Estimates put the American Muslim population at six to eight million – a small but relatively unmined marketing ‘Mecca.’ The challenge of targeting this eclectic group remains somewhat daunting, although it’s worth about $200 billion.

Many Muslims are recent immigrants of Middle Eastern descent; but just as many are U.S. natives. Many are African-Americans. Some are traditionally religious and others secular. Research indicates they are less influenced by price and value, more aware of brand names, and more gender-specific.
National brands including Best Buy, Ann Taylor, ESPN, Verizon and U.S. Healthcare are showing up on Muslim-oriented websites such as hijabtrendz.com and chillyoislamyo.com, while Hallmark sells Eid cards for the end of Ramadan.

S. Saad Ahmed, director of sales and strategy for the Muslim Ad Network, tells Marketing Daily, "For a communications company, for example, someone offering calling plans that are specific to Egypt would want to use Egyptian Arabic, but in a more general sense, it might mention Eid — that holiday means it's time to call back home to Muslims of any nationality."

Using food as an example, Ahmed continues, "While the Halal market is roughly equivalent to the $200 billion Kosher market, there are no big brands reaching out to them."