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6 min read By the dotweb team

Ramadan 2027 Campaign Planning: A Timeline for GCC Brands

Ramadan 2027 is expected to start around 8 February. A week-by-week plan for GCC brands, from tracking and creative to Eid, so nothing is rushed.

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A lit Ramadan lantern with warm fairy lights in the background
Photo: Kasem Sleem on Unsplash

Ramadan 2027 is expected to begin around 8 February 2027, with Eid al-Fitr around 9 or 10 March. The exact dates depend on the moon sighting, so plan for a day either side. For most GCC brands it is the most important month of the year for advertising, and also the most crowded one.

The brands that do well in Ramadan rarely start in Ramadan. Their tracking works, their creative is approved and their landing pages are tested before the first iftar. This guide works backwards from the first day of Ramadan so you know what to do and when.

What changes during Ramadan

Before the timeline, it helps to know what you are planning for:

  • Daily routines move. Working hours are shorter across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and much of the day’s activity moves to the evening. Phone use and shopping continue late into the night, between iftar and suhoor.
  • Competition for attention rises. Many brands advertise at the same time, so ad auctions get more competitive and costs usually go up, especially in the last ten days and before Eid.
  • Intent changes through the month. The days before Ramadan are about preparing and stocking up. The middle of the month is about family, food, giving and content. The last ten days and the run-up to Eid are about gifts, new clothes and travel.
  • Tone matters more. Ramadan is a spiritual month. Creative that feels respectful and generous works better than hard selling, and showing people eating or drinking during fasting hours can feel out of place.

The timeline

12 to 10 weeks before (November to mid-December): plan and fix the foundations

This is the quiet work that decides how well the money is spent later.

  • Set goals and a budget for each phase: pre-Ramadan, the month itself, the last ten days and Eid. Keep part of the budget flexible for what works.
  • Check your tracking. Make sure the Meta Pixel and Conversions API, the TikTok Pixel and the Snap Pixel report purchases or leads correctly, with the right values. If the platforms can’t see your sales, they can’t find more buyers during the busiest month of the year. Our guide to why ads don’t generate sales explains what to check.
  • Decide your offers. Ramadan bundles, iftar deals, gift sets, Eid collections, delivery promises. Offers need stock, pricing and approvals, which take time.
  • Book production. Photographers, video crews, models and studios in the region get busy before Ramadan.

10 to 6 weeks before (mid-December to early January): build the pages and the creative

  • Prepare your landing pages in Arabic and English. A Ramadan campaign that sends people to a generic homepage wastes the click. Each offer should have a page that repeats the ad’s message, loads fast on a phone and makes it easy to buy or get in touch. If your site gets traffic but no sales, fix that now, not in February.
  • Shoot and design the creative. Plan for several clearly different ideas, not small variations of one. Write the Arabic for the audience from the start, rather than adapting the English at the end.
  • Make vertical video first. Most Ramadan viewing happens on phones, in Stories, Reels, TikTok and Snapchat.
  • Plan for creative fatigue. People see a lot of ads during the month. Have enough versions to refresh every week or two.

6 to 3 weeks before (January): test and build audiences

  • Test your creative and offers at a modest budget. Keep what works and drop what doesn’t, before costs rise.
  • Grow your retargeting audiences. People who watch your videos, visit your site or engage with your account now are the people you can reach cheaply in Ramadan.
  • Submit ads and catalogues early. Platform reviews can take longer when many advertisers launch at once, so don’t leave approvals to the last week.
  • Check delivery and customer service. If orders double, can your team and your delivery partner keep up? A good campaign can be undone by late deliveries and slow replies.

The last 2 weeks before Ramadan: launch the pre-Ramadan push

Many families prepare in advance, buying food, home items, decorations and gifts. Run your pre-Ramadan offers now, and keep feeding your retargeting audiences.

During Ramadan: adjust the timing and refresh often

  • Follow the evening. Look at when your customers actually buy, and give the evening and late-night hours enough budget.
  • Refresh creative regularly, before results drop rather than after.
  • Watch the numbers daily, change things weekly. Frequent edits restart the platforms’ learning, so make changes in batches.
  • Keep the tone right. Content about family, sharing and generosity fits the month better than constant discounts.

The last ten days and Eid: the busiest stretch

  • Increase budget for your proven campaigns, not for brand-new tests.
  • Be clear about delivery deadlines. “Order by [date] for delivery before Eid” is useful information, and a reason to act now.
  • Switch the creative to gifts and Eid, in both Arabic and English.

After Eid: keep what you learned

  • Retarget the people who visited but didn’t buy. Many are still interested after Eid.
  • Write down what worked: which offers, which ideas, which hours and which platforms. Next year’s plan starts from this.

Which platforms to use

There isn’t one answer for every brand, but a few patterns hold across the GCC:

  • Meta (Instagram and Facebook) is the base for most brands, with a wide reach in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
  • TikTok works well for products that are easy to show in a short video, and for younger audiences.
  • Snapchat is especially strong in Saudi Arabia, and is worth testing for most consumer brands targeting the Kingdom.

Spread the budget over the platforms where your customers really spend time, rather than being everywhere with too little to learn from. Our guide to setting a marketing budget explains how to work it out.

FAQ

When should we start planning Ramadan campaigns?

About three months before. For Ramadan 2027, that means November 2026. Starting early leaves time to fix tracking, build pages and test creative before costs rise.

Do ad costs really go up during Ramadan?

Usually, yes. More brands advertise at the same time, so the auctions are more competitive, especially in the last ten days and before Eid. That’s why it pays to test early and put more budget behind what has already worked.

Should we stop advertising during Ramadan?

For most consumer brands, no. People shop, browse and spend more time on their phones. What changes is the timing, the message and the tone.

What dates should we plan around?

Ramadan 2027 is expected to start around 8 February 2027, and Eid al-Fitr around 9 or 10 March. Dates are confirmed by moon sighting, so keep your plan flexible by a day or two.