The world’s strongest Islamic brands may not be from Muslim countries, or even targeted at the Muslim market. According to the Noor Brand Index by global advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather (O&M), the world’s top five brands comprised Nestlé, Lipton, Kraft and two brands by Nestlé — Nescafé and Nido. In contrast, Emirates, the flagship airline of the UAE ranked in the bottom 10.

The Noor Brand Index benchmarks the appeal of specific brands to Muslim consumers by ranking consumer perceptions of syariah compliance. The index is based on a consumer survey of 35 global brands in four markets — Malaysia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

“Syariah is a moral compass, a set of values that include humility, righteousness and honesty. So brands that possess these values, whether or not they’re targeted at the Muslim consumer will appeal,” explained O&M Global’s director of cultural strategy Nazia Hussain.

Nazia was speaking as a panellist at a roundtable on “Brands, Islam and the New Muslim Consumer” in Kuala Lumpur on May 20. The panel, moderated by Zayn Khan, regional business strategy director, O&M South and Southeast Asia, comprised Nazia; Dr Paul Temporal, associate fellow, Said Business School, University of Oxford; John Goodman, regional director for O&M South and Southeast Asia; Effendy Shahul Hamid, director, group corporate communications, CIMB Group; and Roslina Arbak, senior vice-president of communications and external relations, Iskandar Investment Bhd.

Temporal, who directs a research and education project in Islamic branding and marketing at Oxford, points out that while Muslim consumers are different, country to country, syariah values shape the Islamic consumer’s brand perception.  

The study estimates the global Muslim market to comprise 1.8 billion people with the halal segment alone worth US$2.1 trillion (RM6.85 trillion) a year. “Brands that engage effectively are able to develop long-lasting relationships with the Muslim community. Brands that get it wrong are commonly boycotted,” said Khan, citing the study. He also pointed out that the boycott of Danish products following the Prophet Muhammad cartoon scandal cost Denmark about US$2.6 billion.

According to the index, certain factors increase the need for syariah compliance in brands for the consumer, said Nazia. “Items that are consumed daily or used on the body rank the highest. Islamic financial services are not regarded as exceedingly important,” she said.

Islamic financial services matter most to the person looking for it, pointed out CIMB’s Effendy. “There are clients who are very savvy and demand complex financial products in line with syariah law. While most may not fully understand the depth of these products, they are conscious of the financial brand’s values, he said. Effendy added that financial brands may have ranked low in the index because sentiment for financial brands is generally negative in the wake of the recent financial crisis.

O&M’s Goodman said Muslim branding also mattered at a national level as Muslim tourists would be more likely to select countries like Malaysia, which is known to be “Muslim friendly”, as a destination.

Iskandar Investment, the organisation tasked with developing the Iskandar region in Johor, needs to appeal both to investors and potential tourists. “While Iskandar is not branded as an Islamic destination specifically, we do adhere to syariah values to give both tourists and investors a choice,” said Roslina. “For example, our amusement park, Legoland, is aimed at families and young children. But if visitors want more adult entertainment, we have an arrangement with the Singapore Tourism Board which will allow them easy access to the Resorts World and Marina Bay attractions on Sentosa,” she added.

“Choice is the word here. Muslim consumers want the full range of choices, at top quality and at cutting edge technology. Too many Islamic brands are outdated — putting a ‘halal’ label on a product is no longer enough to appeal to the modern consumer. They want it all,” concluded Nazia.

This article appeared on the Media & Advertising page, The Edge Financial Daily, Jun 17, 2010.