When you think of Halloween campaigns, you might picture candy brands and costume shops.
But for one dating app in the DACH region, Halloween turned into the perfect moment to re-engage users and drive more in-app purchases, without overspending.
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The app wanted to capitalize on Halloween to boost both acquisition and monetization.
However, rising competition meant they needed to attract users who would actually purchase, not just install.
“The goal wasn’t installs. It was finding high-quality users who were ready to buy,” Denis explains.
“Seasonal energy helps, but only if the creatives and timing make sense.”
The team ran campaigns two days before and after Halloween, the period when users are most receptive to themed content and in-app offers.
“It made sense to run it while people were actively in that Halloween mindset,” Denis says.
“Nobody cares about Halloween after 1-2 days, so keeping it short was intentional.”
Both creative formats were tested, but banners significantly outperformed video ads.
“The banners looked like Halloween,” Denis says.
“The videos talked about the theme, but they didn’t feel as visually on-point. The banners captured the vibe better and stood out more.”
Static ads were also faster to produce and iterate on, which was essential for short seasonal windows.
Takeaways:
Example of a banner for a Halloween campaign
Retargeting focused on users who had installed, browsed, or considered purchasing before the campaign.
During monitoring, Denis spotted an opportunity:
“The frequency was low, which meant our audience was larger than the budget. That’s a signal you can safely scale. So we increased the budget to capture more volume.”
The result was extremely efficient reactivation, with ROAS well above that of standard app marketing campaigns.
Why this works in dating apps:
Users didn’t click more; they moved through the install → purchase funnel faster than usual.
“The average conversion rate improved,” Denis notes.
“Seasonal momentum helps. People are more active, more curious, and more willing to engage with themed offers.”
Example of a banner for a Halloween campaign
Together, these outcomes led to one of the strongest short-term seasonal bursts for this app.
Most teams use seasonal moments only for retargeting, but this campaign went further.
“We pushed new user acquisition to take advantage of the Halloween theme,” Denis explains.
Running both at the same time created two parallel opportunities:
This dual-approach is what made the performance spike possible during a short 5-day window.
For upcoming seasonal events like Christmas or Valentine’s Day, Denis already knows where to iterate:
“I’d want more videos that feel seasonal, visually and audio-wise. We had plenty of banners, but too few videos that truly matched the theme. For the next event, I’d scale production for both.”
Seasonal campaigns don’t work because of hype; they work because they tap into user mindset, timing, and visual storytelling.
This Halloween push showed that with the right creative and quick optimization, a short seasonal window can drive meaningful, cost-efficient revenue.
👉 Want to plan your next seasonal app campaign with REPLUG? Let’s talk.