How did Middle East brands capitalize on the Royal Wedding?

The royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was no private affair. Other than it being a widely covered occasion by all media outlets, it was also an opportunity for brands.

That shouldn’t really be a surprise given the massive interest in the event. Google Trends reports a surge in the ‘Royal Wedding’ with many users searching for the following:

1. When is the Royal Wedding?
2. What time does the Royal Wedding start?
3. How to watch the Royal Wedding
4. Where to watch the Royal Wedding
5. Is the Royal Wedding televised?

Twitter even had its own live stream.

Globally, brands like KFC and Dunkin Donuts launched new campaigns and even products to salute the royal occasion. British retails Marks & Spencer even rebranded to “Markle & Sparkle” while Deliveroo ran a social media campaign “#HarryTheHeartbreaker” for those upset that Prince Harry was now taken.

And although no regional brands celebrated the wedding through their advertising, several hotels in the UAE did hold special events to celebrate the wedding.

1. BiCE Ristorante at the Hilton in Jumeirah, Dubai, served a special brunch along with a live screening. It also held a competition for guests to dress up for the wedding and the best-dressed couple would win a stay at The Royal Penthouse of Hilton Dubai, The Walk.
2. Reform Social & Grill at The Lakes, Dubai, started the celebrations on a day prior with a hen’s party for women and a high tea, in addition to a special screening on the following day.
3. Emirates Golf Club’s Emirates Central held a royal wedding brunch and also a fancy dress of sorts where the best-dressed would win a chance to dine at Carine and Jones the Grocer.
4. Perry & Blackwelder’s in Madinat Jumeirah had two brunches dedicated to the couple – a House of Windsor and the Meghan Sparkle followed by afternoon tea and a traditional wedding cake. The dress code was ‘something old, borrowed or blue’.
5. Eloquent Elephant at the Taj Dubai celebrated the event from May 17 with Meghan’s hen party, Harry’s stag party and The Royal Brunch.