Holidays and other annual occasions have become simply massive marketing opportunities, Halloween being no exception. This is an annual time for dressing up, gorging on candy, hailing all things spooky, and throwing crazy parties.
For brands and businesses, the Halloween giveaway is an opportunity to show creativity and engage with audiences. You’ll need to think out of the box to differentiate: themed prizes, creepy interactive contests, etc.
Read on for nine great Halloween giveaway ideas for your next sweepstakes (and a sweepstakes tool you’ll want to use, too).
1. Halloween Costume Contest
People love dressing up. Pick a group you’re part of (your colleagues, your family, your social media followers, your running club) and let the best-dressed win.
Possible prize categories include most creative, best DIY, scariest, funniest, etc.
Entice entrants with some Halloween-themed goodies:
- Tickets to a scary movie.
- Spooky decorations.
- Horror books (R. L. Stine).
2. Pumpkin Carving Contest
A Halloween classic, pumpkin carving will get the creative juices flowing. You can choose to host this either virtually or in person.
In-Person Contest
This type of contest requires a few more preparations, like picking a venue, setting up tables and chairs, and providing carving tools.
Consider drawing up some rules for the competitors:
- No bringing of own pumpkins.
- Pumpkins must be carved within a given time limit.
- PPE must be worn if using knives longer than 10 inches.
- Pumpkins may not be anthropomorphized using names, clothing, or other such atrocities.
Virtual Contest
For virtual contests, entrants must upload pictures or videos of their finished masterpieces and hashtag them on social media platforms such as Instagram or Twitter.
Hashtags will ensure more people see the competition entries. If you’re a brand, use a witty and relevant hashtag for the event promo:
- #PumpkinCarvingContest
- #HalloweenGiveawayFun
- #SpookyCreations2023
- #YouWannaKnowHowIGotTheseScars
For both, set a date, decide the categories and prizes, and pick an appropriate judging panel. Promote the event through various channels, including social media, local newspapers, and community bulletin boards.
Apart from eternal glory, reward the winners with spooktacular prizes like Halloween goody bags, candy corn, surprisingly healthy sweets and treats, etc.
3. Halloween Costume Photo Contest
Photo contests are as close to sure things as anything in the sweepstakes world. A photo contest allows people to contribute their own stories, photos, and experiences – and who doesn’t like getting attention for that?
Here’s what you’ll need to do:
- Create a contest page with an eye-catching graphic
- Decide on categories and criteria for each (scariest, funniest, most creative)
- Set the submission dates and times and the official rules.
- Decide on a hashtag to use.
- Consider partnering with local businesses or offering exclusive Halloween-themed products to make the prizes all the more irresistible.
Encourage your participants to be creative – think glow-in-the-dark paint, fake blood, 360 photos, black-and-white photos, etc.
A sensible way to conduct this contest would be to use a sweepstakes tool like ViralSweep. ViralSweep’s Contest app is the perfect software for collecting entries for a photo contest – it’ll even help you present the entries for easy voting and picking a winner, a great stress reliever.
4. Halloween Movie Night Giveaway
We’d be remiss here not to mention some of the classics you could screen:
- The Shining
- Psycho
- Scary Movie
- Jeepers Creepers
- Paranormal Activity
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Check out the 100 Best Horror Movies of All Time for more ideas
But the movie alone won’t cut it! Here are some fun ideas to spice up the event:
- Create a spooky atmosphere by decorating your venue with Halloween-themed decor.
- Serve themed snacks and drinks, like red punch labeled as “vampire’s blood.”
- Offer a prize for the best costume.
5. Trick Or Treat Giveaway
A trick-or-treat giveaway involves giving out surprise treats to your audience. It’s super easy to do because you can give away random things: think erasers, flashlights, coloring books, highlighters, stickers, water bottles, etc.
Here are some ideas for this type of giveaway:
- Create a fun and spooky video announcing the giveaway and showcasing the prizes.
- Ask people to follow you on social media, tag friends, and repost the giveaway post to enter.
- Announce the time, date, and location from which the giveaway will be hosted.
If you’re really switched on, you could even do this virtually – perhaps you host a webinar or a Q&A session where the attendees are automatically entered into the giveaway. Throughout the event, you could do micro trick-or-treats with checkout gift cards or similar promotional products.
6. Jack-o’-lantern Decorating Contest
Here’s a twist on the pumpkin-carving contest from earlier.
This one involves decorating pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns, so no messy carving! If you, like me, don’t know what a jack-o’-lantern is, it’s a pumpkin with a candle inside to light up.
Here’s how you can go about hosting a jack-o’-lantern decorating contest:
- On social media, announce the contest and ask people to submit photos of their decorated jack-o’-lanterns.
- Set a submission deadline.
- Encourage participants to use props.
- Share the entries on your socials.
- Announce the winner on a predetermined date.
7. Halloween-themed Scavenger Hunt
Especially for Halloween, there are various levels of complexity you could choose to conduct a scavenger hunt. Let’s look at three.
Virtual Scavenger Hunt
Firstly, set up a list of items that participants must find online. Some could be easy (e.g., a picture of an orange marshmallow), and others might require more thought (e.g., the hidden print on your website’s homepage).
Small In-Person Scavenger Hunt
This would be conducted at a single location: think cemetery, a creepy park, a haunted house or mansion – you get the picture. You or your team would have to hide many things around the setting and then release people into it in search of their prizes.
City-Wide Scavenger Hunt
You could, if you wanted to go big, conduct a scavenger hunt across an entire city. This would be especially suited to those who have multiple locations/venues set up – think escape rooms or Halloween-themed pop-up stores.
For all three options, encourage the use of social media when people find clues and hidden objects.
8. Halloween-themed Quiz
People love to test their knowledge, so quizzes are an effective way to engage with audiences on social media. Hell, why not try to add something new to your marketing strategy?
For Halloween, you could create a themed quiz around horror movies, scary monsters, or iconic characters from classic Halloween films. Here are some tips for creating a successful quiz:
- Keep it short and sweet.
- Make it visually appealing with graphics and GIFs.
- Offer a prize for the person who gets the most correct answers.
- Share the quiz on social media and encourage participants to do so for a chance to win bonus prizes.
- For prizes, give away things like Halloween treat bags, hampers, etc.
9. Mystery Box Giveaway
Popularized on YouTube by creators like Mr. Beast, there is something about the unknown that just has an undeniable appeal to humans.
It’s more than just a box of random promotional items. You’ll want whoever wins the prize to a) appreciate it and b) share it on their socials, creating some UGC (user-generated content).
If you’re a tech company, a cool prize might be a set of high-speed chargers and powerbanks for devices or a neat set of headphones.
Final Thoughts
The best marketers tend to be the most creative. Great marketing campaigns require proper out-of-the-box thinking. But it’s hard to do, so I trust this list helps fuel your creative engine. To recap:
- Use social media where possible.
- Prizes should align with your brand.
- User-generated content performs well.
- Think big where budget allows.
- Small, cheap items can be used to make up hampers: totes, crayons, glow sticks, lip balm, wristbands, etc.
- Think about what people like doing and craft events or prizes around that (movies, quizzes, dressing up, parties, etc.).
However you choose to design your giveaway, I guarantee you ViralSweep will help you run it more smoothly. ViralSweep’s suite of contest-specific apps integrates with your socials and your website, enables people to vote easily, and makes it super simple to collect entrants and choose and announce winners. Check out ViralSweep and start a free 7-day trial here. Happy Halloween!
