By Jenna Chwascinski

As I was growing up, Halloween was one of the most exciting times of the year. Countless hours were spent planning the perfect costume and deciding which neighborhoods would yield the best haul. You had to talk it all over with your closest friends, and costume approval was a necessity. Then convincing your parents that you had a fool-proof plan all worked out was a task in itself.

Little did we know that through all of these trials and tribulations, Halloween was teaching us some valuable lessons that would be helpful down the road. Who would have thought that Halloween could teach us about PR? As it turns out, it can, and it did.

You need to have a plan.
As I said before, it’s pivotal to devise a fool-proof plan. In the PR world, that’s nearly impossible, so we just try to do the best we can. In trick or treating, knowing the ins and outs of the plan will serve you well. Walking in circles isn’t something you want to do while trick or treating, and the same goes for a PR campaign.

Delegating tasks is very important. No campaign can be successful if everyone is trying to do the same thing at the same time. The work load needs to be shared. Your team can then come together and discuss the results. Similar to trick or treating, you split up the forces to scout out who has the best candy, which often leads to impressive results.

Referencing past experience is the key to ensuring the maximum amount of candy. Which houses give the most candy? Which ones give out the best candy? It all factors into your decision making process. The same holds true in PR. Any PR professional knows that a big part of any public relations campaign is research. You have to look and see what others have done in the past. This will show you some success stories, and more importantly, show you failures. Seeing what others did wrong will help your campaign from heading down the same unsuccessful, candy-free path.

Efficiency is key.
The reasons to create a plan are clear. You want to ensure the most success in the shortest amount of time. You knew you did it right when you and all of your friends ended up with buckets full of candy within just a few hours.

In PR, the goal isn’t always to go big or go home. It’s not always about getting as much done at one time as possible. Efficiency in PR is bringing as much of your audience around to your way of thinking as possible. That might happen in little chunks, or it could happen all at once. It all depends on how you go about it.

SURPRISE!
Of all the tricks you learned back in the day, the biggest one was the ability to play to your audience. The more they like your costume, the more candy you get. It’s that simple. When it comes to PR, this should almost go without explanation: know your audience. Know what they want, and make sure to give it to them. This might take some outside-the-box thinking, but the ability to surprise your audience, even with something small, could go a long way.

What do you think? Have your Halloween traditions taught you anything about the PR world? Comment below with any of your favorite Halloween traditions that dip into the PR business. And don’t forget to follow IPR on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.