A strong and spooky offer

Heineken resurrects CarnEvil campaign to bolster Halloween profits

Operators can boost Strongbow sales with the right Halloween campaign, says Heineken

HEINEKEN is helping operators generate ‘spooktacular’ sales this Halloween with the return of its CarnEvil campaign for Strongbow cider.

Building on its inaugural promotion, which is said to have resulted in an 18% rise in sales of Strongbow brands in participating venues last year, Heineken is encouraging licensees “to ditch the norm and embrace the strange”.

Launched this week and running until November 5, the CarnEvil campaign is once more helping licensees create their own Halloween celebrations, with an online asset library and themed POS support kits, including posters, staff fancy dress and drip mats.

And Halloween revellers who purchase a pint of Strongbow or Strongbow Dark Fruit are in with a chance of winning a CarnEvil eye patch, which Heineken says taps into the “huge number of customers that want to dress up” at Halloween.

Customers are increasingly looking for experiences, says Heineken, which stated that Halloween parties are a great way to tap into this demand – and can deliver an incremental £452 more profit than a typical Friday or Saturday night.

And there’s a £2500 prize up for grabs for the best dressed pub team; operators simply have to upload their best Halloween costume photo using #StrongbowHalloween and comment with the pub’s name and location.

Jerry Shedden, on-trade category and trade marketing director at Heineken, said: “Strongbow’s eye-catching Halloween activity from over the years has helped get more people through licensees’ doors on October 31.

“As the second busiest party night of the year, consumers will be planning now for places to socialise with friends and with Strongbow’s CarnEvil activations, licensees can be confident in their offering, tapping into the latest trends and data, helping their pub or bar stand out from the crowd.”

Licensees need to buy three kegs of Strongbow (Original or Dark Fruit) to qualify for their own Halloween POS kits.