Mohammed Abdullah, event coordinator for the first American Muslim Consumer Conference, believes the Best Buy ad campaign will spur more outreach. The chain's 13% revenue increase in December over the previous December, he believes, is a sign that the retailer wasn't affected by any backlash.

"The growth strategy being employed by Best Buy will be copied, and few will look at the Eid al-Adha holiday ad as a negative or a misstep now," said Abdullah, an assistant vice president at Deutsche Bank. "There will absolutely be more outreach for this market segment."

Getting corporate America to recognise the purchasing power of Muslims, rather than running scared because of stereotypes, was difficult but not impossible, said Michael Hastings-Black, the co-founder of the Desedo Advertising Agency, which specialises in minority markets.

Addressing more than 200 delegates at the American Muslim Consumer Conference recently, he recounted a tale illustrating the high passions generated by a television advert last year by Dunkin’ Donuts, which did not even specifically address Muslims.

These events always remind me of cooking. You put selected ingredients together, and although you have some idea of how it is going to taste, you really don’t know until the meal is served. And of course the audience brings an unpredictable array of additional flavors and spices that mix and simmer throughout the day.

The Muslim market, or Halal market (because it has huge areas of overlap) is an emerging global market force. Many of the world’s largest corporations and many of the world’s governments have recognised the economic and political significance of this new commercial paradigm.

I just returned from the American Muslim Conference in New Jersey. It’s the first one and so I must commend them on an excellent job. Like many market segments such as African Americans, gay/lesbians or Hispanic marketing they started out small and fragmented but grew strong and profitable. The American Muslim community is beginning that process. First they must define who they are.

Did you know that Hispanics are the fastest growing part of American Muslim population? It is so diverse from an ethnic point of view and yet we think of Muslims as being from Middle Eastern countries.

The first-ever American Muslim Consumer Conference will be held Oct. 31 at Rutgers University. The goal of the event is to dispel negative stereotypes of Muslims by highlighting their contributions to America's society and economy.

Faisal Masood, of North Brunswick, is the founder of MuslimLink.org, a social media platform that connects Muslim professionals, businesses and organizations. He decided to hold a conference after reading a 2007 New York Times article which mentioned that Muslims spend $170 billion in America, showing that the American Muslim market is highly educated and fast growing.

The timing is interesting. In the midst of a recession, with US manufacturers and marketers desperately looking for new market segments, the American Muslim consumer market has appeared right on cue.

In their report “Addressing the Muslim Market – can you afford not to? ”, A T Kearney concluded that ‘since Muslims are the fastest growing consumer segment in the world, any company that is not considering how to serve them is missing a significant opportunity…”

The American Muslim Consumer Conference presents a key marketing opportunity for marketers and PR firms. American Muslims represent an affluent and largely untapped market segment. The conference features well-known journalists, members of the Muslim community and experts to focus on "Marketing to the American-Muslim: Trends and Opportunities." It will be held October 31st at Rutgers University (Busch Campus) in New Jersey.

Companies are not addressing the needs of Muslims. "Muslims want to be acknowledged in mainstream media. You don't need to change your product or show Muslims in your ads. Instead, consider advertising in a Muslim media outlet. Say Eid Mubarak or Ramadan Kareem during the holidays. The Muslim community will respond. When we see an ad we like we send it to our friends and share it with each other," said Mohammed Abdullah, director of the event.

Entrepreneur Magazine said American Muslims have the buying power roughly equal to the state of Indiana. However, "reaching them requires an understanding of their culture, beliefs and preferences. Muslims are more interested than most Americans in seeing advertising that acknowledges them," it says. Muslims are a neglected market with huge potential for brands who are willing to connect with them online and offline.

American-Muslims consumers are estimated at 6-8,000,000 with an annual spending in excess of $170Bln. This conference will provide American businesses and executives with useful insights, information and opportunities on how to access and attract the American-Muslim market.

Companies are not addressing the needs of Muslims. 'Muslims want to be acknowledged in mainstream media. You don't need to change your product or show Muslims in your ads. Instead, consider advertising in a Muslim media outlet. Say Ramadan Kareem or Ramadan Mubarak during Ramadan. The Muslim community will respond. When we see an ad we like we send it to our friends and share it with each other,' said Mohammed Abdullah, director of the event.

I just got off the phone with Mohammed Abdullah who is one of the organizers of the American Muslim Consumer Conference (AMCC). I’m going to be presenting along with a panel about online PR at the conference at the end of October. I asked Mohammed many questions so I could write a press release and understand the Muslim community better (and my friend Ponn of American Muslim Mom).

He was explaining how American Muslims feel they are invisible to advertisers outside of their own community. It’s rare that they see ads recognizing Ramadan which is going on now. So if a marketer were to acknowledge this important event it would be an anomaly. So much so that the community is likely to not only notice but share the ad with their friends. Yes, marketers — they will share an ad. Like the one Burger King ran in the Middle East that Mohammed passed to his friends. If you gave them something worth promoting they’d likely share it on Facebook, Twitter and on social bookmarking sites. Also on Muslim social networks.

The first annual American Muslim Consumer Conference (AMCC) will take place on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 in New Brunswick, NJ. Researchers, entrepreneurs, marketing and advertising executives from corporate America will convene to discuss and explore the rapidly growing and untapped American-Muslim Consumer: scope, trends and opportunities.

American-Muslims consumers are estimated at 6-8 million with an annual spending in excess of $170Bln. This conference will provide American businesses and executives with useful insights, information and opportunities on how to access and attract the American-Muslim market.