Halloween - packed full of business studies lesson ideas

Its over for another year (thank goodness). But the seasonal horror fest that is Halloween is a great source of business teaching material, as demonstrated by this BBC Video…

The video explains how the value of the Halloween market in the UK has mushroomed from just £12m in 2001 to an estimated £235m in 2009. Whilst that figure is still dwarfed by the Halloween market in the US, it is a good example of how clever marketing can turn a traditional festival into yet another seasonal boom in demand.

The video picks up a variety of business concepts:

- Market segmentation: Halloween might be seen as essentially a young child’s market, but it is the adults that are spending most
- Seasonal demand - you can add pumpkin growers to firework manufacturers as classic examples of businesses who rely on sales in certain periods
- Globalisation - the transfer of US-influenced consumer ideas
- Distribution: the importance of retail distribution and promotion via the major grocery supermarkets