the preferred platform for brands to go overseas, especially to reach and influence the younger generation, due to its huge influence in the Middle East market. Snapchat's one-stop marketing strategy may bring a different marketing experience. While accurately acquiring core groups, brand owners can also share the joyful Ramadan time with Middle Eastern consumers.

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