We don’t need to tell you that everyone (except perhaps those with globophobia) loves balloons! We also don’t need to tell you that everyone loves a ‘freebie’. So, combine the two and we reckon it’s a winning combination.

As Greg mentioned a few weeks ago on BMTV, Halloween is fast becoming one of the most popular events of the year. Spend is increasing year on year and currently stands at £330 million – wowsers! This alone should be music to your ears if you’re fully stocked with Halloween wares. However, I think there’s more than one way to catch a fish. With the associated increase in trade, it’s an ideal opportunity to encourage some future business so I’ve put together a few simple ideas:

Give a little…(hopefully) gain a lot!

Cello bags filled with sweets or popcorn* are great give-aways. You could add your business card like I did to this skeleton hand or how about adding a card with a discount off a future order, promotional material about a future event or maybe a loyalty card with the first stamp included?
*Popcorn is ideal as it’s voluminous and therefore probably lower in cost than sweets.

Along the same lines, you could make mini pumpkin balloons and fill them with wrapped sweets to hand out. I used 5” balloons and drew a face design with a Sharpie. With the sweets inside, they stay upright but come to life when you touch them and they wobble like Weebles (anyone else old enough to remember Weebles?!).

Not artistically inclined?

You could use these pre-printed 9” pumpkin balloons?

Short on time?

If you don’t have time to fill balloons with sweets, pre-printed mini balloons on sticks (we recommend one-piece safety sticks) are also well received. We did this a few years ago for our children to hand out and word soon spread that we were the ‘must visit’ house! Again, these can be made up in advance and are suitable for adding a card or promotional material.

If you have a shop, a dish of sweets on or near the counter (where you can keep an eye on it!), would go down a treat! Why not place the dish next to this Trick or Treat Pumpkin Supershape balloon with its special message? Word will soon get around and increased visitors should ensue!

You could also use these balloons in a window display or at the door to encourage people to come inside. Perhaps you could advertise a FREE treat with every purchase and then have some sweets in a dish to offer. You could even add in favours such as plastic spiders, and/or severed fingers if you’re feeling particularly gruesome, to create some drama!

Finally, if space permits, how about creating a balloon photo frame with QuickLinks interspersed with eyeball balloons? You could add even add a balloon spider or two. Finally, don’t forget to place a board with your contact details (maybe even a specific hashtag e.g. #SpookyFunatNumber1) nearby, so your shop is advertised with every photo shared on social media!

I hope Halloween not only brings you a bite of the £330 million but also brings you repeat business.

Rachel