As if New York were not spooky enough, the city will for the first time take part in a cable channel’s celebration of the “31 Days of Halloween.”
The Syfy channel is promoting its monthlong commemoration of Halloween with efforts like the Syfy City Guide NYC iPhone app.
The channel, Syfy, part of the NBCUniversal unit of Comcast, has been promoting itself since 2008 with a monthlong commemoration of Halloween, presenting special series, movies and a live version of its popular “Ghost Hunters” show. (Before that, the channel, then known as Sci Fi, promoted a mere 13 days of Halloween.)
For Halloween 2011, Syfy is carving out a Gotham-centric portion of its overall promotion, to be called “31 Days of HalloweeNYC.” The sponsorship of citywide Halloween events by Syfy, and a sibling channel, Chiller, is being arranged through NYC Company, the municipal tourism and marketing organization.
The effort will include events like the Central Park Pumpkin Festival, on Oct. 29; a Syfy City Guide NYC iPhone app; a Purple Pumpkin Promotion, with discounts from participating retailers; themed content on syfy.com; a sweepstakes; and Syfy “imagination stations” around town, offering treats like face painting and photo booth pictures.
October will bring “31 days of extreme Halloween across all five boroughs,” said Jane Reiss, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at NYC Company.
Two brands that are sponsors of “31 Days of Halloween,” Dodge and Hershey, will also sponsor the “HalloweeNYC” initiatives.
“We’ve done small, local promotions” in connection with the month of Halloween programming, said David Howe, president of Syfy and Chiller, “but we’ve never done anything on this scale.”
“You will not be able to walk around New York without seeing” elements of the campaign, he added. Ads will also appear in places like bus shelters.
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