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Last Updated on Thursday, 14 January 2010 03:44 Written by Faisal Masood Thursday, 31 December 2009 18:41
On October 31, 2009 the first American Muslim Consumer Conference (AMCC) was hosted at Rutgers University in New Jersey. It was well attended by entrepreneurs, professionals, advertising and marketing executives, academia and community leaders.
The American Muslim Consumer Conference provides the only platform for industry professionals to examine this potent market sector, and explore its rich potential. It effectively raises awareness of the Muslim consumer, their buying power so that the market can gain some visibility and presence in mainstream media, the advertising industry and also influence companies and entrepreneurs to develop products for Muslims.
It is clear that this market is growing and maturing. The consumer preferences of the world’s nearly 1.5 billion Muslims are faith-based, and largely non-negotiable, and the concept of Shariah-compliance as a marketing strategy has started to take root in the global and national marketplaces.
JWT’s 2007 study of ‘one of America’s biggest hidden niche markets’ revealed that the American Muslim consumers represent “a neglected market with huge potential for brands that are willing to connect with them.”
The report, based on face-to-face and telephone interviews, uncovered various important points about American Muslims attitudes to brands:
· 70% felt that brands play an important role in their purchasing decisions, compared to 55% for the average American
· 59% say they make a point of knowing which brands are popular, compared to a 42% average
· 55% felt that brands make ‘life more interesting’ compared to a 43% average.
· 71% said they rarely see anyone of their own faith or ethnicity in advertising
· 73% said they could not think of one mainstream brand that showed a Muslim in its advertising.
· 77% rated price as important, as against 91% of the general public, making their brand choice less dependent on price/value.
According to an article in Advertising Age, 'In the coming years, the U.S. market will likely begin to recognize and court the $170 billion purchasing power of American Muslims." In attendance for this year’s conference were key representatives from Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club and Campbell’s Soup.
Hosting AMCC was the MLink team’s idea. As organizer of this conference I have undertaken a responsibility to take an active stand and shape the discourse of American Muslims as a very important fabric in the economy of this country.
More details on AMCC can be found at www.AmericanMuslimConsumer.com
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