On Islamic branding: Brands as good deeds

Purpose – The paper aims to clarify some of the most important issues pertinent to the emerging field of Islamic branding (IB). Namely, it answers the following questions: what does IB mean? Why is it important and what makes it different from conventional branding? What are its types? What is the future of IB? Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual research paper that builds on the author's vast expertise and knowledge of the Islamic market and Islamic marketing and branding practices, ethics, and motivations to answer the various research questions. Findings – Although IB is qualitatively different from conventional branding, international branding experts still view it from the same perspective and, therefore, use conventional branding techniques when branding to Muslims. The motivations to underlying IB are not fully appreciated and the concept remains bound by an abstract understanding of Halal and Haram. Research limitations/implications – This is a conceptual paper and, as such, it is subject to the same limitations surrounding similar conceptual academic works. Practical implications – The paper will be of great value to marketers because it will help them improve their branding strategies when targeting the Muslim consumer and engaging the Islamic market. Social implications The IB practices have the potential to add a human touch to the exploitive conventional branding practices common among today's marketers. Originality/value – This is the first paper of its kind that conceptualizes and clarifies the various facets of IB.