Halloween Marketing Ideas for CPG Food & Beverage Brands
The spookiest holiday can be your CPG brand’s most lucrative
Halloween is a golden opportunity for consumer packaged goods (CPG) food and beverage brands to stand out on social media. We recommend starting your Halloween-themed marketing in September, as the ‘spooky season’ tends to start after Labor Day weekend.
With creative and strategic marketing, brands can tap into the festive spirit to boost engagement, and - most importantly - drive sales.
Be warned: This is essential for CPG food and beverage brand marketing. Yet, doing so in a way that isn’t aligned with your brand voice is, well… humiliating. And not just on your reputation.
Here's how to craft effective Halloween marketing campaigns that resonate with your audience and make the most of the Halloween fun.
1. Run a Halloween-Themed Social Media Contest
Contests are a tried-and-true method of boosting engagement on social media. A Halloween-themed contest is a great way to involve your audience in the process of spreading the word about your products.
And in a world where engagement is king, few strategies work better than contests. Why? Because nothing encourages action like an incentive. In short: People are competitive and love winning free stuff!
Halloween Contest Ideas:
Costume Contest: Ask your followers to share photos of themselves in their Halloween costumes while holding one of your products. Offer a prize for the best costume, such as a year’s supply of your product or a gift card.
Pumpkin Carving Contest: Encourage users to carve pumpkins inspired by your brand or product. Imagine how cool it would be to see your logo on a pumpkin! We recommend a big prize for this one… Truly talented carvers are hard to find and you’ll need to provide some incentive for them to participate.
Spooky Recipe Contest: Recipe lovers love to share their favorite creations on social media, be it Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or Pinterest (which you should really be on). Get them to craft some concoctions that incorporate one of your products! Feature the winning recipes on your social media channels.
Promote the contest with a catchy Halloween marketing slogan that engages your audience and generates user-generated content (UGC), which can be repurposed for future marketing efforts. Any opportunity to create super authentic content is an absolute must!
BONUS: Giveaways are a surefire way to get attention and generate engagement. People love free stuff! These are different from contests in that it’s less work for users to participate. They simply have to leave a comment to enter.
2. Leverage Halloween Trends
Social media thrives on trends (especially TikTok), and Halloween is no exception. By tapping into popular Halloween hashtags, you can increase the visibility of your posts and connect with a broader audience.
Keep an eye on trending Halloween topics, such as popular costume ideas, memes, audio or viral challenges. You can stay relevant and increase your chances of growing your audience by incorporating these into your content strategy.
Trends have become very important on every platform. Popularized by TikTok, these are gateways into your consumer’s souls… Literally, they allow you to speak your target market’s language.
If you sell mass-market breakfast snacks to kids… Well, it’s a GREAT IDEA to analyze the trends they engage with every day on social media (they’re always changing). Quickly put out content that incorporates that trend.
Also, don’t forget to…
Up your hashtag game!
Popular Hashtags:
#Halloween
#SpookySeason
#TrickOrTreat
#HalloweenTreats
#PumpkinSpice
Use these hashtags in your posts to join the larger Halloween conversation. Additionally, create a branded hashtag for your campaign, such as #SpookySnacksWith[Your Brand’s Name], to encourage user-generated content and brand recognition.
Please note: Many leading social media experts are suggesting that hashtags aren’t as important as they used to be. So be sure to A/B test.
In one post, include hashtags in the copy. In another, don’t include hashtags and instead strategically place keywords in your post copy. Treat social platforms like Google, where algorithms find keywords in text.
3. Collaborate with Influencers for Halloween Campaigns
Personal profiles do better than brand profiles on almost every platform right now. The reason: authenticity. People connect with other people, not brands. So partnering with influencers (even smaller ones) who align with your brand values and target audience is essential to amplify your Halloween campaign’s reach.
Influencers can create content showcasing your Halloween-themed products, participate in contests, or even host a Halloween-themed event or live stream. Just make sure you engage in long-term relationships with influencers. Followers aren’t likely to try a product that influencers only talk about once. Consistency is key.
Best Halloween Marketing Campaigns That Involve Influencers:
Halloween Recipe Creations: Partner with food influencers to create unique Halloween-themed recipes that incorporate one or more of your products. Their followers can be encouraged to try the recipes and share their results. The key here is starting a conversation in the comments section!
Unboxing Videos: Unboxing videos still do well on video platforms. Get influencers to open your products. Not only does it put your product into a consumer’s hands, it shows off every aspect of your product - from packaging to presentation to taste. The excitement of discovering limited-edition flavors or packaging can drive interest and sales.
4. Offer Halloween-Themed Discounts and Promotions
This one’s obvious but essential. The key is battling the horde of competition to get your promo seen.
Halloween is the perfect time to offer special deals and promotions that align with the season's spirit - which is why so many brands participate. Consider time-sensitive offers that encourage immediate action.
Halloween Promotion Ideas:
Flash Sales: Run a 24-hour flash sale on Halloween-themed products or flavors. Promote the sale heavily on social media with posts, stories, and countdowns to create a sense of urgency.
Buy One, Get One Free: Offer a "BOGO" deal on select products and promote it with slogans like, “Double the treats, no tricks!”
Free Gift with Purchase: Include a small Halloween-themed gift with every purchase over a certain amount. This could be a branded candy bag, a spooky sticker, or a themed recipe book.
Give Back: Charity has always been a major part of the Halloween spirit. Pledge to donate 5% of all proceeds generated from your limited-edition products to UNICEF or another charitable organization.
Post-Halloween Discount: Make consumers excited about excess stock you might have once the holiday’s over. Offer big discounts - as candy manufacturers do starting on November 1st! It’s a great way to generate excitement and strengthen your bond with consumers.
