Who doesn’t love a great marketing campaign? Especially for Halloween! Halloween is one of those holidays that just brings out the best in marketing. And as Brafton says, “A well-crafted holiday marketing campaign, timed just right, can leave a lasting impact well after the spooky day has come and gone.” This year, these five companies stood out with their unBOOlievable creative Halloween campaigns.
Happy Marketing Halloween!
ColourPop - 'Hocus Pocus' Inspired Product Line
With a surge in demand for the Halloween classic Hocus Pocus movie in the United States – resulting in $1 million in ticket sales. ColourPop leveraged this opportunity to create and launch a product line called the ColourPop Hocus Pocus Collection.
The ColourPop x Hocus Pocus collection features 12 different eyes, lips, and face items inspired by the Sanderson sisters and glitter gel liners as a node to Thackery Binx. Shades from various products are named after famous lines from the movie, like “Hello, Salem,” “Come Little Children,” and “On Toast.” Winne, Sarah, and Mary each have their own dedicated palettes for consumers to complete their favourite witches’ look.
Lush Cosmetics – Lord of Misrule 2020
Trick or treating is probably a no-go this year due to social distancing restrictions for some countries. But that doesn’t mean you can’t unleash your dark side with a spot of fang-tastic fancy dress. To navigate the strange circumstances we find ourselves in, Lush Cosmetics launched a digital fancy dress competition named Lord of Misrule 2020.
The rules of the competition are simple:
Step 1 – Film yourself dressed up in a Lord of Misrule-themed costume. Explain in the video why Lush should crown you as the Lord of Misrule 2020.
Step 2 – Upload your video to YouTube with the title, “Be the Lord of Misrule – Lush Casting Call.”
Step 3 – Email Lush your video link and best image selects from your “photoshoot”.
Hot tip: Bonus points for creative background setups and performances!
Step 4 – Wait to see if you’re one of four lucky winners to bag $500 CAD and a prime spot on the Lush website. Lush announces the Winners via all of Lush’s social media channels.
Creepin’ it real Lush, nice!
Additionally, Lush is also raising spirits with other marketing marvels, including Halloween FOMO. To leverage the occasion of Halloween, Lush unleashed a limited-edition Halloween range. This is a great way to incentivise and a fun way to get consumers scrambling for their products. By writing articles around their new product releases, it also helps generate more of a buzz for their products and brand.
Krispy Kreme – Sweet or Treat Saturdays
With 2020 already being scary enough, Krispy Kreme launched the campaign Sweet or Treat Saturdays? A way to make things a little nicer for consumers. Every Saturday in October, customers can purchase a $1 Sweet or Treat dozen to share when they buy a full-priced dozen at participating US and Canada stores. The Sweet or Treat dozen contains 11 Original Glazed doughnuts and one festive Jack-o-lantern doughnut. Spooktacular!
And if things weren’t already spooky enough, Krispy Kreme also launched their all NEW #ScarySweet #MonsterDoughnuts across the US. What’s brilliant is the storytelling element that brings the marketing of these sweet treats back to life while helping audiences connect with the product. There’s Wolfie, an Original Glazed doughnut dipped in chocolate icing and decorated like a werewolf. So, good, it’ll make you howl. There’s also Frank, dipped in green icing and decorated with pretzel piece bolts. As well as Drake, a classic monster with purple icing and fangs.
Whereas over in New Zealand, Krispy Skremes made an appearance again. Where consumers are encouraged to get into the spirit of Halloween with Krispy Kreme’s spooky new range of Doughnuts and their new Graveyard Kreme Shake.
For those into DIY, there’s also the Creepy Creations Kit from Krispy Kreme UK promoted on Instagram. Again, this is a limited-edition product that creates major FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Available to order online, Krispy Kreme has cleverly combined in-store promotions with a buy online incentive to ensure all angles are covered. After all, many people are still staying at home, so maintaining a strong digital presence is necessary.
Mars Wrigley – Treat Town Halloween
Mars Wrigley has come up with an epic trick-or-treat experience that families can enjoy from the comfort of their own homes. So, for those worried kids, Halloween isn’t cancelled, it’s just adapted. And they can still get their hands on their favourite sugary snacks! Win-win.
All you need to do is download the TREAT TOWN Halloween App. Then you can go and enjoy a host of virtual tricks and real treats as you take on the ultimate Halloween adventure. As an interactive and inclusive experience for the whole family, the app invites you to create your family profile. This includes decorating your virtual door, choosing monster avatars, and inviting friends and family to join in the fun. You can then buy virtual candy credits that your trick or treaters can exchange for real candy from top brands.
From there, you can enjoy safe trick or treating with those nearby, without worrying about what lurks in the shadows – See the full details here.
M&M's – Monster Mash Whoopie Pies
You can buy M&Ms in TREAT TOWN, but @mmschocolate has gone a step further by showing consumers why buying M&Ms is a fantastic idea. By posting recipes for treats such as Monster Mash Whoopie Pies, M&M makes its products relevant and tantalising.
This brand is also good at storytelling, personifying each of the M&M colours to tell humorous Halloween tales via their Twitter platform. This is a great way to weave comedy into social media in a bid to keep people coming back for more.
Every Halloween, companies try to top previous years with more creative, more outrageous, and even scarier campaigns. These campaigns often extend far beyond their product and really drive home the idea that you can find countless ways to stand out in the sea of competitors.
So, if you’re looking to learn how to make your next holiday campaign unique and targeted, improve your online reputation, and get digitally savvy. You should look into studying the Diploma of Digital Marketing with NZIE. You learn so many creative and fun things, such as how to do social media marketing, create engaging content, design eye-catching graphics, and so much more! Spots are filling out quickly, so don’t miss out and apply today!
