Celebrate Halloween for a Week
October 10, 2024


Gary Berkowitz
By: Gary Berkowitz
Berkowitz Broadcast Consulting
For many years, radio featured Halloween hits on October 31st only. Since Halloween has become one of the biggest and most celebrated holidays of the year, plus, its estimated that American’s will spend 11.6 BILLION this year on Halloween. Think about this: Start playing Halloween songs on Saturday, October 26th! Why you say? Here are a few reasons:
1. Build Excitement and Festive Spirit
Playing Halloween songs helps set the mood and builds excitement for the holiday. It creates a festive atmosphere, enhancing the overall Halloween experience for listeners.
2. Seasonal Programming Appeal
Just like holiday music during Christmas, Halloween songs cater to seasonal expectations. Listeners often enjoy holiday-themed content, and stations can capitalize on this by offering something special for the season.
3. Increase Listener Engagement
Special programming, like Halloween-themed music, encourages listeners to tune in more frequently. People are drawn to novelty and might listen longer to hear their favorite spooky songs or Halloween classics.
4. Diverse Playlist Opportunity
Halloween offers a chance to mix up the regular playlist with songs that range from spooky soundtracks to fun, thematic tracks like “Thriller” by Michael Jackson or “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr. It adds variety, keeping the station fresh and exciting.
5. Target Different Audiences
By playing Halloween songs, stations can appeal to different demographics, from children and families enjoying kid-friendly tunes to adults who enjoy nostalgia and classic Halloween hits.
6. Promote Themed Advertisements
Radio stations can pair Halloween-themed music with seasonal ads from local businesses, such as costume shops, haunted houses, or candy stores, adding a commercial opportunity for advertisers seeking to capitalize on Halloween.
7. Create Unique Content
Stations can create themed shows or segments around Halloween music, such as listener-requested spooky tracks or countdowns of the top Halloween songs, providing content that’s both fun and engaging.
8. Capitalize on Holiday Spending
Halloween is a major commercial holiday, and themed programming can help boost advertising revenue as businesses increase their spending during the holiday season. Radio stations can play Halloween music to tie into broader marketing campaigns. Close to 11 billion will be spent this year on Halloween.
9. Social Media Synergy
Halloween music playlists can be promoted on social media, generating buzz, encouraging listener interaction, and driving audience participation. Stations can ask listeners to share costume ideas or vote on their favorite Halloween songs.
10. Increase Brand Loyalty
By embracing seasonal programming, stations can create a memorable experience for their audience, building a stronger connection and increasing listener loyalty. Themed weeks like this add personality to the station and make listeners look forward to future events.
Halloween-themed music creates a fun, engaging, and seasonal experience that benefits both listeners and the radio station itself.
The Halloween Hits
Thriller- Michael Jackson
Somebody’s Watching Me- Rockwell
Ghostbusters- Ray Parker Jr
Monster Mash- Bobby “Boris” Pickett
Werewolves of London- Warren Zevon
Superstition- Stevie Wonder
Witchy Woman- Eagles
Gary Berkowitz is a programming consultant specializing in AC and Classic Hits formats. Reach Gary at gary@garyberk.com or (248) 737-3727. www.garyberk.com
Editor's Note: The views and opinions of this article do not necessarily reflect those of the MAB. Contact the MAB for information on the MAB's official editorial policy.