Welcome to my house

So we all know Halloween means haunted houses galore. I visited three haunted attractions this past weekend which is a big deal for me because I have never been to a haunted house before. Some were surprisingly better than others, which lead me to to wonder why some were not as popular. I decided to look into how they were marketing themselves on social media. Netherworld, the #1 haunted house in America, doesn't really need to market itself too much because it is already well recognized. However, they have a blog that is updated frequently. They also are very active on facebook and twitter.

Bloodwood, which is a local haunt in Rome, Georgia is only really known by the locals. They are well known by the people of Rome for being very scary and having good effects. I was surprised I liked it even better than Netherworld which is double the price. Still, online it is very difficult to find information on Bloodwood. They only have a Facebook page which they seem to rarely use. It's a shame unfortunately, but Bloodwood would probably be just as popular as Netherworld if they would market themselves more on social media. Without that kind of marketing, it remains unknown except to the locals. Maybe that's how they prefer it though.

Halloween Haunts and Marketing

October is upon us and we all know what that means--haunted houses, scary movies, trick-or-treating, and costumes! Many companies are using the Halloween theme to create ads on YouTube. Geico, for example posted a hilarious ad that is a parody about bad decisions characters seem to make in horror films. While this might not directly make people call Geico for insurance; it certainly grabs attention.

Geico Commercial:

Another big trend we have seen for marketing during Halloween especially are pranks! Pranks are often used to market upcoming horror movies. Carrie and Deliver Us From Evil both did amazing, elaborate pranks last year in order to raise hype for the release of their films. This year, Ford decided it would get in on the fun. Teaming up with a local haunted house, they devised a car wash prank. 

Ford Prank:

 

These pranks and types of commercials function to grab attention and entertain rather than to sell a product or service. They make companies much more likable, as least to me, because I appreciate the Halloween spirit. This type of marketing helps to break down the wall between consumers and the company and show that the company is interested in our entertainment and amusement. I love seeing the new creative pranks companies come out with! Plus, it helps get me in the mood for visiting my FIRST haunted house THIS Saturday! Wish me luck!

Annabelle

So with the October month upon us, horror movies are all competing to raise the most hype for their releases. Annabelle is the prequel to arguably one of the best horror films in 2013, the Conjuring. It is clearly riding on the success of its predecessor with the tagline "Before the Conjuring there was..." However, the biggest reason for the intense hype around this movie is the social media marketing that went into it. Annabelle has its own website where you can listen to the soundtrack, watch clips, learn about the movie, and even create your own Annabelle doll with pictures of you and your friends. The Facebook campaign was very active showing off exclusive extras and behind-the-scenes footage.

There were also multiple teasers. Some just included images of the doll and creepy music and barely clips from the movie but it sparked interest. Many of their posters and online campaigns included #Annabelle at the bottom which caused a twitter frenzy as many started using the hashtag. Most of the social media campaigns subtly linked views to campaigns from their other social media sites. For example, Facebook frequently mentioned twitter and the Annabelle doll site. Annabelle went into theaters on October 3rd and was one of the most anticipated movies of 2014. The biggest reason for the intense hype around this movie is the social media marketing that went into it.