Halloween is no longer just one day – it’s a whole season.
Halloween is the biggest social media holiday in October – and for some, it’s the highlight of the entire year.
Each year, ‘spooky season’ seems to creep in earlier, with brands and consumers embracing it long before October 31. The result? Halloween marketing buzz goes on for months in the lead up – so brands need to be paying attention.
As early as late August, social algorithms start surfacing Halloween costume trends, ghostly crafts, and creepy film recs. And by September, whole aisles of grocery stores are packed with everything from trick-or-treating supplies to pumpkin-themed door wreaths. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that Halloween sales in the US are projected to hit a record high this year.
Tapping into this Halloween hype is a must, so let’s take a look at some of the best ways to give your brand a spooky season boost.
Halloween spending is bigger than ever – and marketers need to pay attention
According to Brandwatch Consumer Research, there were over one million mentions of Halloween across the internet in August 2025, and 1.8 million in September. This makes Halloween a conversation worth talking about.
Data shows that nearly three-quarters of Americans (73%) intend to celebrate Halloween in 2025 and 49% of people are now shopping for Halloween before October – higher than any other previous year.
It also helps that spooky content is rising in popularity outside of Halloween. In particular, horror content is having a moment. According to data provided by TikTok, there's been a rise in horror-related videos globally on the app in the past 12 months, with 10.7 million people using the horror hashtag – an increase of 38% – while HorrorTok videos rose by 40% to 2.6m.
Of course, scary movies are popular year-round, and this trend shows no sign of waning either. According to Brandwatch, there have been 5.39 million mentions about scary movies in 2025 so far. And in North America alone, scary movies accounted for 17% of ticket purchases this year – up from 11% in 2024.
In short, both Halloween and scary content are on the up. And brands that don’t tap into this moment risk missing out on an excellent opportunity for engagement.
Let’s find out how brands can turn these Halloween trends into engagement.
How brands can maximize their Halloween marketing strategies
Thanks to the constant popularity of scary movies, the growing influence of HorrorTok, and the general craving for festive moments outside of the holidays, Halloween content is great for engagement.
Let’s look at a few ways that marketers can really maximize their Halloween marketing.
1. Join the conversation early
With Halloween shopping starting earlier, brands need to begin planning earlier, too.
These days Halloween is so popular that even ‘Summerween’ has become a thing – a mid-summer Halloween event, inspired by the TV show Gravity Falls, which sees people celebrate Halloween in June or July.
One brand that successfully spotted and tapped into this trend is craft-store chain Michaels. They now put out an annual line of Summerween items, including polkadot jack-o’-lanterns, ornamental ghosts, and skull-themed throw pillows. And by launching their Halloween promotions in June, Michaels are known for unofficially kicking off spooky season every year.
Tip for marketers: Brands that plan early and get ahead are bound to see a positive response. Just check out the social response to Michael’s Summerween lines.
2. Leverage horror in your Halloween marketing campaigns
Brands can tap into horror and gothic visuals with your Halloween marketing campaigns to boost engagement. Reference classic horror films in visuals and get your design team involved to tune your aesthetics up a notch.
For example, Cheetos partnered with Netflix’s Wednesday TV series for a promotional campaign featuring the “Thing” – complete with cheese dust fingers. And it was a hit.
More recently, they used similar imagery to mark the start of October.
Tip for marketers: Gothic aesthetics perform well around Halloween, but consistency matters. Align your spooky visuals with your brand identity to stay recognisable – even in the dark.
3. Get your messaging right
These days, people are talking about more than just Halloween – and brands need to use the right language to connect with their audience.
To reflect the fact that Halloween has become a whole celebratory season in its own right, there’s a definite move to using the phrase ‘spooky season’ over Halloween. Not only does it feel on-trend, it’s also generic enough that it doesn’t feel premature when it’s used in late August or September.
And it’s catching on – at this point, online mentions of ‘spooky season’ are at over 113k. ‘Summerween’ is another example of the evolving language and trends around Halloween.
Tip for marketers: Meet audiences where they are and use language and references that resonate – this means keeping a close eye on trends and online conversations.
4. Tap into the appropriate niche
The best approach to Halloween marketing will depend entirely on your brand. For example, with horror content booming on TikTok, you could experiment with short-form spooky content, or even team up with an influencer to make some collaborative content.
Some audiences might appreciate a gentler guide to spooky season home decor, or even a recipe that they can make with the kids.
In short, there’s a Halloween niche for everyone.
Soft toy giants Jellycat are a brilliant example: they often announce the launch of new Halloween-themed plushies in early fall, and then follow it up with shareable content throughout September and October. In 2024, they had a viral moment when they shared a video of classic Jellycats doing the Thriller dance routine. And it was a hit.
Tip for marketers: Don’t force content that doesn’t feel right for your brand. There’s a spooky season niche for everyone.
5. Don’t forget sentiment
Halloween-related conversations can be surprisingly emotional – it’s all about fear and joy. And campaigns that lean into this sentiment can spark stronger engagement.
For example, online mentions about scary movies evoke plenty of emotion – with 74% of emotion-categorized mentions showing fear. Perhaps surprisingly, sadness ranks neck and neck with joy, at 8% each.
If you can tap into these emotions in your marketing efforts, you’re more likely to capture the attention of your audience.
Tip for marketers: Understand which sentiment resonates most with your audience, and use it intentionally to drive emotional connection.
How Brandwatch can help you ace Halloween
In short, you’re not just creating content for Halloween – you’re creating content for spooky season.
To help you kick-start some fresh ideas, Brandwatch can help marketers track trends before they get big. For example, Brandwatch Consumer Research can help you track the biggest Halloween costume trends (K-Pop Demon Hunters, anyone?) and figure out where your brand can fit into the narrative.
When you’re ready to go live, Brandwatch Social Media Management can help you seamlessly coordinate content across channels, giving you the confidence that each individual post has been approved before publication and scheduled to hit the feed at just the right moment. After that, all you need to do is enjoy being part of the conversation.
