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Tis the season to be spooky!

That’s right, October is here and we’re jumping into the deep end of Halloween celebrations. That includes laying out the BOOprint for your marketing this spooky season.

It can be easy to fall back on a jumpscare or a graphic of a pumpkin to meet your festive quota… but the most successful brands are the ones thinking of a full-blown strategy to get the most out of the scares this month. Halloween is a campaign GOLDMINE, from iconic movies to bold colours and the opportunity to really intrigue an audience.

Finding that sweet spot gets you on people’s radar whilst getting your messaging across clear as day. Here’s our deep dive into smashing that terror-fic marketing this October.

There are two routes you can take for your Halloween marketing… a treat or a trick.

And no, we don’t mean you need to bamboozle your audience with lies or gimmicks. The trick is in embracing the holiday’s culture. Really leaning into the theatrics that come with the season and not being scared to show it some love. Nobody’s too cool for Halloween, okay?!

A brand that isn’t afraid to be outside of the box is a brand that’s gonna stand out this Halloween. Take Heinz, for example, their 2024 campaign showcased their product smeared around peoples mouths in a ‘Joker’-esque smile. They got messy, they showed their product in an unpolished way and they embraced the occasion to the MAX. To make it eeeeven better, it came with a mint strapline… “It Ha-Ha-Has To Be Heinz”

Now for a treat, because Halloween is ALLLLLL about balance.

A little incentive never hurt an audience. Imagine you’re their neighbour and they’ve come to you expecting a bowl full of sweets, do you wanna let them down?!

Some of the best Halloween campaigns add value. Sometimes it’s a prize draw, sometimes it’s unmissable industry insights.

MAC nails this year after year by transforming their website with a curated Halloween section full of costume inspo…positioned right next to the products you can buy to achieve the look. They directly target their makeup-loving target audience by giving them creative ideas and a subtle sell.

Holiday-centric marketing only works when it’s authentic.

You can’t change everything about your brand and expect your core audience to resonate. It may be Halloween, but you’ve gotta leave the costume at home.

Anything you do has gotta be true to your brand’s personality and values. The brands that do Halloween the best don’t lose their core messaging; they adapt the horrors to fit their existing vibe.

Let’s take a look at everyone’s favourite day-trip location, Ikea. Instead of blindly adding pumpkins and bats to their ads, they used product photography and clever copy to create something that felt real to them. Their ‘Monsters Not Included’ campaign showcases the dark spaces in a home that we were ALL a bit scared of as kids, guaranteeing that they’re free from your typical Halloween ghouls.

A bit of tongue and cheek, whilst reminding us that at their core they’re part of our homes. They are a core element of the environment where children may be scared of monsters.

 So you’ve got all our tips in the bag, but here’s the biggie… don’t go ghost.

If your Halloween campaign hits, you’ve gotta follow that momentum all the way into the New Year (and then beyond that!).

Some brands will have a successful campaign and then go back to dull, personality-less marketing as soon as November 1st hits. The key to nailing your marketing year-round is having the structures in place to succeed all 365 days.

Lucky for you, we covered that in our Marketing 101 edition. Getting those basics NAILED gives your brand the momentum to smash your holiday campaigns without ever sacrificing the day-to-day impact that keeps leads coming in.

TL;DR: Whether it’s a trick or a treat, make sure your Halloween marketing is standout, true to you and backed by a strong year-round strategy. It’s about playing the part, not just putting on a costume for one day of the year!

What’s next?!

We MAAAYYYYY be working on our own HYPE Halloween campaign, watch this space…

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