Halloween: an effective marketing tool for your restaurant or hotel?

Halloween presents an opportunity to get creative with your restaurant. The objective? Propose unique offers, likely to engage new customers quickly and effectively. " Trick or treat! Halloween, a tradition that continues today on All Hallows' Eve. But Halloween is also becoming an event driven by marketing strategies, and a great opportunity to generate additional sales. For the legendary candy brand Haribo, Halloween represents 12% of its annual pre-crisis sales.

Halloween becomes an excellent excuse to party, eat out or take part in any activity organized for the occasion. How can you take advantage of this event to liven up your restaurant or hotel? As a restaurateur, Halloween presents an opportunity to renew your menu especially for the evening, or to bring out a star product that will generate interest and the desire to taste it.

1. Create a Halloween-themed culinary offering in your restaurant!

A dedicated menu

Imagining a special menu for the evening of the 31st is an excellent way of attracting a new clientele eager to celebrate the event. Imagine surprising dishes and cocktails that play on Halloween clichés. Don't forget seasonal vegetables such as squash (pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin) or old-fashioned vegetables (parsnip, Jerusalem artichoke), cooked in original ways that fit in perfectly with the evening's theme.

An original menu that gives guests the opportunity to share their experience on social media. An excellent way to raise your profile by demonstrating your inventiveness.

An exceptional product

An excellent way to stand out from the crowd is to release a flagship product with an original visual, ideal for communicating on social media. Alain Ducasse himself has released a chocolate collection dedicated to Halloween, in the form of "Hexa-raignées" and "Hexa-trouille".

Like every year, the Amorino ice cream parlour offers a range of ice creams and macaroons for the occasion!

2. Organize games and events to generate excitement

To generate interest and create a festive, convivial atmosphere, encourage your guests to come in costume. Organizing a contest for the best horror gear in exchange for a free dinner can easily get the less motivated to participate. It's a great way to build customer loyalty and raise your profile!

With the help of social media, organize a competition has never been easier. For example, you could organize a contest for the best horror selfie in exchange for a meal in your restaurant on the evening of October 31st for Halloween.

3. Create a sensational experience

Place and atmosphere are an integral part of the customer experience, especially on a festive evening like Halloween. There's no need to pay exorbitant prices for exceptional objects, just hollowed-out pumpkins, fake cotton cobwebs or paper bats. Don't forget to play along with the music.

You can also transform your service team. Small details that can leave a lasting impression and make your guests' moment unforgettable. Mama Shelter, for example, has put together a unique range of evenings and brunches for the occasion, from blood-curdling cocktails to surprise shows and dj sets. Get inspired by Mama Shelter'sspecial Halloweenoffer!

4. Communicate as much as possible

Don't forget to share your special Halloween offer with your community and post it on your website. If you're organizing a special evening, you need to use social media to create suspense and whet people's appetites and curiosity before the big day and on the night itself. Halloween is a not-to-be-missed event on the calendar for your restaurant or hotel. You'll need to come up with a whole host of new ideas to attract the curious and the gourmands to your establishment. Invent, yes, but don't forget to communicate! Your creative genius needs to be visible to make an impact. A good community management and press relations strategy are essential to ensure a full house on the big day.