It’s the time for trick-or-treats, spooky costume parties, and horror flick marathons. But for business owners, the only scary thing about the Halloween season is the lack of practical Halloween promotional ideas that rake in earnings.
It’s true that brewing Halloween promotional ideas are not a piece of cake. But with the right team and designs, you can definitely catch the eye of your target audience. Speaking of designs, why not consider hiring Penji when you whip up great promotional ideas? You’ll have boo-tiful designs in 24 hours and publish them as soon as they’re ready.
Penji’s reliable team of graphic designers can handle all your Halloween-themed campaigns. In fact, we’ll even let you have a taste of our superb work by giving you these free Halloween images and illustrations. Download here for the free images and illustrations.
For now, let’s explore why it’s important to have promotional campaigns during the spookiest month of the year.
The Importance of Halloween Promotional Campaigns for Businesses
Halloween is undoubtedly one of the occasions that businesses prepare for every year.
According to the National Retail Federation’s report in 2019, over 175 million Americans planned to spend an estimated average of $86.79 for Halloween Festivities. All adding up to a total of $9 billion estimated spend for the season.
Of all the respondents last year, 95% said they would spend on candy, 74% stated they would shell out money for decorations, while 68% said they would budget money for costumes.
US Census Bureau’s report supports NRF’s numbers. According to the bureau, there was an estimated number of 41.1 million potential trick-or-treaters in 2017, ages 5 to 14.
With a vast number of Americans willing to exhaust big bucks on food, parties, and everything else in between, Halloween opens up unique publicity and income opportunities for any business aiming to ride the wave.
What Makes a Halloween Campaign Effective
Despite the excellent chance for business growth, riding the Halloween wave isn’t as simple as it seems.
Just like the need for efficient paddling in surfing, Halloween promotional ideas require sufficient and creative campaign planning backed up by data and research.
Just as wave riders aim for a smooth and unobtrusive pop-up from the surfboard, businesses must strive to launch up a campaign that could hold up on its own.
And just like in surfing, launching a Halloween campaign needs strategic timing. Too early, and you’ll tumble, too late, and you’ll miss the wave. According to a report, 28% of consumers start Halloween shopping in September while 41% buy what they need for the creepy celebrations during the first two weeks of October.
Businesses who join the game during the last two weeks of October can still get a slice of the 25% of consumer purchases. But failing to launch the campaign just a few weeks earlier could result in a terrifying wasted opportunity.
Top 5 Halloween Promotional Ideas That Turned Heads
Here are some of the top Halloween promotional ideas that turned heads these past few years. Take note of how the brands executed these campaigns and how graphic design was maximized to spark interest among consumers.
Don’t Get Ghosted (Bumble)
Ghosting or the practice of ignoring a person after talking or having a date with them is often a reason for dating app users to delete their accounts.
Because of this, dating apps encourage users not to ghost potential partners to sustain and even grow their user population.
Bumble, a popular dating app, urged users to reduce the practice of neglecting their fellow users. The system sent notices to people who haven’t replied to messages. The system asks them to either end the conversation politely or responds to it.
The image in the poster is aptly reminiscent of fantasy comedy franchise, Ghostbusters. After all, Bumble is trying to come after users who ghost.
The golden yellow background with black accents and a touch of white offers a simple visual that gets the message across without complications. Check out this article about Best Halloween Social Media Campaigns for 2019
Treat for Lovers, Trick for Haters (Marmite)
Marmite – either you love it or hate it.
The producers of this British cupboard staple know how polarized foodies are when it comes to consuming this yeast extract-based spread. And they incorporated it in their Halloween campaign.
Marmite released limited-edition Halloween collectible temporary jars. A jar labeled “Halloween Trick” meant to horrify a hater, and a pot named “Halloween Treat” meant to satisfy a Marmite lover.
The graphics of both labels are appropriately designed to express the goal of the campaign. The “trick” jar is colored gray and slimy green, decorated with spider webs and laboratory flasks.
The “treat” jar, on the other hand, features delicious shades of pink nostalgic of delectably sweet pastries like macarons and cupcake frosting. Cute swirls and heart-shaped potion bottles adorn the label.
