Is this the Hallowe’en treat for adults? I got the image here.
There’s a lot of scary going on right now.
And I’d planned to blog scary for Hallowe’en.
After some thought, though, I re-discovered a core truth about Hallowe’en that was just a little off the scary obvious: to the target market, kids, Halloween is, in many ways aboutcandy.
Gobs of candy.
Candy by the handful.
Candy by the bagful.
At no other time of year are handfuls and bagfuls the measure of candy.
I’m not sure if my Hallowe’en experience was typical or not. We not only went for volume, but quality: we pinpointed the primo treats (for us, there were cans of pop, full-size candy bars, and chips) and devised ways to repeat-visit them.
This got me thinking about what a treat would be in marketing.
One adult equivalent is tradeshow swag.
And in that realm,
the Lancope light-up ninja sword really stuck with me as a primo treat. To me, Lancope really understood their target (tech nerds at a computer security conference) and treated them to branded merch that tapped into a core essence of both the security product AND the aspiring ninja inside any self-respecting nerd. Kudos to Lancope for suitably equipping their prospective customers (quite possibly for Hallowe’en).
According to my research, witty T-Shirts are a close runner-up for primo nerd swag.
Note: I use the term “nerd” with affection. I love nerds and consider myself one. If I were at this show, I’d either have grabbed one of these swords or been really disappointed when they ran out.
I’ll have the scary post go up deeper into Hallowe’en.
Stay safe. Have fun. And please enjoy your gobs of candy responsibly.
