Halloween offers a brilliant opportunity for businesses to get creative and engage with their customers. The best Halloween marketing campaigns have been successful due to their amazing creativity and ability to speak directly to the target audience.
Halloween has exploded in popularity in the UK over the last few years, with spending in the UK estimated to reach £777m in 2023. This has risen 13% from an estimated £687m in 2022 and £607m in 2021, according to data from Finder.com.
And the UK appears to be following in the footsteps of the US, where Halloween means BIG BUSINESS.
Total spending for Halloween in the US this year is forecast to reach $12.2bn, with sales of sweets alone accounting for $3.6bn, according to research by Capital one Shopping.
- 73% of Americans plan to celebrate Halloween this year in some form, which is record numbers.
- 68% of US consumers will do their Halloween shopping in-store while 31% will shop online and pick up in-store.
- 65% of consumers will buy online and have items shipped to their homes.
- And 22% of US consumers say it’s never too early for retailers to display and sell Halloween items, both online and in-store.
WHY DO WE CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN?
The history of Halloween dates back many centuries and is celebrated in different forms all over the world, such as the ‘Day of The Dead’ festival in Mexico. In the US, it became popular after the arrival of Irish and Scottish immigrants in the 19th century, according to Retail Dive.
By the early 1900’s, adults hosted Halloween parties with games, costumes and decorations. But by the end of WWII, the event shifted from adult-focused to being aimed at kids and families, with Halloween parties and schools offering events around the day.
In 1958, US First Lady Mamie Eisenhower decorated the White House for Halloween for the first time, featuring skeletons, jack-o-lanterns, dried corn and pumpkins.
And ever since US presidents have followed the tradition, hosting events at the White House for local children, with the Obama’s even accepting trick or treaters! Over subsequent decades, normal American families have adopted Halloween traditions such as decorating houses, parties and trick or treating.
THE BEST HALLOWEEN MARKETING CAMPAIGNS
Some memorable Halloween marketing campaigns include Coca-Cola’s ‘A Coke for Scream,’ which turned vending machines into scream-activated dispensers, encouraging people to scream for a free Coke.
M&M’s “Ghosted” campaign, which featured the beloved M&M characters going on spooky adventures through interactive online games.
Skittles turned a house into a Halloween-themed vending machine. People could trick-or-treat at the house and receive Skittles instead of traditional candies.
Meanwhile, IKEA’s ‘Haunted Living Room’ campaign featured a virtual reality experience where users could explore a spooky room filled with IKEA furniture.
These campaigns succeeded by tapping into the spirit of Halloween, evoking emotions, and creating engaging content that audiences wanted to naturally share and engage with.
And if you’re thinking about how to capitalise on the event this year, we bring you 7 Halloween marketing ideas for your business.
THE BEST HALLOWEEN MARKETING IDEAS
- Themed products or services
Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte is no coincidence, it’s part of a clever marketing strategy to generate consumer desire around
autumn and in the run-up to Halloween. 2023 actually marks the 20th anniversary of this drink, which has now become so globally popular it is entrenched in the mindsets of consumers.
But, as well as focusing on themed products, you could also consider themed services such as an immersive haunted house Halloween experience, costume subscription boxes or even themed decoration and activity boxes, such as pumpkin carving kits, which can add novelty and newness for consumers.
2. Partner collaborations
Partnering with other businesses for Halloween promotions is a great way for both companies to gain access to one another’s customers and generate new revenue. ‘Cross-pollination marketing’ is a very powerful tool, gaining in popularity over the last few years as brands look to leverage one another’s marketing prowess.
A great example of this is the partnership between streaming giant Netflix and retailer Walmart in the US. The two businesses teamed up to create a line of ‘Stranger Things’ merchandise, which was sold exclusively at Walmart stores. The partnership not only generated additional revenue for both companies, but it also helped to increase brand awareness and reach new audiences.
