Spooky Season and Marketing Scarcity

Is it Halloween yet?

October 31 is still almost a full month away, but that hasn’t stopped Halloween enthusiasts and brands from kickstarting spooky season celebrations and promotions.

Halloween candy has hit store shelves. Spirit Halloween stores are already open. Scary movies are streaming.

What was once a single night of tricking and treating has expanded into weeks or even months of frightful festivities.

That longer season creates more opportunities for companies and Halloween fans alike.

But part of what makes Halloween special is the very fact that it’s temporary.

That limited window gives people a reason to celebrate now rather than later.  

Marketers and behavioral economists have another term for this phenomenon: scarcity.  

Frightful Timing

People value opportunities differently when access is limited. But scarcity is not always about supply. It can also be about attention. A limited timeframe gives people a reason to focus.

Marketers use scarcity all the time, from limited spots in a webinar to a one-day sale.

These tactics are about manufacturing scarcity. But every industry has its own natural periods of scarcity, where audiences are more focused on their offers.

In those moments, marketers don’t need to create urgency from scratch. The urgency already exists. Their job is to recognize it and build around it.

For Halloween costume companies, it’s October (and maybe even September). For tax preparers, it’s the runup to April 15. It could be budget season. Or open enrollment. Or an industry conference.

In each case, there’s a push and pull between extending the timeframe and preserving the urgency that makes it effective. Success depends on understanding when audience attention peaks and building around that moment.