Ramadan Mubarak Creates Festive Digital Experiences For Yahoo! Malaysia Users

Uniting the various aspects of Islam’s holiest month, whether cultural, spiritual or social, Yahoo! Malaysia and Listerine, the oral hygiene brand by Johnson & Johnson have utilised their resources and announced the official launch of Ramadan Mubarak (http://my.news.yahoo.com/ramadan_mubarak/), a one-stop Custom Branded Experience (CBE) designed to deliver all the relevant information Malaysian Muslims will need during the holy month.

The dedicated online destination will offer customized religious and lifestyle content including quotes from the Holy Quran, fasting schedules, expert articles by Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin – the ex-mufti of Perlis and one of the country’s most prominent Islamic scholars, recipes from Malaysia’s Food Ambassador Chef Wan, celebrity greetings, bazaar reviews and photos commemorating festive experiences from across the world. Yahoo! Will also run a Flickr site http://www.flickr.com/groups/ramadan_yahoo/ where users can share their experiences of how they celebrate Ramadan by submitting photos and be a part of the online community during the festive month.

Highlighting the importance of adhering to the Islamic customs during the holy month while providing meaningful content that combines spiritual and the social messages, Marc Lourdes, Country Editor of Yahoo! Malaysia stated, “The content for Ramadan was developed in a holistic way, balancing the Muslim community’s interest of conforming to Islamic values and responding to our users’ desire for lifestyle content. Ramadan Mubarak brings diverse content around spirituality, food, lifestyle, entertainment, capturing the nostalgia of Ramadan and Hari Raya and even practicing safety on the road during the balik kampung rush.”

To further connect with the local community and attract a wider online user base, the rich content will be offered in Malay language and also integrate comment modules and enable social sharing of articles with friends and family to create interactive experiences. Responding to the shift in the way content is being consumed on mobile, Yahoo! Malaysia has taken its Ramadan offering to tablet and mobile devices enabling access to its customized content anytime, anywhere.

According to Jon Tjin Kee, Sales Director and Country Ambassador of Yahoo! Malaysia, “Custom Branded Experiences offer a unique value proposition to brands who want to be publishers and generate social conversations online. By providing them a trusted environment to engage with consumers, CBE acts as a bridge between a brand and consumers’ needs to drive engagement and build awareness.”

He added, “Ramadan Mubarak custom branded site is ideal for Listerine that wants to embed itself within the Muslim community and put forward the benefits of oral hygiene during the fasting period which is compliant with the Islamic customs.”

Yahoo! Has collaborated with a number of consumer brands in Malaysia and across Southeast Asia to develop custom branded solutions for marketers including Vaseline, Danone Dumex, Unilever and Malaysia Tourism. The dedicated site will be a part of the Yahoo! News experience and readily discoverable throughout the month for anyone seeking premium content to make this Ramadan a spiritual digital experience.