Bonus: Halloween email blast: Time all of your Halloween social media marketing campaigns with an email campaign. And if you’re not building an email list, use social media to capture your follower’s emails! Remember: Email marketing is still a WILDLY lucrative marketing channel.
More on the charity angle…
5. Highlight Social Responsibility with Halloween Campaigns
Incorporate a social responsibility element into your Halloween campaign to resonate deeply with consumers, especially as more people seek to support brands with a cause.
Remember: Emotional connections between brands and consumers are the strongest of all.
Ideas for Social Responsibility Campaigns:
Donate Proceeds: As discussed, pledge a portion of your Halloween product sales to a charity or cause, such as local food banks or children’s hospitals. UNICEF is a great option.
Sustainable Packaging: Highlight any sustainable packaging initiatives, especially if you’ve created eco-friendly Halloween-themed packaging. This is something to be proud of. Let the world know!
6. Draw Inspiration from the Best Halloween Marketing Campaigns
Let’s look at successful Halloween campaigns from other brands to get some inspiration.
Analyze what made these campaigns stand out and how you can adapt similar strategies to fit your brand. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel here…
Examples of Best Halloween Marketing Campaigns:
M&M’s “Bite-Size Horror” Campaign: M&M’s created short, horror-themed videos that were shared on social media. The campaign was memorable, engaging, and perfectly aligned with the Halloween spirit.
Reese’s Haunted House”: Reese’s created an interactive, haunted house experience on social media, allowing users to explore the house and discover Reese’s products in a spooky setting.
Hopefully, these campaigns give you the creative juice to launch your own successful CPG marketing campaign this Halloween. We believe in you!
7. Create Spooky Product Twists
Here’s a marketing hack that’s a bit more complicated to execute: Offer limited-edition, Halloween-themed versions of your existing products. Whether it's changing the color, adding spooky packaging, or introducing a seasonal flavor, a tasteful Halloween twist can make your product stand out.
Here are some examples:
Spooky Packaging: Go for a new look with Halloween motifs like ghosts, pumpkins, or witches (keep it simple). A dark, eerie design can make your product instantly more appealing during the Halloween season. Be warned: this is the most common form of CPG Halloween marketing. Walk down an aisle at Wal-Mart for proof throughout September and October.
Limited Edition Flavors: Consider introducing seasonal flavors. “Pumpkin Spice" or "Candy Corn" come to mind. But don’t force it… ensure it makes thematic sense. These flavors can create a sense of urgency among consumers who don’t want to miss out on these limited-time offers. Take advantage of that FOMO!
Not only do these twists appeal to consumers' love for all things Halloween, but they also provide excellent social media content. You can showcase the new designs and flavors in posts, stories, and ads, encouraging users to share their experiences with your products.
Remember: the best type of social content is user-generated (UGC). And these promos are a great way to get your customers to create some.
8. Run Halloween Social Media Ads
Organic social media has a place… and Halloween is no different. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, TikTok - every social media platform prioritizes quality above all. You CAN find your audience during Halloween 2024 without spending big on ads.
But organic social media is only for one thing: building credibility with your followers. It’s power to attract new customers is limited, as the algorithms always favor accounts that spend big on ads over those that don’t.
Which is why your Halloween social media campaign should have a paid ads component.
Our recommendation: start small. TikTok, Meta and Pinterest ads are the most effective channels for finding CPG food & beverage clients during Halloween.
Start by spending $10-$20 a day. That’s the easy part.
The hard part comes next: Analyze the HECK out of that data. Which Halloween ads are sticking? Which Halloween merchandise is attracting the most followers?
Analyze, analyze, analyze. And watch the increased traffic come in.
Pro tip: You might want to consult the services of a social media marketing agency for this step. It’s easy to blow your budget on campaigns that drive views - but fail to attract the right audience.
9. Halloween Videos are BEYOND Key…
This is no secret… Video is king right now on virtually every platform. This isn’t to say your Halloween marketing strategy shouldn’t include static images with creative copy. Remember: Halloween merchandise product photography is essential.
But video drives engagement like no other medium. Your Halloween campaign should lean heavily on video. Both long and short-form will do. Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube shorts and YouTube long-form should be your focus.
Here are some ideas for releasing Halloween videos that drive engagement and boost sales:
Taste tests
Approach random people on the street and ask them to try your latest Halloween-themed product. Compile the best reactions and voila!
Games with your team
Remember: Transparency is everything on social media. Turn your team into social media stars by having them play Halloween games. Questions could involve Halloween trivia and you can layer in facts about your product line.
Halloween dress-up contest
So simple, but it works wonders. Every company worth its salt has a Halloween costume contest among employees. Encourage team members with an internal prize. Capture footage of everyone’s Halloween costume and share it with the world!
Spooky recipe tutorials
Don’t worry - we’re not proposing you share the secret to your recipes. But social media is all about providing value to followers. Teach them how to make concoctions with cool spins on your products. Encourage followers to take pictures of their own creations and submit them for a chance to win prizes!
CPG Brands NEED Halloween
Halloween is a great opportunity for CPG food and beverage brands to connect with their audience in fun and creative ways. By incorporating spooky product twists, engaging in Halloween-themed contests, leveraging trends, and offering seasonal promotions, you can create a Halloween marketing campaign that not only captures the spirit of the season but also drives social media engagement and sales.
With these Halloween marketing ideas, slogans, and promotion strategies, your brand can stand out in the crowded social media landscape and make this Halloween a truly spooktacular success.
Just remember: Doing this right takes a great deal of time and effort.
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You know a brand is doing social media right when people outside the target market engage with the content. Engagement on social media can give insight into how well the brand is doing with creating community and excitement around their product.