When thinking about Halloween, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Is it spooky skeletons, or pumpkin flavored drinks, or maybe trick or treating? For me, it’s candy. Specifically Kit Kats – my favorite candy that I stock up on, along with peanut butter cups, sour candies, and everything in between, to make sure I have the best candy bucket on the block. That’s every parent’s goal – every Halloween season, parents buy all different kinds of candy to appease all different tastes and dietary needs. And with candy spending projected to reach an all-time high of $3.6 billion this year, exceeding pre-pandemic levels, there is an opportunity for brands to expand market share and drive customer affinity year-round.
Candy brands should exercise both seasonal and year-round strategies in order to stay top of mind to the consumer and stay competitive in the category. To do this, brands need to focus on getting into the consumer’s basket, understand why shoppers did or did not “add to cart,” and then leverage that data to segment audiences to drive year-round awareness. Knowing what to say to which potential customers is the first step in attracting their attention.
One impactful tactic to get a shopper’s attention and get a product into shopping carts is to incentivize that purchase, through trade dollars or promotions. While some might argue that discounting a seasonal product that shoppers will inevitably be purchasing is driving non-incremental behavior, I’d counter that there is more of a reason to discount these kinds of products during key seasonal windows. With the right incentive structure, manufacturers can drive household penetration and buy rate. That right incentive can increase awareness of their core brand message and drive consumer affinity so that their brand is the “must buy” during the off-season.
During the Halloween season, this strategy can look like offering a discount on variety candy packs, two-for-one deals, or cashback digital rewards to entice shoppers to make a purchase. Digital rewards tend to provide the most value by allowing the manufacturer to retain product value on the shelf and generate historical shopper data to influence future retargeting strategies.
After Halloween, it is essential to do Post Campaign Analytics to determine why your candy did or did not make it into people’s baskets. This is why offering digital rewards through a partner with strong measurement capabilities can be so valuable. Through data, brands can figure out why or how they missed the mark and use that feedback to refine how they talk to their customers. On the flip side, digital offers also create the opportunity to go back and talk to the consumers who did purchase your product. With deeper insight gained through promotions, brands are better equipped to be strategic, engage with those customers, and, ultimately, build affinity (and drive purchase) throughout the year.
Knowing which consumers to talk to, when to talk to them, and how to talk to them better allows your brand to understand where to put your marketing dollars to create value and maximize the return on your investment. This segmentation into different cohorts is vital to offering truly personalized offers to individuals, and ultimately, building their loyalty and staying top of mind. Getting the consumer into the habit of being a perennial customer means that not only are they purchasing your candy during peak season, but also during slower seasons – where the real gains are made.
While the starting point of this process may be Halloween, the holiday season, or Valentine’s Day, the strategy itself is cyclical and relies on continuous communication with the consumer using specialized offers. With an estimated 96% of American households purchasing Halloween candy in 2022, this time of year is prime to begin that channel of communication, setting yourself up for success in the year to come and building a loyal customer base year-round.
Anna Rabaut Schroeder is Senior Vice President of Client Partnerships at Ibotta, Inc., the largest and fastest growing mobile shopping application in CPG and Retail. Anna’s extensive experience in sales leadership began when she joined General Mills after graduating from Hillsdale College. Later, she would rise to Director of National Sales at Valassis (now Vericast) leading teams responsible for global accounts and exceeding annual revenue goals year over year. With expertise leveraging data, research and analytics, Anna encourages teams to partner with clients on their challenges to deliver highly targeted needs-based solutions.
