A Spooktacular Business Opportunity: Dia de los Muertos
How to Leverage Dia de los Muertos for Business Success
A Dia de los Muertos event can be a boost for your business.
The celebration has been growing in popularity over the years, with more and more people outside of the Mexican-American community learning about and participating in the traditions. This increased interest can be attributed to wider cultural exchanges, increased awareness, and the beautiful and unique aspects of the celebration that appeal to so many people.
The history of Dia de los Muertos
Dia de los Muertos, celebrated on November 1st and 2nd, is a rich and vibrant Mexican celebration whose roots can be traced back to the ancient indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica, especially the Aztecs. These cultures held a deep reverence for death and believed it was a transition to another realm. They honored their ancestors and made offerings to ensure their smooth journey into the afterlife. When Spanish conquistadors arrived, they brought their Catholic traditions such as All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. In trying to subdue the indigenous traditions and beliefs, these holidays merged with the Aztec traditions. This blending together of cultures is what created our modern-day Dia de los Muertos.
My plan for a Dia de los Muertos event
Dia de los Muertos is a time to honor and remember loved ones who have passed away. Families create altars called ofrendas, decorated with marigolds, photos of the deceased, and their favorite foods and drinks. It’s a beautiful and meaningful celebration that focuses on life and death as interconnected parts of the same cycle. I’ve always enjoyed sharing the traditions of this holiday with family and friends as well as educating people who are not familiar with it. This year, I thought it would be a good idea to partner with a small local business to create a community building event that will share these traditions and expose people not familiar with it to the beauty associated with this holiday.
Our event will be held at a local woman’s apparel and accessories retail store. It will be held after business hours making it easy for guests to come after work and join us within a 3-hour window from 6PM to 9PM. The store already sells unique one-of-a-kind hand-crafted jewelry as well as permanent jewelry so we thought that a simple bracelet making event where the attendees can select their beads and strand them together would be appropriate and meaningful.
Beads with letters will be provided so that guests can spell out the name of a lost loved one to honor them. We’ll also have other themed beads like skulls, roses, and milagros charms to create unique and special one-of-a-kind jewelry with. For a $35 fee, guests will be able to either make a simple beaded bracelet or a basic permanent jewelry bracelet. If they decide they’d like to make more or buy something more expensive, we’ll add it to their entry cost. They also receive some fun take-aways like traditional Mexican paper flowers, they’ll learn more about the holiday, and enjoy some light snacks and sangria.
Our theme for the marketing is “Soul Stranding to Honor a Loved One”. We’ll decorate the store with papel picados, paper flowers, marigolds, Mexican textiles, an ofrenda for attendees to add photos of their loved ones, light candles for loved ones, and offer some traditional foods and beverages like empanadas and conchas, and white sangria to tie into the holiday. As a host, I’ll be welcoming guests to our event dressed in my traditional hand embroidered Mexican blouse and full skirt.
Guests will be able to mingle, make bracelets, shop the store and receive a 10% discount on any in store purchases that evening. We’ve made sure to stock the store with great accessories perfect for the upcoming winter season. This gives guests an opportunity to purchase some lower priced impulse purchase items that will inspire them to stock up on gifts for the holiday season.
The business benefits of hosting a Dia de los Muertos event
Dia de los Muertos is such a rich and vibrant cultural celebration with deep historical roots. An event can help educate your community about its significance and traditions, providing a deeper understanding and appreciation of Mexican heritage. Here are a few reasons it makes sense to host an event.
- Community Engagement: Hosting an event centered around Dia de los Muertos provides an opportunity to bring together people from diverse backgrounds. It creates a space for shared experiences, storytelling, and connection within your community.
- Marketing and Branding: The event can be a powerful marketing tool for your business. It allows you to showcase your commitment to cultural diversity and community involvement. You can use it to attract new customers, strengthen relationships with existing ones, and boost your brand reputation.
- Unique and Memorable Experience: A Dia de los Muertos event offers a unique and memorable experience for attendees. The vibrant colors, traditional decorations, and festive atmosphere can create a lasting impression.
- Potential for Partnerships: Collaborating with local organizations, artists, or food vendors can enhance your event and create opportunities for cross-promotion and mutual benefit.
It’s important to approach the event with respect and sensitivity, ensuring that the cultural significance of Dia de los Muertos is honored. Try to strike the right balance between honoring the cultural significance of the event and not focusing solely on commercialism.
Monetizing your event in responsible ways could include these ideas
- A nominal admission fee to cover event costs
- Food and beverage sales
- Discount on purchases made during the event
- Donating a percentage of any merchandise sales to a charity or community organization
12 Tips for planning and hosting your Dia de los Muertos event:
- Select a date with enough time for you to prepare accordingly. Consider best times that work for your community and guests.
- Find a location. If you have a retail location with enough capacity for guests, that’s perfect. You can also look to local community centers, libraries or even your home. Make sure there will be enough room for the number of attendees you plan to have.
- Choose your theme. Dia de los Muertos is the overall theme, but it can be even more specific such as an “Ofrenda Building Workshop”, “Pan de Muerto Baking Class”, or a “Papel Picado Making Class”.
- Once you have a date, time, location and name for your event, you can start building your marketing plan to drive guests to your event. It can be through email, social media, traditional invitations, digital invitations, etc. Cross promotes with any of your event partners and collaborate with local influencers.
- Gather supplies needed for your event and decide what to charge your guests to cover the costs, make a profit and if you’d like to make any donations to charitable causes or community organizations.
- Set up your space. Plan workspace areas needed for your attendees to make or craft any of the projects you have planned for your event. Ensure there is adequate lighting and seating. Make sure you have enough tools needed to execute your project.
- Decorate your space with traditional Dia de los Muertos elements like colorful papel picado, sugar skulls, an ofrenda, marigolds, paper flowers.
- Create a themed music playlist to keep guests entertained.
- Have some light refreshments to keep your guests energized and engaged.
- Prepare any instructions needed to help your guests with their projects. You may need to have a simple guide, a visual demonstration or finished samples to show your attendees. Providing design ideas can be helpful as well. Encourage guests to express their creativity.
- Lastly, welcome your guests, encourage them to mingle and introduce themselves to each other.
- Educate your attendees throughout the event about the cultural significance of the holiday.
By following these steps, you can host a successful and meaningful Dia de los Muertos event that brings your community together.
Related content:
Antipasto Dia de Los Muertos, 5 Great Ways to Celebrate [Video Recipe]
Flavoring Dia de Los Muertos with a Sweet Recipe for Pan de Muerto
