It’s almost Spooky season! With Halloween just around the corner, you’re probably excited about gorging yourself with candy, creating some creepy cocktails, and finding the perfect costume. But if you own a business, do you know what you should be most excited about? The increased revenue you can get from a holiday marketing campaign! Companies go all out on Halloween to attract customers and scare up some fun. Why not join them?
5 Examples of Good Halloween Marketing Campaigns
While you’re welcome to dive straight into a Halloween marketing campaign on your own, we suggest doing some studying. That way, you can learn from the best. Here are five successful Halloween marketing campaigns to inspire you:
Chipotle Booritos
Chipotle always does Halloween right. Since 2000, they have been offering discounted meals to customers in costumes. In 2009, Chipotle started its first “Booritos” campaign. People dressed as burritos flocked to the popular fast food chain for discounted treats! Not only is this a great way to get publicity (after all, people are probably going to question why there are a bunch of burrito people running around), it’s a great way to engage customers. Those who dressed up for the Booritos campaign will remember their fun interactions at Chipotle for a long time.
Netflix & Chills
The “Netflix & Chills” campaign provided customers with a collection of spooky films and TV shows to celebrate Halloween. The company also provided a rating of different movies based on scare levels. This was an awesome, fun way to ensure everyone got to enjoy fun Halloween movies on the streaming platform.
M&Ms – Ghosted
M&Ms always kills the holiday campaigns game. They create fun, memorable commercials every year such as “Ghosted,” where their yellow M&M mascot became a candy specter. To go along with their Halloween-themed commercial, they created a limited pumpkin-flavored candy to celebrate the spooky season.
Lunar Beauty Cosmetics – Witch Theme Works Best?
Beauty blogger Manny MUA (ULS client and fan!) built up a lot of anticipation with his eyeshadow collection—The Moon Spell—in 2019. Starting October 4, he began releasing teasers for the product across social media until his fans were begging for him to make it available. This eyeshadow palette took inspiration from pop culture’s favorite 90s witches such as Winifred from Hocus Pocus and Prue from Charmed.
Temptations – Tasty Human
Have you ever turned to see your cat watching you and licking its chops? Hmm. Suspicious. The creators at Temptations—a popular cat treat brand—thought so too. Cats are stereotypically spooky animals, commonly seen as companions to witches or harbingers of bad luck. Many pet owners joke that their cats would kill them and eat them if they could…and that’s how the Temptations Tasty Human treat was born. No humans were harmed in the making of these limited edition treats, but you better believe the new flavor got attention.
How to Start Your Own Halloween Marketing Campaign
Hopefully, you gleaned some inspiration from those Halloween marketing campaigns. Now you’re ready to create your own. Here are 5 ideas to get you started:
Host a Halloween Movie Night
Halloween movie nights are always a hit. It won’t take much convincing for people to come to see spooky films during October. You could rent an outdoor movie screen and set it up in a local park, rent a private theater, or set up a projector in your store. No matter which route you go down, people are sure to flock to your Halloween movie night if you advertise it well. Choose from one of these Halloween movie classics:
· Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
· Scream (1996)
· The Shining (1980)
· Carrie (1976)
· A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
· The Haunted Mansion (2003)
· Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
· Friday the 13th (1980)
· Labyrinth (1986)
· Beetlejuice (1988)
· Ghostbusters (1984)
· Practical Magic (1998)
Don’t forget to provide snacks, drinks, and—most importantly—branded swag to keep your customers coming back. If you choose to host your Halloween movie night in your store, hand out booklets of holiday coupons and advertisements listing your October deals.
Start a Social Media Campaign
Social media is a great way to get your content and brand in front of more people. Create your own hashtag and offer prizes to users who buy your products and show them off online. You could also use social media to host a digital costume or make-up contest. Not only will you invite brand engagement, but you’ll also get a lot of user-generated content. That gets your name in front of more people than advertising alone.
Make Your Own Halloween Game
Everyone loves a cute Halloween game! Creating a branded game is an awesome way to engage users. You can include branded games in your marketing emails and on your website, and you can advertise them on social media. If you want to create a contest around your game, have users send in their scores and give spooky prizes to the top 3 on Halloween. Competition is an awesome way to get more consumers to play your game.
Include Promo Gifts With Purchases
Promo gifts and free swag included with purchases help increase brand awareness. You don’t have to do anything big or expensive. For Halloween one year, Guinness offered a spooky shadow coaster with every beer. These cute PVC coasters were shaped like goblins, ghosts, and ghouls. They generated a lot of buzz, but they weren’t expensive or fancy. It’s more important to be memorable than spend a fortune on freebies.
Make a Halloween Quiz
Online quizzes are becoming increasingly popular. Everyone wants to know which Disney princess or mythical creature they are, or what their clothing style is. Why not jump on the trend and create a Halloween-themed quiz for social media? Here are some fun Halloween quiz ideas:
· What Halloween Movie Should You Watch This Year?
· Would You Survive a Vampire Attack?
· Which Halloween Monster Are You?
Start Your Halloween Marketing Campaign With ULS!
Are you ready to start your Halloween marketing campaign? Our team is here to help you. Whether you choose a Halloween movie night or a social media campaign, we’ll ensure your marketing tactics are a success. Contact us today for assistance!
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