How do you create an engaging culture in a hybrid work environment? This is a burning question for most marketing leaders, including many of our clients.
Our recent research on hybrid work highlighted a few themes. The first takeaway: The return to in-office days has had an overall negative impact on engagement and culture. The second takeaway: Competitive employers are combating this by making in-office days more impactful.
As the Halloween season approaches, there are lots of opportunities for marketing leaders to do this. Use these 10 unusual ideas to boost engagement the entire month of October.
Overview
1. Create a Spooky-Good Office Playlist
Looking to get everyone in the Halloween spirit? Curate a playlist of eerie music to play throughout the day in your commons area.
Tip: Steal like an artist and play the My Marketing Recruiter Halloween playlist on Spotify.
2. Organize a Team Costume + Office Decor Contests
Want to boost team morale? Stir up some friendly competition between departments with a costume and office decor contests.
Step 1: Teams select a theme.
Step 2: Everyone dresses up as a character or object related to that theme.
Step 3: Teams decorate their area of the office to reflect that theme. (Tip: Give each team a $50 decor stipend to increase participation.)
Step 4: The top 3 teams win a free team lunch.
3. Hold a Petrifying Potluck
Plan a Halloween-themed potluck with spooky dishes like “eyeball” meatballs or “mummy” hotdogs. Make it a competition to gain more participation. Categories can focus on food types (sweet, savory, etc.) or execution (ex. Most Creative Dish).
4. Put a Twist on the Classic Trick-or-Treat Experience
Looking to bring some Halloween nostalgia to the office? Host a pumpkin decorating activity for everyone in the office, and ask them to bring in candy. On the day of Halloween, everyone sets up their pumpkins and goes desk-to-desk to trick-or-treat.
5. Create a Themed Photo Booth
Give your office Halloween vibes with a festive photo booth backdrop and props. Here’s one of our personal favorites from Inbox Monster’s 2022 Halloween event.
6. Host a Vampire Wine Tasting
Host a wine tasting event featuring wines with spooky names or labels. Here are some of our favorites:
- Ghost Pines (Variety of whites + reds)
- Apothic Dark (Red Blend)
- Ravenswood Winery (Variety of reds)
- Spellbound (Cabernet Sauvignon)
- Vampire Vineyards (Variety of whites + reds)
- Freakshow (Cabernet Sauvignon)
- Bogle Phantom (Red Blend)
- Zombie Zin (Zinfandel)
7. Set Up a Seasonal Station
Let employees get into the Halloween spirit on their own time. Set up a station with games, yummy treats and other engaging activities. Here are some ideas:
- DIY pumpkin spice latte station with various toppings and syrups
- Candy corn jar where employees guess how many are in it (the closest guess wins a prize)
- Witch’s Brew Bar with various flavored beverages and mocktails
8. Bring in a Character
9. Host a Halloween Movie Marathon
Stream one of these classic movies in your commons or lunch area. It will prompt conversations and engagement with people from different departments and seniority levels.
Tip: You can find many of these movies across popular streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Apple TV and Disney+. You can also head over to Prime TV for free and rental options.
Work-Friendly Halloween Classics
- Ghostbusters
- Hocus Pocus
- Beetlejuice
- Edward Scissorhands
- Addams Family
- The Nightmare Before Christmas
- Casper
- Hotel Transylvania
- Coraline
10. Throw a Wicked-Fun Halloween Bash
Every organization’s culture is different. Use the ideas from this blog to create a party that’s custom to your culture and budget.
Tip: Here are a few supplemental ideas:
- Set up a glow-in-the-dark mini-golf course in the office.
- Organize a Halloween-themed karaoke competition with spooky songs.
- Create a ring toss game with witch hats as the targets.
- Play a game of charades with Halloween-related themes.
- Host a dance competition featuring the “Monster Mash” and other Halloween tunes from our playlist.