The importance of engaging with Halloween and the fall season
As brand marketers look to the year ahead, they are met with a calendar of seasonal and newsworthy hooks, moments to build into their planning – whether this be through product development, activations, research or events.
When looking at seasonal hooks, it’s important that we discuss the importance of Cultural Endurance – which is all about brands finding their place in the real-world conversations, by consistently resonating with what matters to and interests people in culture. It is the governing thought at the heart of our creative output at Smarts, because, in a rapidly changing world, the brands that meaningfully connect with their consumers are the ones that stick.
The Cultural Endurance conversation is linked closely to seasonal dates and trends – brands, both big and small, try to use cultural moments, in this case seasonal hooks, to communicate with consumers – and it often raises the question of whether brands should always be activating and jumping on each and every moment available to them.
Just last week, I received two direct SMS messages with the same emojis and similar text “There’s nothing spookier than forgetting to vote” followed by “Spooky Savings at the Apothecarium” a local cannabis shop. Nothing about either of their prior engagements told me they have any real connection to the moment, but the similarity in approach and sequence in which they arrived did make me smile.
With this in mind, it’s interesting to see the brands that show up at Halloween over and over again, like Heinz, Burger King and Chipotle. Consumers expect to see new creative moments from these brands, you can count on them to show up at these cultural high-points. Looking at this 2024 alone, we have seen Burger King’s Addams Family Menu and the yearly Boorito campaign from Chipotle, giving discounts to costume-wearing fans – nothing groundbreaking, but feeling appropriate and familiar. Halloween feels like a part of their DNA, with consumers looking forward to what they will announce year on year.
What’s in it for the brands?
It’s a time of high spending, with consumers ramping up their themed purchases across both Halloween and the Holidays. There’s also an emotional appeal, people want to indulge in these moments, it makes them feel good, and brands try to become a part of this. Parents want to pass on the nostalgia to future generations.
Halloween lends itself to the wow factor (or the scare factor), it enables brands the permission to push further than they have before and show up in spaces that might feel outside of the norm – perfect for experiential marketing, creating memorable moments and interactive campaigns.
One theme we’ve seen this year is the prominence of movies within brand activations, which led to the penning of ‘Summerween’ a term used first by TV series Gravity Falls, highlighting the early arrival of Halloween-like themes in 2024.
With so many Halloween classics making a resurgence in the past few years, this has become an easy hook for those looking to release eye-catching limited edition products. Beetlejuice stood out here with the likes of Fanta’s Beetlejuice cans including a bright green bottle aptly named ‘Afterlife’ and Denny’s Afterlife Menu, which launched a little earlier to be closer to the movie release.
Heinz, arguably one of the most creative and respected brands in the world, hit the headlines recently with the ‘It ha ha has to be Heinz’ campaign. It had shock factor by the bucket, with its uncomfortable images containing big Joker-inspired ketchup smiles. Love it or hate it, it used the combination of the new Joker film alongside Halloween to achieve incredible talkability.
Some brands decide to send a clear message to a competitor in these moments and one of my favorites was from Burger King, when they launched Scary Clown Night back in 2017. This ad put Burger King in a moment where it had no obvious connection and used the equity of the personality it has created in taking fun shots at its main competitor, McDonalds. By taking THEIR connection to the holiday (via an objectively unsettling clown) they earned the right to be there and stand out.
Can seasonal hooks foster brand loyalty?
Brands can foster community and loyalty by activating seasonal hooks. They can do this by launching seasonal or limited-edition products and through seasonal storytelling – these techniques build a sense of belonging and invite consumers into the brands world. They can fully immerse themselves and feel closer to a brand they care about – the more meaningful the content, the more likely fans will remember and return to the brand.
Mike DaRe is president of NYC PR and strategy agency Smarts.
