Ramadan represents one of the five pillars of Islam, which all Muslims are expected to follow, the other four are “Faith” or Shahadah; ‘Prayer’ or Salah, ‘Charitable Giving’ or Zakah and the ‘Pilgrimage to Makkah’or Hajj. The month of Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection and prayer. Ramadan is usually observed in the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and is one of the important months for Muslims as it is believed this is the month that the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Mohammed. During this month all healthy Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset when they must refrain from all food, drink, gum chewing, any kind of tobacco use and kind of sexual contact.

 Muslims believe their good actions bring greater reward during these 30 days because the month has been blessed by Allah. ‘Fasting’ reminds Muslims of the suffering of the poor who often don’t get to eat well. During the ‘holy month’ of Ramadan most Muslims will tend to wake up just before sunrise to have a meal or Suhoor. They will then not be able to eat or drink again until sunset when it is traditional to open the fast with a date and then eat and this meal is known as iftar. People open their fasts with a ’date’ as it is believed that the Prophet Mohammed broke his fast with such a fruit.

 Ramadan has both spiritual and physical significance. Certain individuals and/or groups hold iftar parties (when they prepare lots of food and then invite people round to eat). Ramadan often lasts anything between 29 to 30 days, depending on the sighting of the new moon, which marks the celebration of Eid El Fitr. Prior to this final day of celebration tents and /or marquees are traditionally put up by privileged to cater for the less privileged in the spirit of charitable giving during this somber and sober month.

 Lavish tents and marquees have long been a mainstay of the corporate events industry during the holy month of Ramadan in the Middle East. However, recently due to the financial crisis the marquee business has suffered as big corporations cut spending and marquee companies began to ‘feel the pinch’.

 Depending on the quality and size of the structure, a complete tent costs a minimum of between DH 200 000 and Dh250000 for the month of Ramadan alone. Even large businesses such as the likes of Tamani Hotel, Dubai Marina and the Hilton Hotel, Dubai Jumeirah, have moved their iftars and suhoors indoors after having previously had tents outdoors for the Ramadan period.

 Two UAE- based companies, Al—Baddad international and Harlequin Marquees and Event Services both compete in this market so had to start looking further afield in order to maintain sales in the downturn.

Al-Baddad international (henceforth Al-Baddad), a subsidiary of Al-Baddad Global, was established in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi in 1971 ( the same year the country attained independence from Great Britain) by the late Hajj Hassan Al-Baddad. The company is a leading provider of the innovative mobile halls and prefabricated buildings in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The company provides outdoor solutions, exhibitions, conferences, weddings, specials events, private occasions, festivals, camps, warehouses and temporary accommodations.

 Since its founding, Al-Baddad has continually built a business across the Middle East and North African (MENA) region with Egypt and Libya being the latest markets it has entered. The company claims leadership in mobile halls and tents in the region-manufacturing large quantities of tents and pre-fabricated buildings all year round through a company as ‘Al-Baddad Capital’.

 Al-Baddad’s marketing strategy is to ‘ explore, create, and always adopt new techniques and innovations to keep its solutions ahead of the curve’, as it strives to guarantee its place among the top suppliers in its industry both regionally and internationally. As one of the major tents companies in the region. It now is facing the challenge of a downturn in business due to decline in corporate sponsorship and so needs to think through how it might expand into new markets.

 Commenting on how they were now faring, Bilal Hamdan, the company’s marketing manager re-marked that ‘… this year we were more creative’. This creativity underlined the company’s marketing strategy including offering hotels price discounts in exchange for their branding to be displayed at the venues. They also looked at other cultural events and other opportunities across the MENA region having observed that some hotels had decided to use the structures they had set up for the recently concluded FIFA World Cup as Ramadan tents.

The second company Harlequin Marquees & Event Services (Harlequin henceforth), established in 1998 is a company that claims to be at the forefront of Gulf Hospitality, catering for all the usual events – from product launches to gala dinners and various other festivals. Harlequin also boasts Arabesque themed solutions in its opulent Ramadan Majlis (an Arabic term meaning ‘ a place of sitting’ used to describe various types of special gatherings) tents.

 Founder, Carmen Clews ,a former employee of Britain’s Royal Air Force air traffic control team, partnered with Charlie Wright to guide the full-service event design and rental company into a 45 – employee operation that claims to have some of the world’s biggest blue-chip companies as its clients. Indeed the creative enterprise of designing ‘modern Arabia’ event environments , complete with frosted arabesque-pattern tent windows and white LED-lit ‘star’ fabrics, satisfies Harlequin’s hunger for unique challenges . The company enjoys a dual advantage. First is the favorable climate – hot weather conditions and the second is the strategic location of the country. Indeed Dubai’s location – almost midway between Europe and Asia – makes it both a hub for international commerce and a notable attraction for workers from around the world.

 While this presents itself as an opportunity for Harlequin who consider themselves ‘… fortunate to have a fantastic team who all communicate, listen and talk very well together’, it also poses a cultural challenge with ethnically diverse clientele ( Arabic, Asian and/or Western). As part of its marketing strategy, the company considers itself a patient player, ‘we have to be extra careful, taking nothing for granted and never assuming anything’, but while acknowledging  the virtue of such patience, Clews was quick to point out that a bit of impulsiveness – ‘acting immediately on ideas that feel right’, had got her and Harlequin where they are today.

 Like a previous case, Harlequin has seen a downturn. According to Camilla Quinn, the client services manager of Harlequin, ‘we’re finding that the main reason hotels have pulled out this year has been because they’ve not been able to get the sponsorship’. Another member of the company’s management team stated, ‘We had four clients who were all quite far down the line with putting structures up, but they were all based on receiving corporate sponsorship. With all four of them it fell through at the last minute and they completely pulled their Ramadan tents.’

REQUIRED:

Question: 1. Compare and contrast the social cultural dimensions of the different market segments Al Baddad and Harlequin Marquees are together in the MENA region.

Question: 2. Compare and contrast the marketing –mix strategies used by Al Baddad and Harlequin Marquees in response to these markets.