“Can we just get to Christmas already?”
Bah Humbug. If this is you, we hate to break it to you, but you’ve been overruled. Those who revel in the holiday spirit (or perhaps spirits) aren’t holding back.
This year, starting October 1st, countless businesses and residents ghoulishly adorned their establishments with terrifying tarantulas cascading down walls, wicked witches breezing by on broomsticks, and skeletons emerging from cryptic tombstones on many a front yard. October has unofficially become “Halloween Month.”
And if you aren’t taking advantage of the season, you might be missing out on huge marketing opportunities.
Why Halloween?
Did you know that last year, 56% of consumers began their holiday shopping in October? While it’s a bit premature to start Christmas-themed campaigns in October, it’s the perfect time to tap into the Halloween spirit and utilize Halloween as an avenue to get your product or service in the minds of early holiday shoppers.
If you’re a bone-efied, zombified Halloween super-fan, or if you’re a brand wondering how to integrate “Halloween Month” into your current and future marketing campaigns, we’ve got a few ideas to send your way. (Don’t worry, if you feel like you missed the mark on Halloween month, you can always tailor these campaigns and integrate these tools into your upcoming Christmas campaigns.)
Here’s how you can enjoy everyone’s favorite scary holiday while also preparing for the sales and excitement of the Holiday Season.
Vanity Numbers
Believe it or not, phone numbers (more specifically, vanity phone numbers) are a crucial tool in your marketing toolkit to reinforce your brand and help your leads reach you faster. Likely, we all have at least one phone number etched into the reaches of our memories from a billboard years ago. Or perhaps you can never un-hear that earworm replayed on every other radio ad as a kid.
We weren’t even trying to memorize those numbers!
We still see billboards with easy-to-memorize numbers like 222-2222 and hear catchy commercial jingles repeating numbers like “CALL-NOW”.
You can utilize these numbers in your marketing, like many other companies do. Even better, you can temporarily use a themed phone number for seasonal marketing. Yes, you can use a Halloween-themed vanity number for your October campaigns.
This season, dozens of customers searched for (and purchased) some of the following words to use for custom vanity numbers:
(***) * SCREAM
(***) *** FEAR
** BE-SCARED
(***) ** GHOST
(***) * HORROR
(***) * SWEETS
(***) ** WITCH
(***) COSTUME
Are these numbers stirring the pot (so to speak) and brewing some hot ideas for your next campaign?
You don’t need to be a Halloween-related company (haunted mazes, candy, decorations, etc.) to use numbers like these. You can use themed phone numbers for a variety of different campaigns you plan to roll out. Here are a few ideas.
NumberBarn’s Halloween Campaigns
We too launched our own intriguing Halloween campaigns (in our humble opinion,) using three products from our ClearHello family of companies.
From NumberBarn (yes, from ourselves) we purchased the vanity number “424-PUMPKIN.” We then integrated the number with String SMS messaging and NumberGarage virtual business phone systems, allowing us to create two different “campaigns” all from one phone number.
Text “TRICK” or “TREAT”
We created an SMS marketing keyword campaign using the keywords “TRICK” or “TREAT” and posted it on our social media channels.
When an individual texts either word, the String SMS marketing platform auto-replies to the sender with a “Trick” (entertaining reply coupled with an exclusive promotional offer) or a “Treat” (a different hopefully-amusing reply paired with the promo offer.)
Curious? It’s not too late to try it out and receive a Halloween “Trick” or “Treat” text from NumberBarn!
Call “424-PUMPKIN”
When someone decides to call the “424-PUMPKIN” custom vanity number, they are greeted by NumberBarn’s very own, interactive Halloween Hauntline. Naturally, we also included a “treat” for callers who participated in the Halloween Hauntline Mystery. (It’s also not too late to call it and try it out, so we won’t give too much away.)
Here’s a different spoiler though: we’re taking a minute to brag on our in-house talent. Our unassuming graphic designer volunteered his haunting vocal stylings and astute recording skillz to help bring our Halloween Hauntline vision to life. We had no idea so much talent was sitting in front of us!
Resurrect Your Marketing With A Thrilling Number
Spin your own interactive holiday adventure with a custom vanity number from NumberBarn. Whether you need a permanent number for your customers to reach you, or you want to license a number for a seasonal campaign, we’ve got you covered. Plus, here are a few more Halloween phone number ideas to inspire you:
Looking for more unique vanity numbers to cultivate your imagination? Subscribe to our YouTube channel and click on Shorts for a world of possibilities!
This article was co-authored by ClearHello contributors Joel Arnold and Melana Preston.
