A Ramadan campaign video timeline that works backwards
Start from the first night and count back. Brief ten weeks before, script and style frames at eight, generation at six, locks at four, final delivery at two. For Ramadan 2027, expected in early February, the brief belongs in late November.
Made with AIRamadan video is late every year for the same reason. The plan starts at the brief, when it should start at the first night. A Ramadan campaign video timeline fixes that by counting backwards from the date the film must be live.
The week counts below are a planning guide, not a promise. Your scope, your approvers and your market will move them. They still show the order things have to happen in, and the point where a late decision starts to cost you versions.
The Ramadan campaign video timeline, counted back
Everything hangs on one date. Ramadan moves about eleven days earlier each year, so last year's calendar will mislead you.
- Ten weeks before: brief agreed. The feeling, the one action, the audience, the markets and every format. Name the people who approve.
- Eight weeks before: script and style frames approved. Every decision-maker sees them, together if possible. This is the last moment to change direction at a low cost.
- Six weeks before: generation and any filming start. The look is fixed. Real product shots and any live action are already scheduled.
- Four weeks before: edit, voice and music locked. No new ideas after this line. New ideas go in next year's brief.
- Two weeks before: final delivery. Master, cut-downs, vertical and square versions, Arabic and English supers.
- Launch week: live and scheduled. Every version is uploaded and checked on the real platforms before the first night.
Made with AIRamadan 2027 campaign dates
Ramadan 2027 is expected to begin in early February, with the first fast on or around Sunday 7 or Monday 8 February. That is an astronomical estimate. The moon sighting decides, and it can differ by country. So plan on the earlier date. Being live a day early costs nothing. Being a day late costs the first night.
Here is the same guide as a dated checklist, with Sunday 7 February 2027 as day zero.
| Date | What must be true |
|---|---|
| Sunday 29 November 2026 | Brief agreed, approvers named, series shape chosen |
| Sunday 13 December 2026 | Script and style frames approved |
| Sunday 27 December 2026 | Generation and any filming under way |
| Sunday 10 January 2027 | Edit, voice and music locked |
| Sunday 24 January 2027 | All versions delivered |
| Sunday 31 January 2027 | Uploaded, scheduled, checked on each platform |
| Sunday 7 February 2027 | Day zero |
Now check that list against your own calendar. The approval weeks run straight through the end of the year, when regional and global approvers are often away. In Egypt, the public holidays on 7 and 25 January fall inside the edit and delivery weeks. Ask who signs off in those weeks before you agree the dates.
If your brief is already late, cut scope rather than stages. Fewer episodes and fewer versions will survive a short schedule. Skipped approvals will not. They come back during the edit, when changes cost the most.
When to brief a Ramadan ad that runs as a series
Many brands release short episodes across the month. If you want a series, the answer to "when do we brief" stays the same, but the whole series has to be planned at the start. Otherwise the last episode gets made in a hurry, and it is the one that runs on the biggest nights.
Plan the month in four beats.
| Stretch | Expected dates | What the film does |
|---|---|---|
| First nights | From 7 or 8 February | Arrival. Warmth. Sets up the characters or the world |
| Middle of the month | Mid-February | Develops the story. Short episodes hold attention |
| Last ten nights | From late February | Slower and more reflective. Giving and gratitude belong here |
| Eid | Expected 9 or 10 March | A short greeting that closes the series |
Two details are easy to miss. Eid is confirmed late, so keep the greeting free of any date and ready to publish at short notice. And if you work in Saudi Arabia, Founding Day on 22 February falls in the middle of the month in 2027. Decide early whether that is a separate film, and how its tone sits beside your Ramadan work.
As a guide to scope, a series of five 30-second social films plans at SAR 9,500 to 15,000 (USD 2,500 to 4,000) Calculator estimate, before VAT. Use the budget calculator to test your own number of episodes. For the service itself, see Ramadan and National Day AI video production.
Iftar and late-night formats
Plan for two moments, then check both against your own media data.
- Around iftar. Families are together and screens are often shared. Sound is more likely to be on. This suits a longer film with a warm voice.
- Late at night. Attention is more personal and more likely to be on a phone. This suits vertical cuts, short episodes and supers that read with the sound off.
Sunset moves through the month and differs by city, so schedule against sunset rather than a fixed clock time. Watch daytime placements too. A film with food on screen may not be what you want running during fasting hours. Agree this with your media team, and cut a version without food if you need one.
Tone needs the same care. Warm, generous and unhurried works. Loud sales energy feels wrong. Dress, prayer, food and family moments need a cultural review of the full cut, not just the script, because AI can place a small wrong detail in any frame. Language needs its own pass too. See Arabic AI video.
What slips first
Campaigns rarely slip because of one big problem. These are the usual small ones.
- Approvals. One absent decision-maker can cost a week. Name a deputy in the brief.
- Arabic supers. They arrive last and change the edit. Write them with the script.
- Vertical versions. They get treated as a crop. Frame for them in the style frame stage.
- Real product shots. Waiting for a sample holds up every scene it appears in. Send it with the brief.
- Music. A late change shifts every cut. Lock it with the edit.
AI helps in specific places. You can test the look of a series before the full budget is spent, and produce the many versions a month-long campaign needs. It does not remove the need for an early brief. It makes the brief count for more, because every later step moves quickly only when the direction is settled.
Ramadan 2027 campaign questions
When should we brief a Ramadan 2027 video?
Late November 2026 is the planning guide for a campaign with several versions. A smaller job can start later if the scope shrinks with it.
What if the moon sighting moves the first night?
Plan on the earlier date and be live before it. A film that is scheduled early is safe either way. Keep any date out of the film itself.
Can AI video rescue a late Ramadan campaign?
It can help if the idea is simple and the approvers are available. It cannot replace approvals or a cultural review. Cut episodes and versions first.
Should a Ramadan film be one hero film or a series?
Choose by what you need to say and how long you want to hold attention. One film suits a single message. A series suits a month-long presence, if it is planned whole at the start.
