“IT Chapter 2” Release and What it Means for the Invasion of Halloween
Considering “IT Chapter 2” is undoubtedly to be one of, if not the, biggest horror film of the year, isn’t it curious how it was released in September and not October, you know, Spooky Month? When it would be the most apt? It would be comparable to “A Christmas Story 3” being released in early November. It doesn’t add up unless Holidays are aggressively expanding into months they don’t belong. I used to think it was a Christmas-only phenomenon, but now I believe Halloween, our beloved Halloween, has become a part of the problem.
Finding the Trends
I began my research for this piece by looking into marketing trends for major companies like WalMart and Safeway, who design their seasonal advertising to bounce from holiday to holiday despite each one being months and months apart from one another. One could argue these mega-corporations are responsible for some elements of this trend, as in early September this year (we’re talking the 1st here for King Soopers and Safeway and JULY for Target) the Fall lineup included Halloween merchandise and decorations. That’s a full two months out, similar to how Christmas advertising has fully taken over November.
I tried to find the source of the problem; according to uriel.org, seasonal marketing as a concept originated in the 1950’s and 1960’s as part of the overall marketing concept. According to Phillip Kotler in his book ‘Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, and Control, “analyzing marketing opportunities, researching and selecting target markets” are the central tenets of marketing, and these ‘crystalized’ around that time. These apply perfectly to seasonal marketing, and more specifically the Christmas/Halloween expansion in that they are not only targeting the Holiday shopper mindset (which is even more thrifty during these times), but they are expanding the window in which that mindset is socially acceptable.
Thanks, Jack Skellington
What’s even worse is that I believe a certain film that I adore has justified a large portion of this philosophy for marketers and shoppers alike; “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. According to data, following 1993 (the year the film with Skellington and crew came out) October became one of the strongest months for retail and shopping almost every year following on an aggregate average. This is because the film normalized a similarity between the two holidays and thus when the major retailers employed similar marketing tactics for all three months no one bats an eye.
Don't Let It Get Too Far
To wrap up this little expedition into the oh so fascinating world of marketing and holidays, I won’t end in any trite call to action as there are so many more pressing matters to attend to, but with It Chapter 2’s release being so far from what would be a common sense film marketing strategic open, I will just say that I hope the community finds a reasonable place to stop Halloween from expanding, because as annoyed as I may get when i see Christmas music and nonsense in November, I love everything about Halloween and don’t want to get as sick from exposure as I can sometimes be from Christmas.
