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Midtown Halloween Festival & Pooch Parade Case Study

November 15th, 2024

Objective

The 2024 Midtown Halloween Festival & Pooch Parade, presented by Midtown Sutter restaurants, aimed to create a festive, family-friendly atmosphere in James Marshall Park while showcasing local businesses. This annual event invited the community to enjoy a “pooch parade” where costumed dogs could strut through Marshall park and participate in a fun Halloween costume contest. The event’s goal was to attract at least 500 attendees, raise awareness of Midtown Sutter’s vibrant restaurant scene, and foster connections between the nightlife and neighborhood, all while providing a memorable experience for families and pet owners.

Participants strike a pose during the Pooch Parade. 

Our Strategy

The 2024 Midtown Halloween Festival & Pooch Parade was promoted through a wide-ranging marketing campaign, utilizing earned media, social media posts, newsletters, a dedicated Halloween blog, flyers, mailers, and Facebook ads to build excitement and attract attendees. By highlighting the festive elements of the event, including the pooch parade, costume contest, and live entertainment, we aimed to engage the community and encourage participation.

This year’s event featured exciting new additions, including a stage for live entertainment, an extended parade route, a pumpkin patch for festive photo opportunities, and collaboration with nearby Midtown Sutter restaurants like The Lock & Key Tapas + Bar and Barwest, who sold food and drinks to festival-goers. Guests competed for prizes in categories like Most Creative Costume, Best Group Costume, and Best Overall, with winners receiving gift cards to popular Midtown Sutter restaurants. 

Our efforts attracted more than 600 attendees and we saw over 250+ costumed dogs participate in our Pooch Parade this year.

Festival goers posed in their group Halloween costumes during the event.

Another pooch parade participant struck a pose in hopes of winning a best costume award.

The Results

  • Attracted more than 600 attendees, including over 250 costumed dogs
  • $6.4K in calculated PR ad value
  • 38.5K total TV viewership
  • More than 5.6K positive social media engagements throughout the campaign
  • 629 ad link clicks promoting the Midtown Halloween Festival & Pooch Parade
  • 7.5K newsletter opens

Media & Communications

PR Segments:

Social Media: 

Make sure to mark your calendars for next year’s Midtown Halloween Festival & Pooch Parade and join us for another spooktacular celebration! Our mission at Midtown Parks is to increase health and community engagement by investing in our Midtown Parks, to help support events like this donate here.