What's that, groaning and rapping insistently on your windowpane? It's the sound of opportunity knocking. Opportunity in the form of -- well, if you haven't guessed, zombies.
If you've been marooned on an uninhabited island without cellphone coverage the past year or two, here is the news in a nutshell: Zombies are huge. The financial site 24/7 Wall Street estimates the flesh-hungry undead are currently a $5 billion annual sales juggernaut -- and Halloween costumes are just the beginning.
The zombie apocalypse -- metaphor, some would say, for our economic state -- is the subject of smash-hit AMC television show The Walking Dead, MTV's cult zombie-vampire-werewolf satire Death Valley and the hilarious classic-lit parody Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, just to name a few.
Best news of all: Zombies are not real, and won't eat your flesh. Instead, they're a market opportunity any entrepreneur can feast on.
How can you get your slice of the zombie profits? Here are four ideas -- and they're not just for Halloween, either.
- Hold a zombie night. Bring shoppers in with a zombie costume contest. Serve some ghoulish snacks and watch Night of the Living Dead while you offer some newly reanimated special deals. Or create a weekly event and watch the remaining Walking Dead episodes in-store. Cash in by selling zombie comics -- the Marvel Zombies series even chronicles an alternative world where the superheroes have become zombies.
- Add zombie merchandise. Given the current wide array available, there are zombie-themed goods appropriate for nearly any business. C'mon, anybody could have a little bowl of zombie candies on the checkout counter.
- Rent a booth at a zombie convention. Yes, zombies are so hot now they are beginning to gather in large groups sometimes to confer about, well, whatever is important to creatures who can no longer reason or talk intelligibly. Fortunately, these zombies are really still alive and have wallets. Check for any local ZombieCon action in your town and offer deals to the visiting undead fans, or take a booth at the event.
- Sponsor a zombie walk. It may seem unlikely, but zombies have been turned into a force for good. Zombie walks are charity events where people pay for the privilege of dressing up and staggering about en masse in their favorite zombie attire and makeup, with the proceeds going to charity. Support the effort -- be a program sponsor, get your company name on a zombie T-shirt, or sell food to the hungry hordes.
Will you cash in on the zombie trend? Leave a comment and tell us your angle. And remember to lock those doors tonight!
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Comments:
Can't believe I'm seeing this only now! But, my business is completely built on zombies :) http://ZombieBin.com
Scam.
Or you can right a book on zombies. I love zombies!
Or visit Zombie Burger in Des Moines, Iowa where you can get a gourmet burger named after your favorite horror movie. The Walking Ched burger has a bun made out of deep fried mac + cheese, yum! http://zombieburgerdm.com/
haha i love the zombie advice! only reason i found this blog is because i was looking for walking dead related stuff! i love the zombies! just got done watching the walking dead here http://goldmoviedownload.blogspot.com/2011/11/walking-dead.html and cant wait for the rest of the season!
I recently attended the World Record Denver Zombie Crawl and came up with countless ideas on how businesses were missing out on marketing to a hungry audience of 30,000 people, both zombies and spectators alike. The zombie fans are tech-savvy, enthusiastic and willing to spend their disposable income. While you're at it, don't forget the huge marketing potential of pirate enthusiasts, Twilighters and Comic-Con attendees. With a little creativity, marketing campaigns can easily be directed at these groups. For example, there are about to be a critical mass of Twitter-happy Twilighters camped out in L.A. who could use solar-powered cell phone chargers.