Cheers to Halloween Friendship (Heineken)
Heineken’s Cheers to Halloween Friendship launched in 2018 is both creepy and touching.
The poster features a photo of two hands. A male one with splotches of blood donning a sleeve reminiscent of Count Dracula and a female hand covered in webs and crawling spiders. Both holding bottles of the Dutch lager on a toast.
The color palette of the poster is generally emerald green, complementing the pale complexion of both hands and the garnet accents of his blood smudges and her nail polish. Check out this article about Scary Good Halloween Event Ideas Your Team Will Love
Celebrate Halloween (Guinness)
This previous campaign by Guinness’ is elegantly classy and appropriately eerie at the same time.
The image features a glass of the dark Irish dry stout with a set of keys on the foreground and an old-looking clock in the background. The mirror behind shows a reflection of all the things on the vanity except the glass of beer.
The color palette of wood colors along with the silver and cream accents complements the dark hickory color of the stout. The white color of the beer foam that sits on top of the glass and the white typography on the glass highlights brand identity.
Cheese Burger Treat (McDonald’s)
Treats shared during Halloween are usually sweet, with obligatory candies filling trick-or-treaters’ sacks and pumpkin baskets.
This Halloween campaign launched by McDonald’s Canada a few years back featured an unconventional savory treat. A cheeseburger wrapped to look like a piece of candy.
The yellow cheeseburger wrapper goes well with McD’s brand-identifying bright red as background.
The resulting promotional poster is simple yet effective, making people see the fast-food chain’s best selling burger as a sumptuous indulgence even in – or especially during – a season of candies.
90’s Witches (Lunar Beauty)
Here’s an excellent strategy when you’re marketing a makeup line – how about incorporating the holiday into your seasonal offering?
Take a cue from Lunar Beauty, which launched a line designed to help brand fans get glam and ready for the Halloween shindig. The line’s Moon Spell Collection was inspired by witches in the ’90s pop culture. So, more than the pretty colors, the campaign pretty much banks on nostalgia. Some of the famous witches featured include Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus and Kiki from Kiki’s Delivery Service.
Halloween is a holiday most holiday consumers have been enjoying since they were trick-or-treaters. So, it’s no wonder why retro Halloween numbers like Stranger Things have been quite popular over the past few years. That said, the makeup line by beauty YouTuber Manny “MUA” Gutierrez surely hit the mark with this Halloween promo.
Dark Orange Drink (Fanta)
Many party hosts look for Halloween treats that make the theme really shine through. Fanta took a hint and offered an unusual take on their “orange” drink.
They offered a limited-edition Dark Fanta Orange, which is blood orange-flavored and jet-black in color. In fact, it’s even darker than typical colas. By releasing a special variant, Fanta is encouraging consumers to make the product a part of their festivities.
In addition to the soda color, the brand also did a Halloween-themed makeover on their on-bottle graphics. The special pack designs have also been used for their other soda variants, including Lemon, Fruit Twist, Pink Grapefruit, and Grape.
Requesting a Marketing Visual From Penji
Let’s face it – even the best Halloween marketing campaign ideas won’t do any good if the design isn’t good enough.
But worry not because we’re here to offer professional graphic design just when you need it the most. We know that you’ll be busy with accommodating clients during this busy season, and we can be by your side to do the design heavy lifting.
Best of all, it only takes three easy steps to request a design from us:
1. Create the Project
In the Penji dashboard, click New Project. Type in the title of the project and select from the categories. You can choose a social media post, an ad, a poster, or anything else you may need for your Halloween campaign.
If the project that you need isn’t included in the list, you can select Custom Project. In the description box, put in as many details as you can about the project you need. Once done, click Create Project. It will be assigned to a designer who’ll get in touch with you if anything needs to be clarified.
2. Review and Revise
Within 24 to 48 hours, the designer will get back to you with a draft. To view, click on the file within the thread. If you need anything revised, simply click on that part and type in your comments. The design will be returned to the designer for revision and will be re-submitted to you within 24 to 48 hours.
3. Download
Once you’re happy with the design, click the Download button and it will automatically be saved to your computer.
See, it’s that easy! But don’t take our word for it. Sign up today and try any of our packages risk-free for 15 days.
