As originally published in Synergyzer Issue 3 – 2016: ‘Actifying Generation Y’

Soya Supreme, the flagship brand of Agro Processors & Atmospheric Gases (Pvt.) Ltd. launched Ramadan Communication campaign in 3 episodes during Ramadan and Eid, building on last year’s ’Life Ki Theme’ campaign.

The campaign was launched to underline the importance of the values of Ramadan, such as generosity, patience, and reflection as well as address an increase in demand for edible oil, which according to the Pakistani Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA), jumps from 4000 tons in regular days to 6000 tons during Ramadan in Pakistan as people consumer higher quantities of fried foods.

The owner family of APAG has been in the edible oil business since 1954. In addition to their flagship brand, Soya Supreme, APAG owns the canola oil brand, Smart, and a mid-segment Banaspati and cooking oil brand, Malta. For this year’s Ramadan communication, the company felt that Soya Supreme needed to highlight the importance of religious rites of passage like the ‘first fast’ of a young member of the family.

Campaign Objectives

The campaign was structured to highlight the importance of Ramadan in a regular Muslim household; how it affects the lifestyles and habits of every family member, showing family values and religious training that is part of a child’s upbringing in a Muslim household, and how the youngest members of the family are encouraged by the elders to perform their religious duties. The campaign talks about the virtues of patience, highlighting the fact that if children can master their will and be patient, then we, as elders, should also learn to be more patient.

The communication is developed in three parts, each dealing with a specific theme. The first part deals with preparing for Ramadan, the second highlights the importance of being patient and performing religious duties, the final highlights festivity, and celebration, along with sharing and caring for others.

 “To promote the Ramadan communication, a 360 degree campaign was developed covering both ATL and BTL platforms comprising of TV, radio, outdoor, point-of-sales, consumer contact activities and digital.”

Ramadan Communication Campaign

This year’s Ramadan campaign was derived by taking forward last year’s umbrella campaign, ‘Life Ki Theme’. The first part of the communication titled, ‘Welcome Ramadan’, focused on pre-Ramadan elements while ‘Ramadan Ki Theme’ focused on the Ramadan lifestyle and ‘Khushiyon ki Theme’ focused on Eid celebrations. Each individual communication was aired sequentially; the first advertisement aired before Ramadan while the rest were aired during the holy month and Eid for maximum visibility and reach on both conventional and digital media.

In ‘Welcome Ramadan’, the pre-Ramadan part of the communication, a boy, excited about Ramadan, goes shopping with his mother for supplies, including Soya Supreme, and promises to fast in the coming Ramadan. This first episode is designed as a call to action for purchasing the edible oil brand before the holy month begins. As an incentive to the consumer, a sales promotion comprising of free packets of dates with every 3 and 5-liter bottle of Soya Supreme Cooking Oil is communicated in the commercial.

In the ‘Ramadan Ki Theme’, the second episode of the communication, patience is highlighted as the essence of Ramadan. The boy from the previous episode is shown offering prayers and having a difficult time keeping his fast as various preparations for Iftar are going on around him, i.e samosas, chanaa chat, and other traditional Iftar items, all utilizing Soya Supreme. He even gets tempted at a point to steal a samosa but decides on keeping his fast, making his grandfather smile at his resolve. The family is shown to celebrate the boy’s first rozadar Iftar when he successfully concludes his first fast.

The third and final episode, ‘Khushiyon Ki Theme’, focuses on Eid and celebration and is about generosity and giving to others. Kickstarted with visuals of cooking sewaiyan in Soya Supreme, in this commercial the boy gets Eidi in appreciation and encouragement for his behavior during Ramadan but chooses to share his reward with his younger sister who gets less Eidi than him.

“This year’s Ramadan campaign was derived by taking forward last year’s umbrella campaign, ‘Life Ki Theme’.”

Promoting Ramadan Holistically

The target market for the campaign was females belonging to SEC A and B+ aged between 25 to 35 years. They were chosen as the target demographic because females are often decision makers when it comes to regular household purchases. Young mothers also attribute a lot of value to the religious upbringing of their children and consider religious rites like ‘first fasts’ an important family bonding exercise. Keeping the psychological inclinations of the target demographic in mind, the central idea of the campaign developed by the brand’s marketing team along with its creative agency, Spectrum Y&R, was developed such that it focused on all key triggers to develop a strong emotive hook.

To promote the Ramadan communication, a 360-degree campaign was developed covering both ATL and BTL platforms comprising of TV, radio, outdoor, point-of-sales, consumer contact activities and digital. The three-episode Ramadan Campaign was run on TV and radio while brand integrations were done with various TV cooking channels as well as cooking shows on different news, entertainment, and children’s channels. In ARY Digital’s Jeeto Pakistan, several Suzuki Mehran cars sponsored by Soya Supreme were given in lucky draws and various gift hampers were provided throughout the Ramadan transmissions. An extensive campaign was run on Facebook and the Google display network which included banner ads, video ads, and YouTube preload ads, while special cookbooks of Iftar recipes were distributed free of charge at major supermarket chains. Digital and conventional media and content integrations were supported by extensive outdoor placements to develop strong visibility for the campaign.

“The Ramadan campaign talks about the virtues of patience, highlighting the fact that if children can master their will and be patient.”

Campaign Results

Millions of people were reached through the digital medium as the Ramadan campaign received an overwhelming response on both, conventional and digital media. As a result of the success of the overall marketing efforts, the brand hit its sales targets increasing its market share and growth from the seasonal campaign.

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