As pumpkins light up doorways and households stock up on candy, I’m checking out the Halloween tricks and treats of the marketing world. It’s the perfect time of year to throw all your best social media ideas into the creative cauldron. So, let’s take a look at the sharpest Halloween campaigns of the year. Hold onto your broomsticks. #SorryNotSorry.
Skittles – #DareTheRainbow
Skittles’ well-known slogan “Taste the Rainbow” has been given a spooktacular makeover with #DareTheRainbow becoming a new social media challenge.
Fans of the confectionery brand are being asked to share a video of them eating the all-new Zombie Skittles – but there’s a catch. While some taste super yummy with flavours including Mummified Melon, Boogeyman Blackberry, Chilling Black Cherry, and Blood Red Berry, there’s also one Rotten Zombie in each pack. There’s no way of telling if you’ve the stomach-churning flavour until you chew it making reaction videos all the funnier.
Why this campaigns rocks!
- The Halloween initiative encourages engagement and product purchase.
- Social media instructions of how to enter the competition are clear and there’s a prize incentive.
- The leading hashtag remains short, to-the-point and on-brand.
- The Rotten Zombie adds a sense of mystery and piques consumer curiosity. For example, the desire to see how bad it actually tastes can increase sales. This message as well as the competition is promoted across numerous sites including Twitter and Instagram
- The staff at Mars (who owns Skittles) got involved in the challenge too giving the campaign an authentic and fun edge. Remember, consumers increasingly want to relate to brands and featuring team members on social platforms is a good way to humanise your business.
Lunar Beauty – Tribute to 90s Witches
If Halloween is your excuse to watch old-school classics like Hocus Pocus or Practical Magic, the new Halloween Lunar Beauty Moon Spell Collection may just get your heart racing. Launched by beauty YouTuber Manny “MUA” Gutierrez who has a whopping 4.79 million subscribers to his channel, the collection pays tribute to witches from the nineties including Prue, Piper and Paige from Charmed, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Winifred, Sarah and Mary from Hocus Pocus, Samantha from Bewitched and Hermione from Harry Potter.
Why this campaign rocks!
- It plays on nostalgia. Nostalgic marketing tends to work because it resonates with positive memories and ideals from the past. Emotional triggers make us more likely to respond.
- Of course, just as Netflix and a host of other brands realised, adults reminiscing about the 80s and 90s are their target audience!
- The Moon Spell Collection, which dropped on 4th October, is a limited edition. One of the best ways to trigger FOMO and get people to buy is through exclusivity. This was mentioned clearly underneath the original launch video which was seen by over 423,000 people.
- Excitement was created across other channels like Instagram where @mannymua733 has 4.4 million followers and counting.
- An element of competition encouraged engagement. As well as the submission of makeup looks using the new Halloween capsule, fans could also pick their own winner. Genius.
Hotel Chocolat – Halloween Party Ideas
With people adverse to overly pushy marketing, Hotel Chocolat tried a different marketing tactic. By providing useful hints and tips for Scare and Share nights or dinner parties, the brand posted clickable content that made it easier to promote products in a more organic way.
As a luxury chocolate brand that also sells alcoholic beverages, targeting adults at Halloween was also a good idea. But again, from a creative angle targeting a very specific audience.
Why this campaign rocks!
- It’s educational
- It’s easy to share
- Tweets with images receive 150% more retweets than tweets without images. The visuals here ensure the post doesn’t go unmissed. Posting just the link may have been less effective.
- The content was well-timed, posted before the weekend running up to Halloween.
Tesco – Recipe and Ingredients List
Tesco is another brand that’s also embraced the party-idea initiative. One thing that’s really great about their social media efforts is that not only do they link through to step-by-step recipes for Halloween treats, but they also provide a rundown of the ingredients needed which you can screenshot before doing a shop. There’s even a nutrition breakdown and calorie count. Go Tesco.
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Fanta – Snapchat Too Dark Campaign
Knowing your audience is key to successful marketing. And yet again, Fanta is targeting teenagers this Halloween with a Snapchat-based approach. This channel is relevant to teens and has huge creative potential. What’s also great about this campaign is that it combines online and offline marketing to produce a memorable experience. Snapcodes placed on exclusive packs of Fanta will unlock two terrifying face lenses. On October 31st, a new national lens will be released. Snap ads will also run on the channel to promote awareness of the lenses.
The idea is for people to create their own Snapchat content using the lenses which show over-the-top horror effects. The tagline Too Dark? encourages consumers to get creative with the lenses in a bid to explore the ‘dark’ theme.
Why this campaign rocks!
- It encourages creative collaboration.
- It’s perfectly aimed at a specific target audience using a channel popular with this age group.
- The tagline stimulates a response. Teenagers like to explore and challenge.
- The campaign promotes the newly launched Fanta Dark Orange product range.
Body Shop UK – Halloween Makeup Removal
During the runup to Halloween, it’s normal to think about costumes and makeup. But what about scrubbing all that face paint off? As well as promoting a new hand cream product range for Halloween, the Body Shop UK has also addressed practical problems trick or treaters and Halloween partygoers may face. Their clever social media campaign around makeup removal helps to promote a product while being highly relevant.
Why this campaign rocks!
- It’s different, addressing post-party problems
- Short, sharp videos on platforms like Twitter help to bring products to life.
- It’s relatable and beautifully showcases their new product.
Enjoyed reading The Sharpest Halloween Campaigns? Hit that share button. Halloween is a fun for all ages and a great time to snuggle up with some Netflix and Chills and open the sweeties. Enjoy witches and wizards and see you on the other side. Looking for content marketing that’s less trick and more treat? Get in contact with me.