Why Halloween is important for our business and our customers

Why is Halloween such a big milestone for CCEP?

We’re committed to creating value for our retail partners and, as a growing consumer occasion, Halloween offers us a significant commercial opportunity.

COVID-19 will obviously have an impact on what people do but last year nearly half of all shoppers planned on celebrating Halloween and nearly 1 in 5 estimated they would spend over €30.

And this is where CCEP can work some magic – in store with our customers and in creative and ghoulishly fun campaigns that engage consumers. We do this in a number of ways to bring light-hearted fun to scary season, and a competitive edge to our brands, including:

• limited-edition Halloween inspired packaging and flavours
• transforming in-store displays with a twist
• helping to create special at-home moments with our products – such as a scary movie night with family and friends
• bringing surprise through digital and interactive experiences

Has COVID-19 had an impact on our Halloween plans?

We continue to operate with a high level of uncertainty, but all of our teams have adapted to the challenges brought by this pandemic.

This year our marketing campaigns will be more digitally focused, but as Halloween is an iconic moment of the year, we still want to bring playfulness and hopefully provide people with a bit of welcome relief from the current situation.

People have adapted to socialising and shopping at a distance, with time spent on mobiles, tablets, PCs and watching TV increasing significantly. We will focus on digital experiences and e-commerce to help shoppers find the products they need for the perfect Halloween celebrations at home – and bring fun and laughter into households with our interactive experiences.

Our Field Sales teams have been supporting our customers throughout the pandemic, where it has been safe to do so. Over the last few weeks, our teams have been busy transforming customer outlets across Western Europe with ghostly displays; product sampling to drive impulse buying; temporary themed displays driving footfall to aisles; and promotional packaging to aid shelf appeal.

Can you tell us more about the Fanta Halloween campaign plans?

Fanta is the number one flavoured carbonates brand in grocery and convenience[1] and accounts for over a quarter of the segment’s value sales[2]. The brand is now worth £223 million[3] and, as Halloween has become a big moment in the Fanta calendar, we will use this moment to help grow our share and realise our ambition to make Fanta as iconic at Halloween, as Coca-Cola is at Christmas.

This year there will be a focus on digital and virtual ways to celebrate. Fanta has also returned to TV for Halloween as part of the brand’s 2020 campaign – the first time in five years.

The campaign showcases the quirky ways consumers embrace the annual calendar event at home. The TV advert is supported by video-on-demand, interactive digital experiences on Instagram and Snapchat, and out-of-home advertising.

Watch the TV advert here.

How will you be celebrating Halloween this year?

After 7 months of restrictions with five children, I’ll take any opportunity to keep them entertained – so we’ll be having some safe family fun at home.

We will be decorating individual rooms so the kids can still dress up and go trick-or-treating in the house.

We also plan to order online some Halloween inspired snacks, and obviously a Fanta or two, to enjoy with our favourite age appropriate scary movies.

And I’m sure there will be a few Fanta branded Instagram filters involved for the more digitally savvy members of the family.

--- 

[1] Nielsen: Total home market incl. discounters Value MAT w/e 13.06.20

[2] Nielsen: Total home market incl. discounters Value MAT w/e 13.06.20

[3] Nielsen: Total home market incl. discounters Value MAT w/e 13.06.20