The Malays are a deeply cultural, religious and emotional people. They’re very appreciative of and receptive to people who show effort in understanding / adopting their culture genuinely without any fakery.

Ramadan is a holy month, a time when their daily habits change following their religious practice:

- Mornings start at 4.30am, fasting: 5.30am, workday: 8am-4.30pm, breaking fast: at dusk around 7.25pm; and the day is interspersed with many prayer sessions.

- The start of Ramadan is considered to be precious family time.

- Breaking fast is a time of togetherness, especially in the family unit

- Charity is an essential Muslim value, practised even more religiously during Ramadan.

Tactful timing:

-Our ads were non-intrusive: on the first days of Ramadan and Raya (Eid-al-Fitr), we bought print ads advertising heartfelt greetings.

A day in the life:

-Morning – No advertising, as it was insensitive to remind fasting Muslims of food.

-Midday – As Muslims began planning their breaking fast meal, we advertised to them online and at work.

-Afternoon – We used TV and radio to reinforce their decision to break fast with McDonald's.

-Evenings – TV, radio and digital ads reminded Muslims of their dining options the next day.

-Late night – Digital users saw McDonald’s 4am breakfast offering.

Resonate with Malays:

- We sponsored daily announcement of breaking fast times on TV

- We sponsored Singgah Sahur, a segment within a popular Ramadan talk show, Sembang Sahur. It consisted of heartwarming visits to the homes of the needy. Strong social media activities reinforced the exercise in charity.

The strategy paid off:

- Malay-Muslims reacted positively - There were close to 15,000 positive responses on social media, a positive affirmation in light of all the negativity before this.

- Interaction rate was high - Clicks over-performed expectations by a factor of 4, and this drove CPC costs down by a factor of 75%. Daypart segments led to increased engagement during key purchase windows.

- People remembered us - There was an increase of 52% in unaided awareness.

- Malay-Muslims started coming back in droves -

This shows an upsurge of goodwill and would hold McDonald’s in good stead for the future.