Many Muslims embraced Best Buy's attempt at inclusion, Raja
Abdulrahim reports, but some people objected to the gesture on the Best Buy Web site. "You insult all of the heroes and innocent who died 911 by celebrating a holiday of the religion that said to
destroy them!" one poster wrote. Pew finds that 45% of Americans believe Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence.
Rafi-uddin Shikoh, founder of consulting firm DinarStandard, recommends directing advertising in ethnic and religious outlets and away from mainstream media. But Mohammed Abdullah, event coordinator for the first American Muslim Consumer Conference, points out that Best Buy's sales were up 13% last month over the previous December, indicating that actual backlash at the cash register didn't match the online venom.
advertisement
advertisement
In working in the area of marketing to Muslims, I agree that it's often best to reach Muslim consumers through more targeted tactics -- from editorial coverage and advertising with Muslim lifestyle media, targeted microsites to sponsoring Islamic events. The online space especially presents an efficient place to reach Muslim consumers as we're able to identify where Muslims are gathering online to discuss and share about brands and products, and then engage with them there.
Lisa of Hewar Social Communications