Get Tricky
Halloween used to be all about kids and candy. Lately, it's become the one night a year that grown-ups will give themselves permission to be somebody or something they're not—as if pretending were best left to the pre-pubescent professionals.
The truth is, the majority of grown-ups could do with a lot more pretending in their lives. Especially if they hope to create effective marketing communications. If you can't imagine yourself in the skin (or at least the shoes) of your target audience, you're doomed when it comes to creating and delivering a relevant message.
Rather than worrying what incentive you can offer customers, time and money are often better spent determining what truly matters to customers, then crafting a message that addresses those concerns in genuine, rather than generic, terms. Addressing their concerns will also keep you from talking down to your target audience. The only thing worse than entirely missing a target might be underestimating its value.
Would you rather be the adorable little trick-or-treater welcomed at strangers' front doors or the mildly intimidating thug that everyone just wants to go away? Unlike werewolves and vampires, people very rarely bite. The more you're able to identify with the people you hope to sway with your marketing message, the more welcoming they will be of that message. Talk about a treat.
Brian Beatty is Senior Writer at Hot Dish Advertising. He also performs stand-up comedy around the Twin Cities. Sometimes he tells his jokes wearing a bear suit. brianbeatty@lycos.com