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People in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) know the rhythm of Ramadan by heart. The living room buzzes with family and friends, the aroma of Iftar fills the air, and the television is on. For decades, this prime-time format was the undisputed champion for advertisers, but while the big screen remains the heart of the home, its pulse has shifted. The throne once held by traditional linear broadcasts has a new occupant: Connected TV (CTV).
During Ramadan last year, the region saw a massive digital migration as 56% of viewers across MENA streamed more content than at any other time of year. This isn’t just a tech shift, it’s a digital escape from crowded airwaves. Around 71% of people in MENA say they feel overwhelmed by ads during the holy month, leading them to seek out more personalised, on-demand content that matches their likes and values.
But that doesn’t mean consumers have tuned brands out. They’ve just raised the bar. With 92% of people still receptive to Ramadan marketing, the challenge isn’t finding an audience, it’s earning their attention.
1. From broadcast to ‘community-cast’: The rise of interactive viewing
One of the most popular video formats bringing people together during the holy month is a modern twist on the classic Fawazeer Ramadan game show. For generations, this iconic Egyptian musical quiz show was a staple of Arab radio and television. Today, YouTube creators are transforming that traditionally lean-back experience into a lean-forward ‘community-cast’ event. They’re producing long-form shows that invite families to play along rather than just watch. It’s a fundamental shift from a one-way broadcast to a digital social gathering.
MENA furniture retailer Home Centre tapped into this interactive energy during the last holy month with its 360-degree ‘Your Ramadan Answered’ campaign. By reviving the nostalgia of Fawazeer through the lens of a modern Emirati family, the retailer turned its YouTube comments section into a digital game board. The campaign featured four episodic films, each ending with a clever riddle that prompted a surge of engagement as viewers flocked to the comments to compete for prizes. The format resonated deeply, garnering over 56 million views across platforms.
But the strategy didn’t stop at storytelling. To turn cultural buzz into commercial momentum, Home Centre leveraged creator partnerships boost within Demand Gen campaigns, using YouTube creator videos and amplifying trusted local voices, like Amira-Star, directly within its own marketing. By balancing the top-of-funnel influence of Demand Gen with the conversion engine of Performance Max — which gives brands access to all of their Google Ads inventory from a single campaign — Home Centre expanded its reach by 50% and spiked conversions by 145%, with engagement steady at 70%.
These results mirror a broader shift in the use of digital video and creator influence when it comes to purchasing. Around 86% of viewers in Saudi Arabia and 84% in the UAE cite YouTube as their primary Ramadan shopping guide, with nearly half of all shoppers crediting creators with their final buy.
2. Remixing the remote: How Shorts turns every Ramadan TV moment into a trend
During Ramadan, the conversation doesn’t end when the credits roll. It moves to YouTube Shorts, where pop culture moments from the season’s biggest series are ‘remixed’ into memes and trends. Once shows air, Shorts becomes the regional town square. Creators like Farouk TV review Ramadan shows and get other people’s opinions in the comments:
Brands are also joining this ‘remix’ culture as participants rather than interruptions. Fabric softener brand Comfort, for example, successfully inserted itself into the season’s biggest Ramadan drama TV tropes through its Comfort Chronicles series, using satirical humor to become a viral household name.
However, resonance requires more than just humour. People also want to feel seen. Take inspiration from the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi. To connect with the Indian community during Diwali, a festival that mirrors Ramadan’s family-centric values, the tourism board turned to AI. Using AI image and video tools like Nano Banana and Veo, they generated five original films in just seven days. They scripted in ‘Hinglish’, a mix of Hindi and English that reflects the authentic daily language of their audience, and localised the videos for other markets too. The campaign secured 63 million views, proving that cutting-edge tech can deliver deeply localised storytelling at scale.
3. The digital majlis: ‘Iftar Talks’ podcasts are Ramadan’s new lean-back ritual
Beyond high-octane drama, a quieter appetite for reflective content is reshaping the Ramadan screen, too. With YouTube hosting over 1 billion monthly podcast users, the ‘Iftar Talks’ podcast has emerged as a modern cultural cornerstone. This localised genre has transitioned the podcast from a solitary mobile habit into a collective, lean-back experience on connected TV, effectively serving as a digital majlis for the modern home.
Leading YouTube creators, like Mambah Fit, who hosted fellow Moroccan creator Milfaya101 for a traditional Iftar tagine last year, have become staple viewing during the post-fast period:
By blending deep-dive discussions on spirituality with the communal act of breaking fast, these creators bring an atmosphere of authentic connection directly into the living room. This format captures a high-attention state where audiences are already primed for reflection. For brands, these long-form discussions offer an escape from the clutter of 30-second interruptions. By aligning with contextual, high-attention storytelling, advertisers can evolve into active participants in the season’s most meaningful dialogues.
And this rich engagement continues well into the night. The bulk of digital browsing, shopping, and decision-making takes place between 8PM and 2AM, with 38% of engagement happening after evening Taraweeh prayers, and 24% peaking before pre-dawn suhoor. The digital majlis is clearly still in session until the early hours, offering brands an opportunity to connect with a deeply reflective, high-intent audience.
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