Halloween Horrors

As I plan my third trip to the local iParty store (where I’ll be visiting during another lunchbreak), I stop to wonder what this holiday is all about. Is it about candy? Is it about being scared? Is it about dressing up? Or is it just an other excuse to feel like a kid again?

Like most holidays, there’s the typical family tension (especially if you have kids). I, for one, have a princess, a scream character and the most complicated of all, a zombie gangster to appease.  The princess is upset she can’t participate in the school parade (she’s too young, it’s freezing and we just got some snow dumped on us). The scream character wants to bring his toy knife to school (bad idea). And the zombie gangster needs to understand the many reasons he is not allowed to rip my tuxedo to pieces (not all zombies have ripped clothes).

The results from our recent Halloween study reveal, however, all the positive characteristics of this holiday for working adults.

Percent that participate = 86%

Percent that watch a scary movie to get in the spirit = 30%

Percent that buy costume(s) = 79%

Percent that spend $25-$50 on costumes = 29%

Percent that list movie/tv characters as an all-time favorite costume = 24% (Sesame Street was #1)

 Percent that list superhero characters as an all-time favorite costume = 11% (Batman was #1)

Percent that list witches as an all-time favorite costume = 8%

Percent that list an animal as an all-time favorite costume = 7 (cat was #1)

Percent that list something sexy as an all-time favorite costume = 6% (French Maid was #1)

Other results show working adults’ horror movie preferences. Including the scariest:

Halloween                                     11.6%
Night of the Living Dead           4.7%
The Shining                                   15.7%
The Exorcist                                  26.1%
Psycho (1960)                                6.7%
Silence of the Lambs                   12.1%
A Nightmare on Elm Street     12.0%

 Enjoy your Halloween!

About Office Pulse

Office Pulse by Captivate offers marketers timely analysis and insights from a proprietary panel of upscale professionals in the top markets. The Office Pulse panel of more than 8,000 influential consumers and business decision makers includes C-level executives, Millennials, middle management, small business owners, working women and working moms.

About Captivate

Known for its vast network of nearly 12,000 elevator displays located in 1,600 premier office buildings across North America, Captivate connects advertisers with 13 million unique monthly viewers through creative, research-driven and Nielsen-measured advertising and marketing programs. By engaging its viewers with timely news and actionable information that helps balance the personal and professional demands of the workday, Captivate provides advertisers with a highly desirable and difficult-to-reach audience of affluent and influential business professionals. Founded in 1997, Captivate is owned by Generation Partners. For more information, please visit www.captivate.com.