With the most wonderful time of year looming in the distance, it’s no surprise that many businesses and brands are dead set on saving the majority of their marketing resources and creativity getting things right for December rather than going all-in for Halloween. Although not necessarily feeding on the decaying scraps, and whilst marketing efforts in the UK have risen from the dead in recent years, there’s still plenty more businesses could be doing to carve out a killer space for their brands at Halloween.
Not only is Halloween a golden opportunity by itself to increase revenue and brand recognition, but it’s also the perfect time to get things right before Christmas. Successful Halloween promotions will increase engagement and attract new customers and resurrect the existing ones, giving you vital insight to understand more about your audience before the chaos of the holidays begin. Halloween isn’t a holiday you should be turning a witch’s eye to. Thankfully, Minto has a cauldron full of tricks and treats to help deliver a horrifying Halloween campaign.
With every new season and holiday, there are a host of new colours, imagery, symbols, flavours, and festivities that help build excitement for the season. You need only stalk the aisles of a supermarket to see the season come to life through seasonal, limited-edition packaging and products made just for the holiday. Adding an appropriately spooky Halloween twist to create seasonal packaging can create huge interest in your brand and turn existing products into a new event or even a souvenir, resurrecting them and giving them a ghoulish new lease of life. Or if you’re feeling particularly devilish, you could even create a new product just for the season, just like Cadbury’s did with their Halloween spin on Crème Eggs – the Scrème Egg! Not only is it suitably seasonal, but the limited window in which it’s available sends customers into a crazed frenzy to get them before they perish forever - or until next year. With customers looking out for products that would be appropriate for their Halloween parties or giving out to trick or treaters, they’ll have their eyes peeled for products that fit the bill.
What would Halloween be without Trick or Treating? Whether you’re hosting a Halloween celebration, looking to add a freebie into customers’ orders, or the spirits of the season have got you in a giving mood, Halloween is a fantastic opportunity to send out one of a kind branded promo goodies. A selection of spooky gifts can be just the incentive you need to encourage or reward your audience to make a purchase or attend an event.
Not only is it a brilliant incentive and great for brand awareness, but promo gifts will also often leave the consumer with a readiness to return to your brand for future business opportunities, forging strong partnerships and an immeasurable sense of brand loyalty. Like knocking on people’s doors as a child, much of the charm is the variation of treats you’ll be gifted, not knowing what lies behind each door. It’s the same for promotional gifts. With open-ended options, you can get creative to gift tote bags, t-shirts for events, or go delightfully traditional with plenty of sweets and treats like cupcakes and chocolates ready to be indulged in. No matter what you’re giving out, it’s important your audience knows that there is a goodie awaiting them if they sell their soul to you. And better yet, you can summon your graphic team to elevate your promo gifts with some other-worldly designs that’ll take everything to the next level by incorporating the rich visual Halloween history with the best of your branding to craft an exclusive gift worthy screaming about.
No different than a home being transformed into a haunted house, the opportunity to exorcise creativity and craft some hair-raising displays is rife at Halloween. With physical stores and on-site areas becoming possessed by ghostly decorations, you can use this as a unique opportunity to turn your space into a fully immersive customer experience. Creating experiences worthy of sharing online and across social media is something every business should be considering over Halloween. Whilst it can be replicated online, nothing quite beats an in-person experience that your audience can be a part of – if they dare.
From major changes like full on-site decorations and designs to smaller changes like shelf wobblers, point-of-sale displays, posters and banners that jump out at customers and complement your wider marketing materials, creating on-site elements that capture attention can make a powerful lasting impression. But it shouldn’t just be decoration for the sake of it. Designs – whether through displays, decorations, or print - should be top-quality, creative, but most importantly, appropriate. A family-friendly store can have some fun with its decorations, but it would be a grave mistake to scare away or repulse your audience too much. That’s not to say you can’t provide a little jump-scare or fright here and there. It is Halloween after all…
