Where has 2017 gone? It’s the first week of October, and in less than 30 days we’ll all be dressed up and handing out candy to miniature monsters and baby bumblebees at our front doors. As we’ve done for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, allow us to use this holiday as an opportunity to broaden the industries in which you sell hats.
With Halloween comes a lot of pop-up businesses like haunted houses and costume stores. Have you thought about selling promo caps to these specialized businesses?
Today, we’ll look at 5 Halloween-themed businesses you may not have considered before, and teach you how to sell hats into each.
Haunted Houses
In 2015, Fox News cited the top 10 scariest haunted houses in America as listed below.
- 13th Floor – Denver, Colorado
- The Hex House – Tulsa Oklahoma
- The 13th Gate – Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Headless Horseman Hayride – Ulster Park, New York
- Cutting Edge Haunted House – Fort Worth, Texas
- Statesville Haunted Prison – Crest Hill, Illinois
- Bennett’s Curse – Baltimore, Maryland
- The Darkness – St. Louis Missouri
- The Scream Zone – Del Mar, California
- Spooky World Presents Nightmare New England – Litchfield, New Hampshire
Are any of these in your region? A quick Google search will produce all of your local attractions. Reach out to the organizations that run them to learn more about their promotional needs.
Costume Stores
It’s true that there are some costume stores that exist year round, but there is a significant influx of pop-up or temporary stores during the fall months.
These guys are motivated to make a lot of revenue in a very short amount of time. Come armed to meetings with research and statistics so you can quickly prove to them the impact promotional products will have on their business.
Ghost Hunting Tours
Haunted houses are fun and all, but they’re nothing compared to a real paranormal experience. There are countless homes, hospitals, prisons, and hotels that are rumored to house spirits and these places capitalize on it.
I’ve listed the names and locations of some of the most popular hauntings in the U.S below.
- Stanley Hotel – Estes Park, Colorado
- Myrtles Plantation – St. Francisville, Louisiana
- Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar – New Orleans, Louisiana
- Whaley House – San Diego, California
- Eastern State Penitentiary – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- RMS Queen Mary – Long Beach, California
- Earnestine & Hazel’s Bar – Memphis, Tennessee
- Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum – Weston, West Virginia
- Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast – Fall River, Massachusetts
- Kehoe House – Savannah, Georgia
Ghost hunts average around $25 per adult, and most places offer multiple tours each night adding additional spots in October. Take advantage of these tourist attractions by providing promotional hats as memorabilia of the creepy encounter.
Escape Rooms
These have gained tremendous mainstream popularity over the last few years. Escape rooms are physical adventure games in which players are locked in a room and must use elements of the room to solve a series of puzzles and escape within a set time limit.
Many of these rooms have a spooky atmosphere or involve a crime scene of some sort, so they fit in with the Halloween holiday perfectly.
Horror Movies
If you have the hook up in Hollywood for any upcoming films this holiday season, by all means, reach out to those people.
But there are also huge cult followings for more traditional thrillers like Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, or Scream. Promos for these and other films will forever be popular even if just for the nostalgia they create.
Additionally, October is a big month for film festivals around the country. I’ve provided the dates and locations of a few below.
- October 5-8 – Los Angeles Shriekfest
- October 13-15 – Freak Show Horror Film Festival
- October 19-22 – Atlanta Horror Film Festival
- October 12-15 – New Hampshire Film Festival
- October 12-26 – Chicago International Film Festival
- October 13-15 – Telluride Horror Show
- October 10-19 – Hollywood Screamfest
- October 18-22 – Santa Fe Independent Film Festival
- October 19-26 – Orlando Film Festival
- October 28-November 4 – Savannah Film Festival
When it comes to promotional products, the key is to think outside of the box. Their success has been proven time and time again; the tricky part is to find new businesses that haven’t yet experienced their potential. Don’t worry, we’re here to help you get creative, and learn how to sell hats to unique businesses.
Are there any Halloween businesses we missed? Let us know how to sell hats into those businesses in the comments below. You can also follow us on Instagram using the hashtag #hatswork.
