Two Seth Godin posts for you today.
Here's the first one:
Marketing Halloween
Some things to think about while the doorbell rings...
There are communities that have moved Halloween from today, because they don't want it to be on a school night.
There are communities that abhor Halloween, arguing that it is a day for Satanists and other ideas that are anethema.
And there are communities where the goal is to obtain as many chocolate bars as possible. (The hobo costume will always remain the official teenager get up, because you can make one in three minutes).
How did fruit end up as treat non grata? How did the few giant candy companies end up stamping out variety, selling giant bags of cheap chocolate instead? (Hint: there's huge pressure to do 'the regular kind' as many consumers/homeowners are afraid to stand out in this regard). A great example of peer pressure meeting the race to the bottom.
And in the last few years, how did a trivial kids' holiday turn into a multi-billion dollar bacchanal for adults, complete with ornate houses and bespoke costumes? Is it because of some well-orchestrated Halloween Marketers of America initiative? It just seemed to happen, didn't it?
My take: Marketing home runs usually happen because the market/tribe/community is itching for a void to be filled, not because a marketer committed some brilliant act of promotion or pricing. The art, then, is to pick your niche, not to freak out about how to yell about it. You can't make a perfect storm, but you can find one.
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