Top Halloween marketing strategies to make your brand stand out in 2024

Halloween costumes, candy, spooky decor, and the crisp fall air—it's everyone's favorite season. Adults go all-out with their costumes, kids transform into candy-fueled dynamos, and pumpkins bask in carved glory. And for email marketers? It's the perfect time to unleash their craziest, most outlandish ideas. Unlike other holidays that might carry more sentimental or serious undertones, Halloween is inherently playful and fun. It gives you the license to unleash your inner weirdo, to let creativity flow without restraint.

And there's a solid business reason to jump on the Halloween bandwagon. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF) in US, Halloween spending reached a record-breaking $12.2 billion in 2023, up from $10.6 billion in 2022. With per-person spending at an all-time high at $108 and 73% of households joining in on the spooky festivities, this holiday isn't just about ghosts and goblins—it's a serious opportunity for brands to shine. From costumes ($4.1 billion) to decorations ($3.9 billion) and candy ($3.6 billion), consumers are ready to splurge, and are looking for brands that know how to bring the fun.

READ: Holiday marketing calendar 2024: Dates, ideas, and planning tips

So why hold back? Throw everything at the wall—ghost puns, spooky GIFs, pumpkin spice (well, maybe not everything)—and see what sticks. This is the season where email creativity knows no limits, and every quirky idea has a chance to win. But here's the real challenge: Are the classic puns getting tired, or can they still pack a punch in email subject lines? Should you lean into fun, fear, or a mix of both? How do you turn this creative season into an email marketing gold mine?

Get ready! We're about to explore all this and more in our guide to Halloween email marketing! (And keep an eye out for a special bonus treat at the end!)

Make Halloween your brand's time to shine   

1. Use the power of puns (but beware of overuse!)   

Puns are a staple of Halloween email marketing. Clever wordplay taps into the playful spirit of Halloween and makes emails more shareable. However, it's easy to fall into the trap of overusing the same puns that have been haunting inboxes year after year. Puns that align with your brand identity and resonate with your target audience can still be incredibly effective, but only when they feel fresh and unexpected. You don't want to sound like every other brand in the inbox.

The good pun checklist:  

• Understand your audience and what type of puns they'll appreciate.
• Incorporate puns into a consistent brand voice and visual identity.
• Pair puns with eye-catching visuals.
• Test different puns and iterate based on performance data.
• Use puns strategically in key campaigns, not everywhere.

Pun mistakes to avoid, avoid, and avoid:  

• Puns that feel forced or rely on overdone Halloween tropes will fall flat.
• Overusing puns across all marketing channels can make your brand seem gimmicky.
• Ensure puns are part of a larger creative strategy, not the entire focus.

Some overused Halloween puns in subject lines

• “Have a fang-tastic Halloween!”
• “Don't ghost us—open now!”
• “Trick or treat yourself!”
• “No tricks, just treats!”
• “Get these BOO-tiful offers before they vanish!”

2. Tap into nostalgia and emotion in your emails

Trends? They come and go. Influencers? They'll keep chasing the next big thing. And the algorithm? It's forever playing its own trick-or-treat game. But when your email campaign taps into nostalgia? That's marketing gold.

Nostalgia has this undeniable magic in marketing because it doesn't just speak to people; it whispers to their inner child, making them feel the way they did back when things were simpler, sweeter, and just a little bit spookier.

Because when you speak to the child within, you're not just selling a product or a service. You're selling a memory, an emotion, a piece of that unforgettable past. Nostalgia is a win-win strategy for all seasons.

How to leverage nostalgia:   

• Retro themes: Use visuals and references from past decades (like 80s or 90s Halloween styles) in your email designs to evoke a sense of nostalgia.
• Personal stories: Share nostalgic Halloween experiences in your email copy and invite your audience to share theirs on social media. Create a community around shared memories.
• Engaging content: Weave captivating stories into your emails to keep your readers hooked—or spooked—from the first line to the last.

3. Be on top of trends: Incorporate pop culture and viral Halloween themes 

Trends change at lightning speed, so aligning your Halloween marketing with current pop culture and viral themes can give your brand the edge it needs to stand out. From timely references to trending styles, embracing what's popular—while staying true to your brand—can help you connect with your audience in fresh and exciting ways.

Pop culture references: Use references to popular movies, TV shows, or viral internet content to capture attention in subject lines or email content. A well-timed nod to pop culture can make your brand feel relevant and part of the conversation.

Trending styles and formats: Bring the style of popular content creators into your email visuals. Use dynamic elements like GIFs, bold typography, or playful animations that capture the vibe of what's trending to make your emails feel fresh and relevant.

Trendy language and lingo: Incorporate slang or phrases that are trending. Whether it's the latest Gen Z slang or a phrase that's taken over social media, the right language can make your brand sound fresh and up-to-date. Just make sure it aligns with your brand's voice and feels authentic—not forced.

Embrace viral challenges: Jump on popular viral challenges or create your own Halloween-themed challenge to encourage your email recipients to participate and share their spooky experiences.

Memes with a twist: Use or create memes that align with your brand's humor and voice, but add a Halloween twist. Whether it's turning a viral meme into a Halloween-themed joke or creating a new meme format around a recent trend, this is a playful way to connect with audiences.

4. Plan themed campaigns with high emotional appeal   

People love being part of something seasonal and unique, so themed campaigns around Halloween can create a strong emotional connection.

Ideas for themed campaigns:   

• Costume contests: Invite subscribers to share photos of their best Halloween costumes for a chance to win a prize. Feature their submissions in a follow-up email or on social media.
• Trick-or-treat discounts: Offer “trick-or-treat” discounts where subscribers click to reveal their discount (a mystery discount element adds fun and surprise).
• Spooky stories: Create a series of emails that tell a fun or spooky story, with your brand or product cleverly woven into the narrative.

5. Stand out with unique visuals and designs   

Halloween is a highly visual holiday, and this is a great opportunity to break free from your usual email templates and experiment with bold, eye-catching designs.

Visual tactics to stand out:   

• Color palette: Use a Halloween-inspired color palette; think oranges, blacks, purples, and greens.
• Animations and GIFs: Incorporate animations like flickering lights, moving ghosts, or dancing skeletons to make your emails more engaging.
• Themed Call-to-Actions: Use Halloween-themed CTAs, such as “Snag tour treats!” or “Enter if you dare!” to make your call-to-action more exciting.

Go big and make your Halloween campaign unforgettable   

Halloween is the one time of year when it's perfectly acceptable—no, expected—to throw caution to the wind and let your brand's personality take center stage. Whether you're crafting cringe-worthy puns, stirring up nostalgia, or jumping on the latest pop culture craze, remember that this is your moment to break free from the everyday and enrapture your audience.

And if you're looking to make your marketing more than just a hocus-pocus of ideas, Zoho Campaigns has the tricks—and treats—to help you do it. Start with our Halloween templates, automate your workflow, and watch as your audience stays engaged.

As a little bonus treat, we've whipped up a Halloween Marketing Bingo card for you and your team (with some help from ChatGPT). Challenge yourselves to see how many of these classic Halloween marketing moves you can spot (or use) this season!

  Halloween Marketing Bingo  

P.S. Don't be afraid to laugh at yourself or your competitors' attempts to create spooky campaigns. Because if there's one thing Halloween marketing should be—it's fun.