Franchise PowerUp 
Every year at the end of October, brands bombard their social media pages with Halloween-themed content. Usually, tons of visuals and wordplay become indistinguishable because of the overdose of spookiness and pumpkins in every feed.
How can you avoid these mistakes and stand out from the ocean of this monster mash? Here are some interesting social media campaigns and posts examples to help! Let your audience check out some really engaging content and break through the thick walls of typical Halloween and every other holiday posts wave.
Let’s start with this fabulous last year’s idea from Lush, a digital fancy dress competition named Lord of Misrule. This is a straightforward, grotesque, and genius approach that meets all government guidelines.
❗❗Contest Alert❗❗
We may not be able to go trick-or-treating, but that doesn't mean we can't have some Halloween fun! This year we decided to spice things up and challenge our beloved Lushies to become the #LordOfMisrule2020.
Full terms & conditions: https://t.co/J9JCwsNJhe pic.twitter.com/NJN6KGz4Rj— Lush North America (@lushcosmetics) October 7, 2020
Step 1, film yourself dressed up.
Step 2, upload your video to YouTube with the title, “Be the Lord of Misrule – Lush Casting Call.”
Step 3, email Lush your video and best photos.
Step 4 – wait to see if you’re one of four lucky winners to bag $500 CAD and a prime spot on the Lush website.
Another great idea came from M&M’s, who showed why buying M&Ms on Halloween is an excellent idea. For example, to make delicious Monster Mash Whoopie Pies!
No monsters were harmed in the making of these Monster Mash Whoopie Pies. Full recipe here: https://t.co/2HBOCLUAfs pic.twitter.com/kvIYjZnFma
— M&M'S (@mmschocolate) October 9, 2020
When coming up with seasonal promotions, it’s a good idea to create some ‘stay tuned’ content you can post later to keep viewers come back for more. M&M’s Scary Stories are perfect for Halloween as they make social media accounts stay active during this important period of time.
Red’s biggest nightmare? Showing up to the party and finding out he’s on the dessert table.
Stay tuned for more M&M'S Scary Stories! #Halloween pic.twitter.com/j4Xyvik6n8
— M&M'S (@mmschocolate) September 30, 2020
As the coronavirus pandemic affects communities around the globe, UNICEF launched a virtual Trick-or-Treat. Through the month of October, you could add purpose to Halloween by collecting lifesaving donations for UNICEF virtually.
“Even if you can’t go door-to-door this year, Halloween is NOT cancelled! Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF is going virtual this year so kids can stay safe, have fun and do good from home, all October long.”
You can make great use of taking an existing product and spookifying it for the Halloween season. For example, as Heinz did! Heinz’s extremely limited edition blood-branded ketchup was created for only 570 lucky winners of a bloody TikTok fight. Yes, people had to create a TikTok video with a Heinz Ketchup bottle somewhere in it and add a special hashtag #HeinzHalloween.
A free whopper for the picture of the “scariest places on Earth” is another brilliant compaign from Burger King.
“The scariest places on earth lurk in the shadows across the country. What are these places exactly? They’re the terrifying, abandoned restaurants where burgers for years were not flame grilled. So forget entering a haunted house this year, and get near one of the scary places below to get a free flame grilled treat instead. Check to see if one is in your area.”
And yes, all of these places were McDonald’s, Sonics, Wendy’s, and Jack in different places in the US. A perfect way of making a very regional campaign that garners national attention and doesn’t require too much oversight.
Also, if you want people to spend some money on your brand during this time of year, it’s important to be devilishly daring and go for the bold promotions. Helloween discounts are a great way to find a happy compromise between giving your stock away and encouraging people to buy.
