Demand moves before the month does
Search behaviour starts shifting in the weeks before Ramadan begins, not on the first day. Plans built around the calendar month consistently arrive late, competing at peak cost for attention that was available cheaply a fortnight earlier.
The markets do not move together
Gulf and Levant markets show materially different curves, in timing and in category mix. A single regional plan smooths away the differences that matter. Nine markets means nine calendars, even when the creative is shared.
How we plan against it
We build backwards from the first shift rather than the first day, hold budget for the fortnight after Eid, and treat the whole period as three phases rather than one. The calendar we use is in the audit, market by market.