Halloween trends 2024—top marketing trends to boost your brand this spooky season

It’s spooky, it’s fun, and Halloween is definitely the start of the holiday marketing season. The National Retail Federation predicts that Halloween spending will reach $11.6 billion in 2024 in the United States alone.

You don’t need a massive marketing budget—or even a Halloween-related product—to get a slice of that massive holiday spending pie. With a few creative ideas and the right tools, your brand can get a major seasonal boost. Hold on to your seat because you’re about to experience a deluge of Halloween marketing ideas.

The easiest and simplest Halloween marketing tactic that drives urgency and conversions is to make a limited-time offer around Halloween. People are more inclined to act when there’s a deadline. You can leverage this marketing tactic by providing exclusive Halloween-themed discounts, free shipping, or buy-one-get-one-free offers. 

But here’s the twist for 2024: make your offer early and make it last longer. According to the same NRF survey, buyers are starting their Halloween shopping earlier than ever. Disneyland published this Halloween ad in July! Halloween marketing campaigns seem to be starting earlier in 2024.

Another trend we’re seeing is longer offers. Businesses are not just making flash sales but extending the offer for the entire month of October. You’ll have to test, though, and see which works better for you: a shorter flash sale or a month-long one.

Your offer—and your promotional content for it—doesn’t have to be complicated. Marketing for Halloween can be as simple as making an offer and posting a short video about it:

Here’s proof that you can make a Halloween offer no matter what your product!

Or better yet, have a Halloween giveaway in exchange for people spreading the word about your product.

So don’t be shy: decide on a Halloween offer and have it go live immediately. Use a countdown timer on your sales pages and in email campaigns to build anticipation. This also helps ensure your audience doesn’t miss out.

Some people just love Halloween, and they love to buy themed products, so Halloween is the perfect opportunity to offer them something special. It’s easy to get into Halloween marketing mode if your product is directly Halloween-related, e.g., costumes and makeup, but if you’re creative enough, you can make a seasonal product out of almost anything.

Starbucks’s Pumpkin Spice Latte has become a Halloween icon. Its presence practically signals the start of the season.

This year, we’re seeing a trend towards putting more fun and whimsy into Halloween products. For example, Wendy’s created not one but 11 kids’ meal collectibles featuring spooky-fun characters. The offer includes a $1 Boo! book, which according to the company, some people hand out to trick-or-treaters. 

Retail stores can easily jump onto the Halloween bandwagon by offering whimsical specialty products and creating cool video sto showcase their trendy seasonal items.

No time to brainstorm? Customize your existing products by packaging them for Halloween. Use an orange and black color scheme or add spooky designs to existing packaging. Marketing for Halloween isn’t only for those whose products and services are directly related to the holiday.

This year, we’re also seeing a trend towards eco-friendly packaging. Consider using biodegradable packaging from recycled materials, organic fabrics, and other environmentally conscious options. Vintage is another cool Halloween marketing trend you can use when putting your holiday-themed product together.

Want to do more? Create an entirely new product just for Halloween. This can attract customers who are looking for unique festive items or who simply love Halloween!

For example, if you create and sell handmade products, you could design special creations just for Halloween. Service providers can and should get into the Halloween spirit, too. This photographer has thoughtfully put together a Halloween product. It’s sure to attract parents and couples who love the season and want to capture it for years to come.

If you have a physical retail space, it’s a no-brainer to create an immersive Halloween experience. Creating a memorable experience around your brand fosters deeper connections with your customers.

This could be as simple as decorating your brick-and-mortar store for Halloween or as intricate as hosting Halloween events. Either way, you’re not just boosting sales; you’re making a lasting impression.

Halloween Time at Disneyland, for example, has become a much-awaited experience for those who love this holiday, and Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios is always anticipated by those who love to be scared.

The Halloween “experience” doesn’t have to be elaborate. Aside from being a fun way to engage potential customers, it’s a great strategy for producing seasonal user-generated content (UGC).

If you’re an online store, you can still provide an immersive Halloween experience. “Halloween on Disney+” is a lineup of movies perfect for the holiday. The streaming channel curates and organizes them so subscribers can choose how scared they want to be.

You can also provide interactive experiences with augmented reality (AR) Halloween games—such as this Halloween-themed filter on TikTok.

