There are many questions that run through your mind when it comes to marketing and promoting a haunted house. What should you promote in your haunted house radio ad? What are your potential customers’ hot buttons? What will make them line the house to roam your shelter for a fraction of the time they waited in line?
These are all valid questions when it comes to marketing a haunted house. The sad thing is, most hangouts completely overlook it and just assume that people will show up no matter what. This may be true for a while, but if a bigger or better game comes to town, you could find yourself alone in a very expensive creepy looking building for a good month. Every year, you should take a look at what is happening in the market around you and what people want and expect from your shelter.
When it comes to the topic of what to promote in your popular radio commercial, the answer is pretty simple. Make the message stand out. Tell a compelling story (briefly) on the subject, make a great deal to attract people and air it on stations that are listened to by people who would likely visit your haunted house. That’s all there is too. Too often, people miss the boat on this and make a horrible offer, air the commercial infrequently, and use a commercial that has little to no “scare” appeal at all.
When it comes to your customer hot buttons … there are two big ones. Number one, they want to be afraid. Number two, they want good value for money. You have to hit both on the head. The business message should convey how scary your favorite place is. You can do this by using the haunted house radio commercial as a way to tell a short story on the “theme” of ghosts. So hit ’em with how much it is to visit! While everyone else is carrying an arm and a leg to get in, you’re offering “two for one on Thursday” or something like that. Make the offer good. The old 15% discount trick will not work and will simply waste time. Go big or don’t make an offer.
Follow these basic steps and you should have loads of people lining up and begging to be let into your shelter this year. Work on the message early, because once the leaves start to fall, you won’t have much time to focus on this critical part of your haunted house advertising plan.