Celebrate Halloween for a Week
I think I may be married to the number one Halloween fan in the world. My wife has always loved Halloween. And back in the day, when our kids were younger, we started having a Halloween party every year at our house. What started as a family party turned into one of the biggest events of the year in our neighborhood. Before long, just about everybody was coming to the annual event.
We had tons of food, (the local pizza place loved us!) the kids came dressed in costumes, the adults came dressed in costumes, and when it was time for trick or treating, we all headed out through the neighborhood together. It really became quite the event.
Looking back, I think that is when I first realized just how big Halloween had become. Those parties are long gone. Our kids are grown now, with kids of their own, and I think they still have that same feeling about Halloween. So what's my point? Halloween isn't just October 31 anymore.
It has become one of the biggest holidays of the year, and in many ways, I think of it as the traditional kickoff to the fall holiday season. First comes Halloween. Then Thanksgiving. Then, of course, the big one, Christmas. Which brings me back to radio. Why do we wait until Halloween to play Halloween music? I say, don't.
This year, Halloween falls on Saturday. I say start the fun on Monday, October 26, and celebrate Halloween all week! I've always felt that the buildup to a holiday can sometimes be more exciting than the holiday itself. Think about sports. Sometimes the pregame show, the anticipation, the predictions and the excitement leading up to the game are almost as much fun as the game. Halloween is the same way.
By Monday of Halloween week, your listeners are already thinking about costumes, candy, parties, trick or treating, decorations, haunted houses and what the kids are going to wear.
So let the radio station be part of that excitement. Here are a couple of ideas to make Halloween sound special on your station this year.
Start with the imaging. Whenever you play a Halloween song, put special Halloween imaging in front of it. I've frequently suggested scheduling the Halloween song at the top of the hour and building the Halloween imaging right into the station ID. That accomplishes two things. You always know you have great Halloween imaging leading into the song, and it makes the feature very easy to schedule. Top of hour ID, Halloween imaging, Halloween song. And because Halloween has become such a big deal, give the week a name. Make it “Halloween Week on Magic 106.7” or whatever works for your station.
Put the name in the imaging, have your talent use it on the air, promote it on social media and make sure listeners know you are doing something special all week. Don't just drop a few Halloween songs into the music log and move on. Turn it into something the listener can recognize as part of the station.
Start with a Halloween song every few hours early in the week, then increase the frequency as you get closer to Friday and Saturday.
Your personalities should be part of it too. Talk about Halloween. Ask listeners about their favorite candy, costumes, scary movies, decorated houses and Halloween traditions. If there is a great Halloween event happening in your market, talk about it.
Most importantly, keep the music within the sound of your station. There are plenty of familiar songs that can give you a Halloween feel.
Thriller, Michael Jackson
Somebody's Watching Me, Rockwell
Ghostbusters, Ray Parker Jr.
Werewolves of London, Warren Zevon
Superstition, Stevie Wonder
Witchy Woman, Eagles
Spooky, Classics IV
Abracadabra, Steve Miller Band
Black Magic Woman, Santana
Maneater, Hall & Oates
And yes, the "Granddaddy" of them all, Monster Mash!
The idea is to make the station sound timely, connected and aware of what is happening in your listeners' lives. That's what good radio has always done, right?
So this year, don't wait until October 31. Start Halloween Week on Monday, give it a name, image it properly and get a full week of fun programming out of it.