Dive Brief:

• Two fizzy water marketers, Perrier and SodaStream, are taking unusual approaches to the idea of branded Halloween costumes this year. Perrier is rolling out a Snapchat filter that allows users to "dress up" as one of its bottles, as Kanye West did during a recent, bizarre "SNL" performance, according to The Drum. 
• The augmented reality (AR) lens, created with the firm Makemepulse, virtually turns users into one of the sparkling beverage maker's green bottles, and they can record clips of themselves dancing in the costume to send to their friends. Perrier is promoting the idea as an alternative to the traditional Halloween costume. 
• PepsiCo-owned SodaStream, on the other hand, unveiled a printable Halloween cut-out sheet consumers can put over their SodaStream devices to dress them up as Nespresso coffee machines, per a tip shared with Marketing Dive. The company posted a an instructional video on Facebook showing how it works. SodaStream said the effort is an attempt to "brew up some early Halloween spirit."

Dive Insight:

Both brands are taking a goofy approach to their Halloween marketing this year, albeit by fairly different means. Perrier is leveraging the popularity of mobile technology like AR to tie its name to a controversial pop culture icon, while SodaStream is leaning into a DIY approach to provide consumers with a fun activity. 

SodaStream, which was purchased by PepsiCo in August for $3.2 billion, is billing its Nespresso Halloween costume as a social media prank, lightly ribbing the Nestlé-owned coffee maker with Facebook comments like, "Nespresso, you know for a machine that makes coffee, you guys seem really tired." Social media feuds are a marketing tactic that other brands have embraced lately to grow their engagement. Wendy's has been especially adept at this type of online banter, frequently taking jabs at its fast-food competitors.

Perrier for its campaign is building on the much talked-about Kanye West "SNL" performance from September in a bid to drive more sharing from Snapchat users. The campaign is clearly targeting the Gen Z market, which makes up Snapchat's largest user base. However, a recent Piper Jaffray study found that Instagram is gaining ground on Snapchat among teenagers, with 85% saying they use Instagram at least once a month compared to Snapchat at 84%.

While sparkling water isn't closely associated with the Halloween holiday, these efforts could catch the attention of younger consumers more broadly, who are driving a surge in sales for the beverage category. Sparkling and fizzy water is also growing increasingly competitive in a field that includes LaCroix and popular newcomers like Spindrift, which demands more innovative marketing. Beverage Marketing forecast that 790 million gallons of sparkling water were sold, accounting for $8.5 million, in 2017, compared to 574 million gallons, or $6.1 billion worth, sold the year prior.