3. Themed Giveaways
Offering Halloween-themed giveaways or gift-with-purchase options is another great way to incentivise spend whilst attracting customers. These can range from Halloween-themed tote bags, spooky stickers or glow-in-the-dark items for kids, as well as Halloween recipe cards with ideas for spooky treats or meals.
It can also slot into ideas around content marketing, such as Halloween-related blog posts, email campaigns, videos or social media content with Halloween tips, DIY costume ideas, or spooky stories that relate to your industry. Collaborating with social media influencers who have a Halloween or lifestyle focus, can also help promote your Halloween products, services or giveaways to their followers.
4. Viral Campaigns
Halloween is a great hook to grow followers and generate engagement across social media channels. And Halloween-themed contests on social media or digital overlays are a great way to do this. Barbie’s filter app went viral over the summer, with people creating ‘Barbie’ versions of themselves and sharing them widely across social media. You could do something similar for Halloween, creating a spooky ‘Halloween’ filter with some of the most iconic film characters, for example. Or go even further, by weaving in a contest too, such as whoever creates the most shares wins XX.
5. Limited-Time Discounts
With cost-conscious consumers and budgets tight, as the UK remains in the grips of the cost of living crisis, offering Halloween discounts or promotions for a limited time can help encourage spending.
Creating a sense of urgency by using countdown timers can work well visually. And rather than straight discounting, you could create tiered discounts based on spending thresholds, such as 10% off orders over £25 or £15% off orders over £50, for example. Bundle related products or services are also a good way of incentive discounting, such as offering a ‘Halloween Party Bundle’ which could include decorations, costumes and sweets at a discount.
6. Charitable Initiatives
Showing community spirit by sponsoring a local, Halloween event or donating to related charities is good for brand awareness. You could tap into TikTok’s latest trend ‘Boo Baskets,’ based on the Easter hamper or Christmas Eve box but filled with Halloween and autumn themed treats, toys and goodies. You could assemble and distribute ‘Boo Baskets,’ which could be delivered to children in hospitals, care homes or other communities in need.
Or alternatively, partner with a charity that focuses on children or families and offer a portion of your Halloween season proceeds to them. Highlighting the partnership in your marketing materials. Or maybe consider donation matching, running a campaign where your business matches customer donations to a specific charity or cause. For example, for every £1 donated in-store or online, your business matches this.
7. Halloween themed packaging or merchandise
Creating limited edition Halloween merchandise, such as t-shirts, mugs or accessories featuring your brand’s logo or slogans with a spooky twist can help drive sales. As well as themed packaging which could add a spooktacular twist to any gift.
This can include custom design Halloween labels for your products with Halloween graphics and themes. These could be applied to food and beverage items, candles, beauty products and more. Or even collectible figurines with a Halloween twist, these can appeal to children or just fans of the event.
And finally, if you’re planning to attend a Halloween party this year…and want something out of the ordinary.
THE MOST POPULAR 2023 HALLOWEEN COSTUMES
Travis Kelce & Taylor Swift couples costumes have become the latest Halloween trend as searches skyrocket 629% worldwide, according to Google.
The analysis of Google Trends data by Music Industry How To reveals searches for ‘Travis Kelce costume’ and ‘Taylor Swift costume’ soared worldwide by 761% and 464%, respectively, over the last week.
The blossoming relationship between the two stars has inspired fans everywhere, with couples costumes trending, as ‘Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift costume’ and ‘Taylor and Travis costume’ searches have surged by 528% and 629% over the last week.
On the same day as Taylor Swift’s attendance at the Kansas City Chiefs game on September 24, Google Trends reported a 277% rise in searches for ‘Couples costume,’ with interest peaking to a 90-day high after they were spotted together.
“Just when you thought this Halloween would be filled with Barbies and Kens, Taylor and Travis are the latest contender, as their budding relationship takes the internet by storm,” a spokesperson for Music Industry How To commented.
“There’s no doubt the popularity will only increase as excitement around the rumoured new couple builds continues to be seen together,” they added.
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