Originating in Anglo-Saxon countries, Halloween is becoming increasingly popular in France. Last year, 61% of French people said they wanted to celebrate Halloween. Its quirky atmosphere, missing visual codes and festive side appeal to young and old alike. Disguises, sweets, decorations and themed recipes: consumers are making the holiday their own. As a result, Halloween is becoming an essential sales event for brands.
It’s a strategic time to capture attention and boost sales , particularly during the last three months of the year. Targeted, well thought-out communication can generate a high level of commitment. In this context, gamification marketing is a relevant strategy that brands can adapt to the needs of their target audience.
Fun and interactive, gamification is an innovative marketing method that fits in with the world of Halloween while meeting clear marketing objectives. There are plenty of ideas for Halloween competitions that can be adapted to all sectors. They create links, collect data and generate traffic. We take a look at this trend and the best practices for a successful campaign.
The benefits of Halloween for boosting your marketing
Every year, the French become a little more enamoured with Halloween. For brands, this high point is much more than just a marketing chestnut. It is accompanied by genuine purchasing intentions. Spending is on fancy dress, sweets and decorative accessories, but also on everyday products revisited for the occasion.
Beyond its immediate potential, Halloween is part of a strategic period for commerce: the fourth quarter. This period accounts for a significant proportion of companies’ annual sales. According to Fevad, more than 30% of annual e-commerce sales are generated between October and December. This is a lever that should not be overlooked if you want to maximise your marketing performance at the end of the year.
Halloween is also a cross-disciplinary opportunity. Whatever the brand universe, it is possible to appropriate its codes to create an engaging campaign. A well thought-out campaign can boost visibility, animate your community and stay “top of mind” at a key time of the year.
It’s also an opportunity to enhance your CRM. By collecting qualified data via a fun mechanism, it becomes possible to prepare for upcoming sales dates: Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, winter sales. Halloween competition ideas are therefore an effective way of anticipating the high points of the year while building an ongoing relationship with your audience.
5 competition formats suitable for Hallowenn
Halloween is an ideal playground for activating a gamification strategy. It’s a time for imagination and theatricality, and it’s a great opportunity to create original experiences that build closer ties with your community. Here are five effective formats for boosting engagement and achieving your marketing objectives.
1. The Quiz to capture attention
Quizzes capture interest from the very first seconds. It’s based on simple mechanisms that are familiar to everyone, and can be adapted to any brand universe. At Halloween, it becomes a fun way of testing participants ‘ knowledge of the traditions, cult films and history of the holiday.
Why it’s relevant for Halloween: The format appeals to people’s curiosity and naturally encourages them to complete it. It’s also easy to share, which reinforces its organic reach.
Our tips for a successful Halloween competition:
- Vary the types of questions (general knowledge, true/false, MCQs) to maintain attention and create surprise.
- Add a personalised results page with a targeted offer or product.
2. Instant Win to encourage purchases
Scratch cards , Wheel of fortune, Jackpot… Instant wins create an immediate adrenalin rush. Users find out immediately if they have won, which generates instant gratification and a high participation rate. This format is effective for converting occasional visitors into customers.
Why it’s relevant for Halloween: <a href="https://www.socialshaker.com/blog/2024/09/27/8-idees-de-jeux-dinstants-gagnants-pour-capter-de-nouveaux-prospects/
“>Instant Win allows you to highlight limited-time offers, generate qualified traffic and stimulate impulse buying.
Our tips for a successful Halloween competition:
- Offer attractive and varied prizes: discount vouchers for Halloween, free delivery, themed goodies.
- Set up a 100% winning mechanism to maximise engagement and avoid frustration.
3. Personality tests to collect data
This format is based on immersive storytelling. It’s perfectly suited to Halloween, with themes based around mythical creators, horror film characters, etc. As well as providing entertainment, it collects valuable information via the answers and associated forms.
Why it’s relevant for Halloween: <a href="https://www.socialshaker.com/en/project/psychoquiz/
“>The Psychoquiz helps you to get to know your customers better and paves the way for fine-tuned segmentation for future campaigns.
Advice:
- Take care with the tone and the visual universe to reinforce the “immersion” effect and create a memorable experience.
- Use the results of the test to propose personalised content or products at the end of the journey.
4. The Puzzle to showcase your products
The Puzzle is a simple but effective competition for enhancing a key visual: product presentation, campaign image, themed setting, etc. It offers engaging interaction and helps to visually anchor a message in the player’s mind.
Why it’s relevant for Halloween: it captures attention while encouraging memorisation. It’s an excellent way of introducing a new product or a Halloween collection.
Advice:
- Use high-quality visuals to tie in with Halloween or a current commercial offer.
- Offer a reward at the end of the puzzle to encourage people to finish and reinforce conversion.
5. The creative challenge to animate your community
Competitions are a powerful way of engaging the community around a special occasion. Halloween lends itself particularly well to creative formats such as costume, recipe and decoration competitions. It’s also an excellent opportunity to generate User Generated Content ( UGC ).
Why it’s relevant for Halloween: <a href="https://www.socialshaker.com/en/project/photo-contest/
“>The photo or video competition stimulates participants ‘ creativity and creates a group dynamic that strengthens the bond with the brand.
Advice:
- Define a clear theme and simple rules to facilitate participation and increase the contribution rate.
- Highlight the entries on social networks to promote the members of the community and reinforce the viral effect.
3 tips to maximise the engagement and virality of your Halloween competition
Well thought-out game mechanics are not always enough to guarantee the performance of a marketing operation. To maximise results, it’ s essential to work on distribution and activation. Here are three strategic tips for boosting the reach and impact of a Halloween competition.
1. Script the user experience from start to finish
To maintain interest right to the end, it is essential to take care at every stage of the experience: teaser before the launch, animation throughout the game, highlighting the winners or content created by users. A scripted campaign reinforces immersion and encourages repeat participation.
In practice: Setting up a calendar of events (emails, stories, follow-ups, new features in the game) helps to maintain attention over time.
2. Integrate sponsorship or sharing mechanisms
Encouraging organic distribution means adding an incentive lever. Incorporating a sponsorship, social sharing or friend invitation stage naturally expands the audience .
In practice: Offering an extra chance of winning an exclusive bonus to those who share the game considerably boosts the viral effect ofa Halloween competition.
3. Leveraging media coverage to reach a qualified audience
To maximise the performance of your gamification campaign, it ‘s a good idea to back it up with a media plan. Social ads enable audiences to be finely targeted (centres of interest, behaviour, geolocation) to generate qualified traffic to the game.
In practice: Create several visuals in keeping with the Halloween theme and test different catchphrases to optimise campaign performance. Also remember to retarget unconverted visitors with a reminder or an exclusive prize.
Halloween is a strategic opportunity to capture attention, create engagement and generate conversions in the run-up to the festive season. By using fun and immersive techniques, your brand can stand out from the crowd and enrich its customer relations. Find out more about Socialshaker’s fun mechanisms and deploy tailor-made Halloween competition ideas to turn this festive occasion into a real growth driver.
