How is it November already?

Time is definitely moving too quickly! As you might imagine, we’re deep into 2025 planning for clients. We’re developing campaigns and content peaks, building new measurement and analysis tools for marketing leadership, and refining scopes. While no doubt a heavy lift, we LOVE the opportunity to reconnect, realign, and refocus on the programs that are going to help our clients GROW. We’re also taking a good hard look at ourselves and who we want to be in 2025 and beyond. Stay tuned for some exciting developments from us!

Oh, and you might have heard…there’s a little election happening next week. We’re not freaking out at all. We’re remaining totally level-headed about it (insert the ‘this is fine’ meme with the dog and fire). 🫠

Shameless Plug – Our work for Databank led to a media relations award at the PR News Platinum Awards…check it out! Also, if you were at PRovoke Summit in DC, you saw Mrs. Honeyman dazzle the crowd with her insights on AI in PR…and her custom SourceCode kicks. 👟

Well, it’s Halloween, so you know we had to be themed this week. Below you’ll see some interesting campaigns and strategies from Hershey, Bath & Body Works, Sam Adams, Opendoor, Six Flags, and Angry Orchard.

👻Happy Halloween!

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Let AI identify gaps: Hershey used AI to find underserved consumers

TL;DR: Ahead of this year’s holiday season, The Hershey Company worked with AI services provider Chalice Custom Algorithms on a bespoke AI-enabled algorithm to identify gaps in outreach strategies. The algorithm found that outbound marketing was oversaturated in five U.S. cities, leading Hershey to target digital ad campaigns toward underserved markets.

Takeaway: Why compete with everyone else when you can enter an untapped market? Halloween is obviously a major sales opportunity for candy companies, and many get wrapped up in trying to attract the masses. However, using this data analysis-driven approach allowed Hershey to work smarter and position itself in markets with less noise. Using AI to question your assumptions and inform your campaign strategy allows you to come to conclusions faster, optimize your efforts, and create a more fluid, adaptable campaign with a better ROI.

Consider:

• What gaps do you have in your outreach strategies? Once you’ve identified these blind spots, let AI help you understand more about these areas and guide you toward a smarter strategy.
• Hershey used these AI-driven algorithms to understand Halloween sales, but aims to apply these tactics outside of key sales holidays. Identify your brand’s make-or-break sales period and ideate how AI could provide solutions during those key seasons.

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Apologize quickly: Bath & Body Works pulled its latest candle over internet criticism

TL;DR: Bath & Body Works released its winter collection, including a “Snowed In” candle featuring a paper cut-out snowflake on the label. However, the internet was swift to point out that the snowflake close-up looks just a bit like a row of Ku Klux Klan hoods. Bath & Body Works has since pulled the candle from its website and stores, and issued an apology statement.

Takeaway: First of all, remind your product teams to double, triple, and quadruple-check any branding before it goes out to the public. Because when it goes wrong, your team will have to deal with the fallout. And second, look at the root of the issue at hand. While we don’t know the specifics of the Bath & Body Works team that allowed this label to fly, we have to assume that a team with a more diverse set of experiences would’ve caught this misstep. That’s why it’s so important to make sure your teams include a variety of perspectives and identities. Team diversity allows you to better understand your audiences and avoid making potentially harmful mistakes.

Consider:

• How can you put processes in place that help you avoid such mistakes? Open communication between product and brand marketing teams is imperative to keep brand standards aligned. Make sure your approval processes allow for thorough reviews of all brand imagery. Take time to think about whether imagery or copy could be perceived in a negative way.
• Does your team come to the table with different perspectives? Make sure you’re not just creating an echo chamber. The way to avoid insensitive situations like this is by getting ahead of the game with internal critiques. Reevaluate whether your team mix is beneficial to your branding and encourage team members to share their unique opinions.

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Get spooked: Brands got creative with Halloween-themed campaigns

TL;DR: Adweek published an overview of this year’s creepy campaigns, including: Opendoor’s ad spot featuring the vampire who lives next door, Angry Orchard’s limited-edition screaming cans, Sam Adams’ at-home séance kit (“share a cold Sam Adams with a cold Sam Adams”), and Six Flags’ short horror film turned theme park outing.

Takeaway: Boy, these were fun to watch. We talk a lot here about leaning into your creative side, but holidays like Halloween are a great opportunity to flex those muscles and get out of your comfort zone. All of these campaigns do a great job of leaning into the horror & spooky themes without diverting from their actual product. These campaigns go above and beyond the typical “Happy Halloween” message or orange and black ad visuals and tell a story that helps them stand apart from the crowd. If you don’t mind us, we’ll be spending this Halloween trying to bring back the ghost of Sam Adams…

Consider:

• Holiday campaigns offer a great opportunity to flex your creativity without compromising your brand message. With Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and New Years coming up, pick one of these holidays to come up with a creative campaign or story your brand could tell.
• These campaigns work because they’re uniquely relevant to these brands. If Six Flags had crafted their campaign on a séance kit to use at their parks… well, that would’ve been quite dark. Being creative with your holiday campaigns doesn’t mean being irrelevant or disrespectful – it’s about how to let loose a little while still maintaining your brand integrity.

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