Facing The “strongest” Consumption Season In History, Snapchat Releases New Strategy For Overseas Expansion In The Middle East

As the socialization of consumption spreads throughout the Saudi Arabian Peninsula, social software is no longer the domain of young people. Just imagine, 90% of the 67 million people in the Middle East are using Snapchat. In Saudi Arabia alone, 71% of parents use Snapchat every day. This means diversified consumption habits and huge consumption potential.

The age span of e-commerce consumer groups in the Middle East is gradually increasing. How to implement a new marketing layout? Brand owners may wish to use Ramadan as a starting point to see what new highlights will be in the Middle East market in 2022.

(Middle Eastern users share Ramadan on Snapchat)

In the 2022 Ramadan consumption season, the Middle East market has great potential

After going through the special period of the COVID-19 epidemic, 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 or more in advance.

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

(Snapchat advertising display of popular consumer products)

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

Growing grass to celebrate Ramadan is a new trend in socializing family consumption in the Middle East

On social media, Middle Eastern users have taken the Ramadan celebration to a new level, with video recording and sharing becoming very popular among the younger generation. Take the Snapchat story channel as an example. During Ramadan, users posted as many as 1 billion Snaps. AR gameplay in particular is quite popular. In Saudi Arabia alone, the Snapchat AR filter has been used more than 90 billion times. This innovative interactive form has brought about a significant effect of increasing the conversion rate by 94%.

Users in the Middle East generally have a strong sense of family. Therefore, family consumption is a focus that cannot be ignored in the Middle East market. In an atmosphere of discussing purchases with their families, parents and children are using Snapchat as a link to influence each other's consumption behavior.

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

Guide to the Ramadan consumption season, a large collection of Snapchat planting postures

With grander celebrations, stronger consumer demand, and more diverse festival methods, how can brand owners make good use of social media during Ramadan in the Middle East in 2022, exert the seeding effect of new methods, and then adjust their marketing strategies?

In the actual 50-day Ramadan marketing front, Snapchat summarized the precise marketing rules with creative strategies as the core.

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

lThe 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 deliver product information for "soft" grass planting, and encourage consumers to make purchases;

l The second stage: During the critical period when brand owners are rapidly increasing sales, they need to get straight to the point of advertising impact, directly point out discounts and preferential information, and use CTA to clearly guide and encourage behaviors. App Ads and Clooection Ads can be used to directly Visually impactful advertising formats help brands quickly reach users;

l 10 days after Eid al-Fitr: During the period of continued popularity, brand owners need to show the joy of celebrating with consumers and establish deeper emotional connections. Relaxed and interesting narrative methods are the most attractive content at this stage, and stories are strong National Lens and R&F Lens are excellent choices.

(Snapchat Ramadan Celebrates Marketing Cycle)

If you still need a more novel way to play, it is naturally AR filters. Tracy Zhang, head of Snapchat’s business in China, said that Snapchat has a mature AR ecosystem, which allows brand owners to create freely in it, and also brings ideal effects beyond other forms. During Ramadan in 2021, Snapchat provided Centrepoint with an immersive experience of AR filters, achieving user reach of 7.7 million AR lenses and increasing offline ROI by 13.8 times. Personal care brand OGX successfully reached 1.9 million people through Snapchat, and sales increased by 36%.

In addition, AR creative marketing has also shown great potential in increasing brand awareness and influence. For example, when the Xiaomi Xiaomi 11T Pro flagship phone in the Middle East was launched, the immersive and high-quality interactive experience created through the Snapchat AR filter demonstrated the powerful performance of the 108MP camera and covered 5.6 million Saudi users within 24 hours, helping the Xiaomi brand Awareness increased by 6%.

(Xiaomi×Snapchat AR Marketing Filter)

Regarding Ramadan, Tracy Zhang suggested that we should not ignore the profound religious ritual connotation of Ramadan itself. According to Snapchat’s observation, “generousness and selflessness” and “charity” are hotly searched words on social media during Ramadan. Brand owners may wish to start marketing during Ramadan by conveying the traditional beliefs of Ramadan and integrating Ramadan elements such as lanterns and crescent moons into the favorites of Middle Easterners. The shiny visual design, combined with Snapchat’s creative gameplay, shares Ramadan blessings with users and attracts more natural traffic.

(Snapchat Ramadan element filter)

Ramadan in 2022 is coming soon. It is more relaxed and worry-free, but the effect is better. This is the aspiration of many Chinese overseas brands. Due to its huge influence in the Middle East market, Snapchat has become the preferred platform for brands to go overseas, especially to reach and influence the younger generation. Snapchat's one-stop marketing strategy may bring a different marketing experience than before. While accurately acquiring core groups, brand owners can also share a pleasant Ramadan time with Middle Eastern consumers.