You’ll have to promote all those Halloween-themed products, experiences, and promotions with ads. But even if you don’t have any offers that are specifically for Halloween, you can still capture seasonal interest with holiday-specific advertising. 

Advertisements for Halloween marketing campaigns are not new, but we’re seeing a trend toward ads that combine humor and playfulness with the spooky. 

Naturally, you’ll have to choose an approach that’s aligned with your brand voice. The key is to make the ad engaging while keeping it consistent with your brand’s core message.

Infuse your content marketing with the Halloween spirit. People are already looking for all things Halloween—costumes, makeup, candies, recipes, party ideas—so why not give it to them? Halloween-themed organic content can increase your reach and engagement. This way, you’re serving your audience and attracting new potential customers.

Halloween provides endless creative opportunities for organic content. Make it a point to share simple yet eye-catching ways to celebrate Halloween, such as tutorials or decorating ideas.

Your audience will also appreciate discovering unique ways to carve pumpkins without spending hours or needing special equipment and artistic skills. Another option is to review Halloween-related products in your niche.

Another Halloween marketing trend for 2024 is the Halloween challenge on social media. Challenges are a fun way to engage your audience, build your community, and encourage user-generated content (UGC). Halloween provides an excellent opportunity for a themed challenge. Offer a small prize, like a discount code or free product, to incentivize more people to participate.

Obvious challenges include a spooky photo challenge, a costume contest, or a pumpkin carving competition.

Leaning into the inflation concerns of 2024, this challenge involves a $10 budget and a 60-minute limit. If you have a physical store or office, set up the Halloween Candle Blow Challenge for your clients and customers.

No physical location? No problem! You can host a completely online challenge, quiz or game around Halloween to get your audience engaging.

The brand wins because it attracts new audiences, engages them, and draws more eyeballs to its offers. Challenge participants also win by sharpening their skills and becoming part of a community of people with the same interests.

Halloween is all about costumes, right? Decorate your business for Halloween to attract customers and create a festive atmosphere. If you’re short on time, simply add some spooky decorations in your store or office. Better yet, go all-out and transform your entire storefront. This ties in really well if you’re also offering Halloween-themed products and experiences.

Remember to check out what’s trending this Halloween in terms of decorations and design. For 2024, “scary chic” is one of the popular design trends. This decorating trend combines sophisticated and elegant with ghoulish elements. It will make you stand out from other stores that are embracing the traditional loud, maximalist, and chaotic Halloween decor.

A few Halloween touches can make all the difference—and they don’t have to be expensive or hard to make yourself.

And since it’s 2024, you can do the same for your online business presence. Use a Halloween theme for your website. Google’s Halloween homepage, for example, has become popular and is always anticipated by those who love the holiday.

Aside from your site, dress up your social media accounts with Halloween-themed profile images and banners. And don’t forget to create a Halloween-themed template for your emails, too.

Little House on Chestnut used a Halloween image for their giveaway (which ended in August—that’s how early brands are jumping into Halloween-themed marketing).

Influencer marketing has become a marketing strategy in 2024. Businesses with big budgets can partner with influencers to reach an engaged audience. In exchange for their creator fees, influencers provide exclusive access.

Canada’s Wonderland, for instance, gave influencers advance access to its Halloween experiences, so they could produce and share high-quality content they prepared earlier.

You don’t have to have a gargantuan budget to use influencer marketing. Smaller brands can work with micro-influencers (10,000 to 100,000 followers) and even nano-influencers (1,000 to 10,000 followers). 

You could choose to pay influencers an affiliate commission on sales they refer. This means you don’t have to pay out unless you actually make money first.

Tap into the excitement of the season by incorporating these trends into your Halloween marketing strategy. You can attract more customers, build a community, and engage your audience. Whether you’re offering limited-time products, creating immersive experiences, or serving your audience with relevant content, you’ll find plenty of ways to make the most of the season.

Envato has everything you need to produce all your Halloween content. You’ll find Halloween-themed creative elements whether you’re producing marketing materials, redesigning your website, or creating eye-catching product packaging. Envato has everything from fonts, images, and templates to videos and soundtracks. It has plenty of pre-designed Halloween-themed templates for your website and newsletter, for example.

Why not dive further into Halloween 2024 with our roundup of the must-watch animated horror shorts and our analysis of the design aesthetic in Tim Burton’s new comedy horror film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice!