Halloween Marketing

Written by Eileen Burns on Oct 31, 2010 9:23 am

Halloween, celebrated each year on October 31, is a mix of ancient Celtic practices, Catholic and Roman religious rituals and European folk traditions that blended together over time to create the holiday we know today. Straddling the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity and life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition.

Halloween has long been thought of as a day when the dead can return to the earth, and ancient Celts would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off these roaming ghosts. The Celtic holiday of Samhain, the Catholic Hallowmas period of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day and the Roman festival of Feralia all influenced the modern holiday of Halloween.

In the 19th century, Halloween began to lose its religious connotation, becoming a more secular community-based children's holiday. Although the superstitions and beliefs surrounding Halloween may have evolved over the years, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people can still look forward to parades, costumes and sweet treats to usher in the winter season.

It is also a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.

So how is your marketing doing in fourth quarter? Is it alive or dead? Americans spend an estimated $6.9 billion annually on Halloween, making it the country's second largest commercial holiday

Are you paying close attention to the seasons in your marketing?

Halloween has always been a holiday filled with mystery, magic and superstition. It began as a Celtic end-of-summer festival during which people felt especially close to deceased relatives and friends. For these friendly spirits, they set places at the dinner table, left treats on doorsteps and along the side of the road and lit candles to help loved ones find their way back to the spirit world.

Are you breathing life into your business with the stories you are telling to your customers, clients and prospects?

Is it time to light a fire to ward off the ghosts of dormant business?

Will your fourth quarter be chilly and cold?

Don't be bobbing for apples when you can have the pick of the barrel!

Consider ushering in the winter season with vibrant calls to actions to attract the prospects you wish to do business with by giving them plenty of reasons to contact you. Otherwise, we may be adding your name to the list of prayers for the dead campaign... All Souls Day!

Eileen Burns