Why Halloween Has Lessons for the Rest of Q4 CTV Advertising

When we think of Q4, our minds often turn immediately to November’s Cyber Five. (Duh, we’re marketers.) But what about Halloween? Spooky season is just a few weeks away, and it’s a great time to go for goals — not just ghouls. Really, the only thing you should be scared of not making the most of this small-but-mighty holiday and carrying that momentum through the rest of Q4. (And if you’re planning to leave your spooky home decor up, too? Well, that’s none of our business.) We analyzed brands advertising on MNTN Performance TV who went all in on Halloween last year, along with what is happening macroeconomically, to help you tackle the haunted holiday.

“Summerween” Is the New Halloween

A stretched-out seasonal calendar is something we’ve been seeing a lot more of lately, as shoppers look to spread out their purchases throughout the year (thanks, inflation). According to Gartner, only 24% of consumers in the U.S. are waiting to start their holiday shopping in November or December. Halloween is no exception — industry experts even gave this phenomenon a name: “Summerween.” “It’s clear that consumers have been interested in buying Halloween products earlier and earlier,” said Laura Champine, Senior Consumer Analyst at Loop Capital Markets.  Advertisers are best positioned for success when they respond to these signals. “Over the last few years, retailers who have pulled forward their holiday promotional calendars have experienced success and growth,” said Kassi Socha, Director Analyst at Gartner. 

Before Q4’s madness kicks off, let’s see how this concept is playing out for the unsung hero of the quarter: We tracked weekly performance across a subset of Halloween advertisers on MNTN Performance TV advertisers from the start of August through Halloween and saw that as they scaled their ad spend from the start of September, conversions, revenue, and site visits followed suit. 

There was a strong (almost identical!) correlation between revenue and conversions, which peaked the week before Halloween.

Home Is Where the Heart Halloween Is

What else is central to Halloween, besides food and costumes? Home decor, apparently. Per Advantage Outlook. Most respondents plan to decorate for the spooky season, and at least 53% of respondents’ decorating style will require shopping for Halloween decor. (How many are planning on investing in one of those 12-foot lawn skeletons remains sadly unknown.) We ranked our top advertisers by ROAS in the month leading up to Halloween, and saw that 4 out of the top 5 advertisers were made up of home and garden brands. 

We saw non-Halloween brands — the kind shoppers don’t normally go to for Halloween products — making their mark, too. Looking at revenue across advertisers during this period, among the top contenders were a national furniture chain, a fragrance / scent company, and a recreation brand. 

Could this be an opportunity for home decor / improvement stores as they struggle to overcome high interest rates, inflated home prices, and a post-COVID renovation boom, which are now causing people to move less (but travel more)? We say it’s time to bring the Halloween celebrations back in-house.

Trick or Treat Yourself

One of the big themes emerging in Q4 is the rise of value-driven pricing, and how  affordability remains a sticking point for shoppers, be it in the short or long term. Analysis from market research firm Euromonitor revealed a cycle of consumer behaviors, where price is a priority in the short term, moving to more value-led thinking even in the long term (yes, even in light of softening economic conditions.). To mitigate this, consumers are embracing the “little luxuries” trend to ease their woes. Halloween, like other seasons during the year, is a seasonal holiday that shoppers look forward to (and put some of their savings aside to splurge on).

“[Seasonal goods] have been the one area where people have let themselves splurge a little bit on some discretionary goods,” said Joe Feldman, Senior Retail Analyst, Telsey Advisory Group. Did this match up with our own advertisers? We mapped out the overall average order value (AOV) in the four weeks leading up to Halloween.

We noticed a spike in AOV in early October, which then dropped midway through the month, rebounded again mid-month as shoppers splurged closer to the day, and finally hit peak performance at the end of the month. Why the surge at the beginning of October? Think back to your last Halloween — being one of the biggest holidays in the year, you likely had planned a few weeks in advance to set the mood (especially if you were hosting a party or decorating your house), with the last-minute purchases like perishables, and candy coming a little later on. It’s human nature to procrastinate, but it’s also human nature to indulge from time to time (like at Halloween). 

So what does this mean for your campaigns this year? Don’t pump the brakes on your ad spend nearing Halloween, and look for ways to inject value-focused messaging in your creative. One idea: find an area where your product / service dominates, and hone in on this in your ad creative. The mission / purpose that your brand stands for, or the experience that you offer your shoppers. Since shoppers make purchase decisions based on many factors (beyond price) like trust, status, and confidence, soften the blow of any price increases with a focus on quality, service, and experience. At the end of the day, it’s about creating context that’s relevant to your consumer and their lives — no matter the price point.