Thoughts on #AMCC Hosted by @MuslimConsumer
This past Saturday was spent at the American Muslim Consumer Conference which is one of the most interesting and educational conferences I’ve ever attended. I share with you my thoughts on the experience, a few videos you might find insightful and entertaining and some photos of the conference as well.
Some gems from the conference:
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Brands need to UNDERSTAND & RESPECT Islamic values and demo it in their communication and behavior. Be sharia friendly. Have values like humility. Brands also need to have Fearless PUBLIC SUPPORT for these values. If a brand takes our side, we’ll need to take theirs too.
- Nazia Hussain (OgilvyNoor)
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How we engage the western media has to change. We need to re-present Islam. The commercial arena will allows us to do this.
In the mainstream perception, “halaal” and 9/11 have a very small gap. The fact that we have to defend this position is a loss in perception for us. “Terrorism” and “barbaric” aren’t part of our language. When they make negative statements about us, they automatically put themselves in the “good guy” position. If we follow the sunnah, we will claim the moral high ground.We need a proactive language. The truth is Muslims need coaching on how to talk as well as coaching PR.
The marketing language that will emerge from the western world will have ripples around the world.
Friedrich Nietzsche said God is dead. He meant that Christianity failed to give Europe what it needed. We need to approach Economics and Business from the Quran and Sunnah to be the commanders of this market.
- AbdalHamid Evans
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If you want people to commit to your brand/character, you have to connect with them on a human level. If they dont believe in your humanity, they wont believe your fantasy.
- Farhan Tahir – Actor (Iron Man, Star Trek)
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In the US you have fear due to ignorance but its not like the Netherlands where a political party comes to power due to islamaphobia.
Globally Muslims are a 1+ trillion market. We cannot ignore it. The values of Muslims (Sharia) needs to be embraced by brands: transparency, sincerity of intent, humility, modesty, ect.
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.
- Miles Young, CEO of Ogilvy
The following video of Adnan Durrani with some advice for aspiring entrepreneurs – recorded by @SaadMalik
One of the treats of AMCC for me was meeting actor Farhan Tahir (Iron Man, Star Trek) and learning about the entertainment industry from his perspective.
One of the advices he gave me was:
Hollywood is a cut throat industry and it isn’t for everyone. You cannot have a glass jaw. People will hit you hard and knock you down. You need to have some sort of support system of buffer you can fall back on so that you can get back up and keep moving forward. Without that buffer you won’t be able to continue. You need to decide or find what your buffer will be.
Farhan will be starring in a few upcoming films in the next year, one of them being a movie titled “Jinn” – one of the lead actors is this film is Ray Park (Heroes, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, X-Men)
Photos from the conference The following photos are from last year’s AMCC (courtesy of @SaadMalik). This year’s haven’t been uploaded yet. Will post it when its up.
