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The horror! Avoid these terrifying marketing mistakes

It’s the spookiest time of the year!

To celebrate, the CQ team shared their favorite Halloween candy, fall activity, and a marketing mistake that absolutely terrifies them.

Chris Slocumb, President and Founder

Favorite Halloween candy: Mini Snickers

Favorite fall activity: I live in New England, so cider houses with donuts are a big thing. Hot apple cider and donuts are the best! I used to love it when I lived in Ann Arbor, and the streets were full of kids trick or treating. Now I live at the top of a big hill, so no kids come. 🙁

Terrifying marketing mistake: Not auditing your marketing plan from last year.

Casey Frushour, Senior Director of Creative Services

Favorite Halloween candy: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups… although I feel like the quality has gone downhill lately, or maybe I am just getting older. Now I prefer the Unreal ones.

Favorite fall activity: Watching scary movies. They don’t have to be Halloween-related, they just need to creep me out. Two of my favorite slow-burn scary/unsettling moves are The Strangers and The Descent.

Terrifying marketing mistake: Setting up a blog, but then rarely posting to it. Nothing says, “Please do not trust us.” more than a nearly-empty blog. I can’t count the number of times I have seen a blog offering only a few posts, with the most recent one being years old. If you’re going to have a blog, you have to dedicate time and resources to keep it current – otherwise, remove it from your site until you’re ready to post regularly.

Spencer Rohatynski, Digital Marketing Manager

Favorite Halloween candy: Nerds and Cow Tales!

Favorite fall activity: Carving pumpkins and decorating are some of my favorite Halloween activities. I love setting a spooky and creepy mood and seeing people’s reactions!

Terrifying marketing mistake: When you see a corporate social post go out with “DRAFT” at the top of the message, AH!! Somebody forgot to double-check their automation software!

Lindsay Groth, Account & Business Development Director

Favorite Halloween candy: My favorite is the mixture you get. Candy I wouldn’t typically buy a bag of, but one piece is just enough. My favorite is Mr. Goodbar or Hershey’s Nuggets with Almonds.

Favorite fall activity: Definitely, going to a U-pick apple orchard where my nephews and I climb trees to pick apples and round out the afternoon eating a LOT of donuts that we dip in cider. Mouthwatering fun!

Terrifying marketing mistake: When a client says SEO doesn’t matter and that it doesn’t work, and that it’s not important. Another one that is right up there: Doing PR and Earned Media for ego.

Brian Shilling, Executive Vice President of Client Operations

Favorite Halloween candy: Reese’s pumpkins. The chocolate-to-peanut butter ratio in the holiday shapes is spot on!

Favorite fall activity: The cinnamon sugar cider mill donuts for sure!

Terrifying marketing mistake: Spending a high percentage of marketing budget on things like show sponsorships that don’t have any trackable ROI. This gives me chills!

Melanie Hilliard, Account Director & Content Lead

Favorite Halloween candy: Anything involving Reese’s peanut butter.

Favorite fall activity: Cider and donuts fresh from the cider mill.

Terrifying marketing mistake: Too many cooks in the kitchen. Marketing should be in charge of creative decisions.

 

 

Marla Sokolowski, Senior Director of Digital Marketing

Favorite Halloween candy: Smarties.

Favorite fall activity: Ghost walks and learning about the local legend.

Terrifying marketing mistake: Running LinkedIn Ads with Audience Expansion enabled. The horror!

 

Rayna Southart, Content Marketing Manager

Favorite Halloween candy: Without a doubt, Reese’s pumpkins. I’m already a die-hard Reese’s fan, but their holiday shapes are next-level.

Favorite fall activity: Watching spooky shows and movies OR making a fun fall recipe.

Terrifying marketing mistake: Not proofreading copy!

Avoid terrifying marketing mistakes

Need help from an experienced B2B healthcare marketing agency to avoid these scary marketing mistakes? We’ve got you covered.

Rayna Southart

Rayna is a skilled and creative Content Marketing Manager at Clarity Quest. When she's not crafting killer content, you can find her devouring podcasts and good books. To learn more about Rayna's experiences and qualifications, visit our leadership team page.