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by Mallika Nawal

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Profane Products...Love 'em, Hate 'em....but you can't Ignore 'em

1. Goddess Lakshmi Swimsuit Collection (No wonder devout and conservative Hindus flipped over this)

2. Ten Plagues of Egypt



Egypt's Mufti says Koran ringtones inappropriate (Jan 20, 2010)

CAIRO (Reuters) - Using Koranic verses and the call to prayer as mobile phone ringtones is inappropriate and violates the sanctity of the word of God, Egypt's highest religious legal authority, Mufti Ali Gomma, said on Wednesday.

Verses from the Koran have become popular as ringtones in Egypt, and websites and television channels advertise them for downloading.

"Putting the Holy Koran or the call to prayer as a mobile phone ringtone trivializes the sanctity of the verses, which are for prayer, invocation and recitation and not to be taken out of their legitimate use," state news agency MENA quoted Gomma as saying.

When answering a cellphone, the user interrupts the holy words of God, which could confuse their meaning and misdirect the listener, Gomaa said.

Muslims can use religious songs suitable to the length of the ringtone, but the sanctity of the Koran should be respected, he added.

Impact of France's Ban on wearing Burqa

Every decision one takes has a spill-over effect on everything else. Have you ever wondered now that France has imposed a ban on wearing the Burqa (the fine for which could leave a pocket lighter by 750 Euros), what really will be the repercussions.

If the demand for Burqa goes down, it'll impact the burqa-sellers, burqa-manufacturers and even the cloth supplier. And what if more western countries followed suite...imagine the Big Picture!!!

Ilkone i-800: Islamic Mobile phone

The name 'ilkone' comes from the Arab word, meaning 'universe' and it is targeted at the Muslim consumer. According to Saqer Tellawi (CEO of Ilkone) - products that are serving niche markets are experiencing greater success than regular mobile devices which only differ in outlook and color.

Among its many features, ilkone i800 offers automatic precise prayer timing anywhere in the world, an alarm option which can be set to sound before and after the call to prayer (Azan) with actual Azan voice which could be automatically set to silence throughout prayer. It is also capable of establishing Qibla directions from anywhere in the world, automatically pointing towards Mecca, giving full text of the Holy Qu'ran approved by Al-Azhar, with English translations. It also provides other features such as Hijri calendar converter and automatic alarm for Sohour Imsak and Iftar during Ramadan.

There's a New Saint in Town - Saint Juice

Religion has always been used for selling food and clothing. But this is probably the first time when I've seen religion being used to market "juices" in India (though admittedly it has been used to market colas for a long time. Mecca Cola and Zam-Zam Cola are a case in point). Interestingly, they have named the brand as "SAINT Juice" and if the religious connotation is not clear from the name, they have also supplemented it with the tagline - Juice the way God meant it to be. Also, the advertisement is really effective since it gives the feeling of unadulterated, pure and natural Juice - just the way God intended, before mankind decided to pollute it.

8 P's

For details on the conventional 4 P's - i.e. Product, Price, Promotion, Place...you can look up my blog - http://www.marketingmallika.blogspot.com/

As for the next 4 Ps of Islamic Marketing, let us take an individual look at each one of them.

Politics - In most of the Muslim nations, political stability is not always guaranteed. They have a volatile history and it would do well for marketers to keep a close tab on the political conditions in their target country.

Public Opinion - While public opinion is important in almost all other cultures, it assumes significant importance when dealing with Muslim nations. Religion is woven so strongly in the Muslim culture, that a negative public opinion can seriously affect a marketer's chances of being successful in that market.

Preaching - Preaching in this case refers to the religious preachers in the Islamic world, i.e. Maulvis. While in other societies, it would not be too much of a worry for marketerers if some religious preacher banned their products. But in the Islamic societies, a fatwa would spell doomsday for any marketer.

Prophet - Prophet in this case refers to the Koran, as recounted by the Prophet. Muslim consumers are very conscious of their religious literature and things which are permissible and not permissible. Hence, products/services which are considered forbidden as per the Koran will be almost impossible to sell in these nations.

8 P's of Marketing in Islamic Nations

Let me first start with the definition of Islamic Nations - Islamic Nations are nations which fulfil atleast one of the 2 criterias - (1) The State Religion is Islam, and (2) The Nation has 50% or more of Muslim population. The country which fulfills either of or both these criterias is considered an Islamic Nation.

At the moment there are 57 registered OIC Nations (OIC stands for Organization of the Islamic Conference). Conventional marketing is fine in these nations, however, owing to the emphasis they lay on religion in their everyday affairs, we can't just rely on the 4 P's to sail through.

Hence, let me elaborate the 8 P's of Islamic Marketing:

1. Product

2. Price

3. Promotion

4. Place

5. Politics

6. Public Opinion

7. Preacher

8. Prophet

Explanation commences in subsequent posts.

Word-on-Body

Word-on-Body advertising refers to the use of one's body to advertise the feelings and sentiments of one's religious orientation. A case in point is the use of tattoos depicting religious symbols and icons. Though, the Leviticus 19:28 from the Holy Bible reads, "Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, not print any marks upon you. I am Jenovah", clearly discouraging the use of tattoos. Tattoos were viewed as evil and considered as pagan symbols. However over time, many practicing Christians have also started tattooing their bodies with religious symbols. And the argument offered by many is that the human body is regarded as the God's temple, so body art such as tattoos are nothing but the frescoes and sacred murals in a church.

Other example of using the body as the billboard for one's faith can be seen in the case of fire-walking, which finds relevance in several cultures and religious sects.

Word-of-Mouth

Lets first start by talking about Word-of-Mouth advertising. Word-of-Mouth refers to one-on-one advertising, communicated either orally or written. It is highly personalized and forms an important form an important form of promotional tool. Word-of-mouth usually follows an experience with a product or service. In religious marketing, word-of-mouth plays an important role in the consumption of religious and other general products. For instance, in the case of religion, most advertising usually takes the form of word-of-mouth. Be it the Christian missionaries who propagated their faith with word-of-mouth or we consider the 'Lord Ganesha drinking milk' case in India. Even before, the official news hit the media, throngs of devotees had gathered outside the temples to witness the miracle. This was owing to the power of word-of-mouth advertising.

Religion vs Religiosity

RELIGION

In times of uncertainty or when faced with the unknown; we are unable to provide the answers or control the chain of events around us. This is when we turn to the esoteric in the hope of finding deliverance. Religion provides us with a sense of belongingness and security; and that provides us solace and comfort. Religion binds the society through common beliefs, rituals and rites.

RELIGIOSITY

Simply put, religiosity is the level of a follower's commitment towards his or her religion. Religious levels are not constant and consistent, but vary from society to society and from individual to individual. The religious level, in fact, not only differs from one person to another but also differs in an individual's own lifetime, emanating as a result of demographic, social and psychological factors.

La Mohammed, La Mecca

Many people believed and spread the rumor that the swirly Coca-Cola when reversed and read from left to right - said - "La Mohammed, La Mecca", which translated to 'No Mohammed, No Mecca'. To counter-balance the negative effects of these rumors, Coca-Cola in the late 1990s got these allegations reviewed by a special committee comprising of authorities from Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Ministry of Trade and Ministry of the Interior. The committee refused these allegations and so have several Muslim clerics. And Coca-Cola as further proof, got the allegations refuted by the Grand Mufti of Al-Azhar, the detailed statement of which is provided on the company's corporate website.

Video Games Based on the Bible

We all have played video-games as children and as adults. And to tell you the truth, I wasn't really surprised when I stumbled across video-games based on the bibles such as "The Bible Adventures featuring games such as Noah's Ark, Baby Moses and David & Goliath". If you have come across similar video-games, please do leave a comment...

The Eleventh Commandment

My book, The Eleventh Commandment - An Introduction to Religio-Marketing, explores the two approaches to Religio-Marketing. On the one hand, we see how marketing concepts are being used to market religion as a product and on the other hand, we look at how religion and religious levels of individuals drive marketing behaviors.