These Halloween Campaigns are Scary-Good Examples of Interactive Content

Halloween specials are the best.

And I’m not just talking about deals on bite-sized candy, but even special restaurant menus, sitcom episodes, and as you’ll see in this article, marketing campaigns.

As we found in our latest eBook on 2016 Inbound Marketing Predictions, industry experts expect interactive content to be the biggest change in premium content next year, and judging by this year’s crop of big brand Halloween campaigns, Marketers are already embracing it.

That being said, before you grab your wig and a couple of candy bars for the road, check out these five scary-good Halloween campaigns and how they did interactive content right.

1.Target: “The House On Hallow Hill” (VR Video Series & Mobile Site) 

The big box retailer affectionately known as “Tar’ge” (Tar-jay) has pulled out all the stops for Halloween this year.

For starters, they released a six-part, virtual reality YouTube series titled, “The House On Hallow Hill.” In it,  viewers can explore different rooms inside the abandoned home including, "The Ghoulish Graveyard," "The Candy Carnival," "Dinner with Ghosts" and "The Sugar Skull Cantina." Check it out above.

Why I Love It:

I have to give Target their kudos for this one.

The “choose your own adventure” style video content makes use of mobile 360 technology to create a completely immersive, interactive experience that will “delight” kids and parents alike.

And, on the business end of the things, each video subtly prompts viewers to “shop this room,” linking back to the Target website to purchase decorations shown in the video.

By doing this and offering the viewer a 10% off promo code at the end of the experience, Target has definitely found a creative way to give shoppers value in more than one way using interactive content.

In addition to the VR tour, Target has also released “Treatster,” a mobile site that uses Google Maps and user ratings to help show trick-or-treaters where to score the best candy in their neighborhood.

Brb. Gotta grab my pillow case.

2. Dos Equis: “The Most Interesting Man in the World’s Masquerade” (VR Video Series & Live Event)

Target isn’t the only big brand to jump on board the VR bandwagon this year.

In honor of the season, Dos Equis has developed a video campaign around “The Most Interesting Man in the World’s Masquerade Soiree.” (Experience it below.)

Why I Love It:

In the 360-degree video, viewers can once again use their mobile devices to don a mask and engulf themselves in The Most Interesting Man’s (TMIM) party and all of the antics that come along with it (i.e. fire eaters and a guest appearance by a cheetah).

Along with this, the beer brand has released several 15-second spots with TMIM giving his trademark advice on Halloween-themed topics like masquerade parties and vampires. The clever team has also arranged for him to act as grand marshall at the 42nd Annual Greenwich Village Halloween Parade.    

Overall, Dos Equis has done an impressive job of staying true to their brand. Their videos ooze the style, luxury, and cheekiness that their consumers love and come to expect from them, while also adding a unique live event element into the mix. Stay thirsty, my friends.   

3. Goodwill: “Be Your Own Monster” (Costume Generator & Mini Site)

For their Halloween campaign, Goodwill teamed up with Sony Picture’s Hotel Transylvania 2 to bring us the “Be Your Own Monster," a mini site hosting a variety of useful content to help you plan a frighteningly perfect night.  

Aside from a Halloween Blog and store locator (+2 for including these essentials!), visitors will also find a series of makeup tutorials for nailing popular looks (i.e. a Vampire, Zombie, and Pirate) as well as an interactive costume generator.

With the creative generator, you can either enter your initials for a fast, quirky costume suggestion, or complete their “What’s my costume type?” quiz for a more detailed description based on your answers.

After you fill out the short quiz, they’ll give you a costume idea and break it down into pieces you could find at your local Goodwill location. 

Why I Love It:

This year, over 158 million people will celebrate Halloween and nearly $6.9 billion will be spent on costumes, candy, and everything in between.

With its videos and generator, Goodwill addresses the costly pain point of costume prices by showing you how you can make your own on a budget and also personalizing the experience by having users enter their initials and answering personality questions.

A valiant content marketing effort by the American non-profit. 

4. Cheetos: “Chester’s Pumpkinator” (Image Generator & Contest)

Next, Chester Cheetah and the folks over at Cheetos are getting into the spirit and putting a modern twist on a Halloween tradition with Pumpkinator.

Using the custom web app, users can decorate and share their own digital jack-o-lantern, AND submit it for the chance at a weekly $1,000 prize from Cheetos. Not a bad deal, am I right?

In addition to this clever contest, the brand is also offering seasonal “Trick-or-Treat Packs” (with Cheetos in the shape of skulls and bones) and sharing a video series of “Chester Cheetah’s Halloween Pranks” on their Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter accounts.

Why I Love It:

Catering to their young, playful audience, Cheetos has truly captured the trick-or-treat spirit of Halloween with its Pumpkinator and video series. 

Not only does Pumpkinator engage the audience with a timely, interactive, and share-worthy tool, but they incentive participation by offering an attractive prize

As for Chester’s prank videos, they’re entertaining, perfectly relevant to the season, and make you want to share them with your friends on social media.

Overall, Cheetos has created some laudable interactive and entertaining content that effectively promotes their brand and seasonal product without overwhelming the user. 

5. Chipotle: “Boo-rito” (In-Person Offer)

One of the best things about Halloween is dressing up and Chipotle knows gets that.

In their Halloween campaign for 2015, the casual dining chain is using this love to not only get people in the door for a “boo-rito,” but also to promote their movement against food additives and GMOs.

 

Chipotle has removed all these unnecessary (or as they call them, “unneces-scary”) ingredients from their menu and to symbolize it, if you stop by from 5 PM to close on Halloween, in costume with an unnecessary accessory (i.e. wearing a bright red clown nose with a princess costume), you’ll score a burrito for only $3.00.

Why I Love It:

Chipotle makes it easy for people to participate by capitalizing on something that majority of their audience is already doing on Halloween -- dressing up in a costume.

Instead of forcing them to do a lot of extra work, all you have to do is grab an extra hat or tie and stop by Chipotle when you’re hungry on All Hallow’s Eve. Like the best content, it feels “native” to the holiday, not overly promotional.

Scary-good or just plain scary? 

So, what do you think? Were you impressed by these brands' interactive initiatives? Tell us what you think about them (or other recent interactive/Halloween campaigns) in the comment section below. And from all of us at IMPACT, have a very Happy Halloween! :)