How will your brand show consumers how to use your products to embrace comfort at home this fall season? Work with us to conduct virtual shopper research now to get the insights you need to craft the best marketing messaging and imagery to resonate with them this autumn. Learn more about our research below.
Autumn is almost here and Halloween is our next major holiday. I know a certain segment of our population here in the USA is keen to cancel just about everything, but rest assure many consumers will still be celebrating Halloween this year.
We encourage our PR clients to think of seasons and major holidays, like Autumn and Halloween, as a series of “mini events” in an effort to stretch out the season and create more purchase opportunities.
Even in a pandemic, here are just a few of the “mini events” (and buying opportunities) you can still build shopper marketing around.
Front door decor - People are already eager to embrace fall. Bring on the pumpkins, pumpkin spice lattes, and all the fun home decorations that can help us keep our spirits up during this challenging year. Fall decor at front doors is an American tradition, whether someone has a big house or a tiny apartment. We need all the cheer we can get during 2020; I expect people to keep decorating their doorways and I hear some plan to be even more elaborate since we’re all spending so much more time at home these days.
Pumpkin picking - Picking pumpkins outside is still a fun activity most people can feel comfortable participating in.
Halloween home decorations - In addition to the fall door decor, which typically comes fairly early on in the season (September,) we expect more people to take their home decoration for Halloween even more seriously. We’re not just talking jack-o'-lanterns, but also larger-than-life, inflatable ghosts & pumpkins, projections onto houses, and anything else to amuse and entertain.
Costume shopping - Although many will need to wear a face mask on top, it sounds like everyone is still keen to dress up, either buying new costumes or perhaps recycling some from years past.
Halloween grocery haul - In addition to purchasing Halloween candy (probably quite a bit less than usual,) many plan to do a big grocery shop just ahead of the holiday to make a special dinner and sweet treats at home. Since trick or treating may not be possible, many people we’ve spoken with are planning to make the holiday special by staying home and making special treats for their immediate household, or with friends, at a safe distance.
Halloween treat bags - Instead of traditional ‘trick or treating,’ several folks we’ve conducted research with are planning to offer individually wrapped treat bags (at a distance) to others they know personally. Many are even planning small gatherings, Halloween treat meet & greets, outside to share candy and enjoy seeing costumes with neighbors.
Fall door decor found at American’s homes
If your brand produces products, like Halloween candy, that are ideal for fall and Halloween, be sure to show consumers safe and socially-distanced ways to incorporate your products into a 2020 type of Halloween experience.
Here is a Halloween end cap we spotted recently at a Whole Foods Market store. Have you noticed or produced any creative holiday merchandising for Halloween this year?
Speaking of holidays, Green Purse PR is now producing a monthly calendar, a list of holidays (major holidays and marketing holidays) to help guide your PR and social marketing programs. Subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter, #GetInHerCart, here to get access.
- Lisa Mabe-Konstantopoulos, Founder, Green Purse PR
Seasons and holidays fuel the shopping and spending machine here in the USA.
We are offering a winter seasonal campaign, all around the theme of comfort at home to drive sales of your products this upcoming fall season. Work with Green Purse PR to keep your brand top-of-mind and get more of your products into American consumers’ shopping carts this winter.
Seasons and holidays fuel the shopping and spending machine here in the USA.
We are offering a seasonal campaign, all around the theme of comfort, wellness and “comfort food,” to drive sales of your products this upcoming fall season. Work with Green Purse PR to keep your brand top-of-mind and get more of your products into American consumers’ shopping carts this fall.
How will your brand show consumers how to use your products to embrace comfort at home this fall season? Work with us to conduct virtual shopper research now to get the insights you need to craft the best marketing messaging and imagery to resonate with them this autumn. Learn more about our research below.
I’m a big fan of using holidays (major holidays and even the so called made up marketing holidays) and seasons as a basis for planning your shopper marketing activities, in places like social media and inside stores. Have you thought of considering the Fall + Halloween season as a series of “mini events” in an effort to stretch out the season and create more purchase opportunities?
You may be tempted to think of some holidays as just a one-day events, but in reality most holidays are made up of several mini events that we can leverage in our shopper marketing. How many mini events can you think of for the Fall + Halloween season? Turns out, there’s a lot and some depend upon age and life phase. For example, to connect with parents of young children around Halloween season, here are just a few of the “mini events” (and buying opportunities) you can build shopper marketing around:
Home decorating (for fall and then again for Halloween) – 2 encouraging people to have the best house on the block.
Pumpkin picking.
Booing (and also the adult version, “boozing.”)
Costume hunting.
Trick or treating.
School parties.
Neighborhood parties (suburban.)
At-home parties (pizza is super popular.)
My favorite from this list is booing. If you’re located in the USA and live in a suburban area + have young children, you probably know about this trend. According to a case study presented by Mars at the 2018 Shopper Marketing Conference, 7% of Americans currently participate in booing. For retailers located in suburban areas, this is a ripe opportunity just waiting to be picked.
When my house was “booed” last year
Some Halloween merchandising at Whole Foods Market
Fall door decor found at American’s homes
Here are some ways that retailers can connect with parents in suburban areas around the mini event of booing.
In-store shopper marketing like end caps that invite shoppers to boo their neighbors. For a limited time, curate a special selection of products ideal for booing – boo bags, tags, candy. Because you usually only boo a few houses (we do two) and because you’re likely to boo peoples’ homes that you know well, you can encourage better quality, more expensive candy for these, than candy given out in much larger amounts for trick or treating.
Educational signage that offers guidance on booing, why to do it and what to include in your boo bag.
Host a Halloween prep in-store event one weekend sampling healthier candy and sweets options + educate on fun ways for families to celebrate the season.
Website landing page and accompanying social media and email marketing driving people to a site all about making their boo bag the best on the block.
In fact, Green Purse PR creates an annual list of holidays, specifically for food companies. It’s called our Holidays List for Food Marketing. It’s a social media planning resource available here (stay tuned for the 2020 version coming out soon.)
Halloween merchandising at The Market inside The Twitter Building, San Francisco, California
Target’s Halloween section, Hyde and Eek!
Teal Pumpkin Project for Halloween at Target
Halloween signage at Target
- Lisa Mabe-Konstantopoulos, Founder, Green Purse PR
