This article highlights the “storytellers who bring the message, meaning and magic out of your brand.”
In this issue, the Spotlight is on none other than M.I.N, a marketing and advertising agency that aims to connect brands to a global Muslim audience of nearly two billion people through their creativity, thorough knowledge of faith & culturebased communities, and their influencer network that was built over time.
You may say that this is very ambitious, but knowing Saiful Islam and Omar Shahid, the cofounders of M.I.N, ambition is second nature to them.
Saiful Islam is an accredited Diversity & Inclusion specialist from Yale University, also recognized as a Top 50 Thought Leader in Influencer Marketing. Saif also oversaw strategy and digital transformation for global organizations, including Primark and the U.N. Omar Shahid, a former journalist for the Times, Guardian, and the Independent wrote about Religion and was named Forbes 30 under 30.
“The Muslim Influencer Network’s original mission was to help Muslim Influencers utilize the power of their influence in a positive way.”
M.I.N was established in 2017, and it stands for Muslim Influencer Network. In this age of Social Media, there is no escaping Influencers especially considering the low barriers to entry that this industry has. More and more Muslims made up a growing percentage of this sector. They quickly identified the significant power these Influencers wielded if channeled the right way.
The Muslim Influencer Network’s original mission was to help Muslim Influencers utilize the power of their influence in a positive way. The aim was to create more empowered influencers, meaningful social media engagements, and relationships, thereby overcoming the perception that Social media is absolutely disconnected from reality. When working with this advertising agency, influencers know that they have someone to fall back on. They are supported during challenges, and the diverse portfolio of mainstream brands that M.I.N handles means an opportunity to gain credibility and exposure sooner than later.
Micro and Macro Muslim influencers with a minimum of 30 - 40,000 followers, up to 1 million followers, are the primary contributors to the Muslim Influencer Network. Influencers can easily manipulate their follower numbers. Hence, differentiator criteria allow the experts to find the gems within the Influencer space.
M.I.N have their own formula for what truly makes an influencer, such as scanning through their engagement rate, clicks, communication skills, and the influencer’s ability to demonstrate that they really have a community. This rigorous criterion allows businesses to rest assured that they are not wrongly misled to work with Influencers with false follower numbers and “likes” that unfortunately plague the Influencer industry.
On the other hand, we have brands that would want to understand the Muslim market and would like to connect with people from faith and cultural backgrounds. The Muslim / Halal / Islamic economy has undoubtedly gained prominence. It presents a substantial untapped opportunity with more and more global brands hoping to get a slice of the pie.
With 16 team members based worldwide, this global marketing company offers consultancy, strategic support, social media management, content creation, and Influencer marketing services, thereby allowing brands to meaningfully engage with minority communities that are now fast becoming majorities, particularly Muslims. These services are highly advantageous specifically for visionary founders who want to scale their start-ups and benefit from the creative marketing support offered.
Prominent brands that have utilized M.I.N are Apple, the United Nations, Primark, Rubicon, Co-Op, Anchor Butter, Tesco, The Southbank Centre and several charities who raised over $5 million for their particular causes.
The Muslim / Halal / Islamic economy has undoubtedly gained prominence.
Despite the various challenges that businesses typically face and the recent pandemic, M.I.N has continued to grow MashaAllah with the establishment of Creed and Culture and One Studio and eventually Inclusiv, the holding group, to work across many different cultures and faith communities.
The vision for this Muslim pioneer company is to be a global brand in their own right. As Saiful said, “We are in the business of creating meaning for people and in people.”
Working on this article kept reminding me of a verse from the Holy Quran.
O humankind, We have created you male and female, and appointed you races and tribes, that you may know one another. Indeed, the noblest among you in the sight of God is the most God-fearing of you. God is All-knowing, All-aware (Qur’ān 49:13).
With the above words, the Qur’ān highlights the importance and necessity of diversity and the fact that it needs to be celebrated. M.I.N portrays Islam with Ihsan (excellence), and they embody the harmony that our Creator prescribed by expanding to work with different faith and cultural communities.
So, whether you want more sales or awareness or are looking to build your brand from scratch or drive engagement, you know who to contact.
Wishing them all the very best in their future endeavors insha’Allah, we conclude by saying in this edition of “battuta” Spotlight, M.I.N stole our hearts.
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