American Muslim Consumer Conference Brings Attention to a 170 Billion Dollar Market

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ–With close to 400 participants and 24 speakers, the second American Muslim Consumer Conference provided its participants with an entire day of informative sessions, networking opportunities and provided a base for understanding how to engage the American Muslim Consumer.

Miles Young, CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide was the keynote speaker highlighted the importance of Muslims in his speech – “Globally Muslims are a 1+ trillion market. We cannot ignore it. The values of Muslims needs to be embraced by brands: transparency, sincerity of intent, humility, modesty, etc.” He also highlighted areas where there is a significant gaps in Islamic branding – “For Muslims to be recognized they need to be strong in art and design. It does well to diffuse fear because art connects at an emotional level. Muslims today aren’t known for art of design. Brands are an emotional thing owned by the customer. Products are owned by the company that sell the emotion. Muslims need to understand that halaal is a brand ingredient, not a brand itself. We need to find a narrative and define the emotion, imagery and design that goes with it.”

The conference provided a wide platform for attendees from companies such as Ogilvy & Mather, BestBuy, PepsiCo, Saffron Road, Edible Arrangements, Western Union and several others, specifically in the Muslim space, such as IFANCA, Guidance, Dinar Standard, American Halal Association, Muxlim and many more.

Best Buy was also presented with honorary award based on its CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) effort for reaching out to diverse Americans and recognizing Eid Ul Adha during their marketing campaign in 2009. One of the most popular sessions of the day was the Entrepreneur Showcase, which gave 5 startup businesses the opportunity to present and interact with a panel which included Tariq Farid from Edible Arrangements and Adnan Durrani from Saffron Road, James Kocsi from the US Small Business Administration and Bami Bastani from B2 Business Consulting.

12-46