Sell out crowd takes in rodeo event.
The 80th Vigo County Fair recently took place in Terre Haute, Indiana. This year’s fair drew a record number of attendees. The weather was near perfect for mid July in Indiana and there is no doubt it played a key part in drawing such large numbers to the historic Wabash Valley Fairgrounds. The fair boasted many improvements, new attractions and a variety packed Grandstand lineup.
The fair used a blend of media to help promote the fair dates and events. Outdoor billboards, radio, TV and print advertising were all included. In addition to the normal media mix Social Media was also added. The fairgrounds marketing firm Edge Marketing Inc. established a fan page on Facebook that quickly grew to several hundred fans. Twitter was also added and updates were integrated into the fair home page www.vigofair.com.
Facebook was used to promote sponsorship and commercial exhibitor space about two months prior to the actual start of the fair. A small advertising campaign was purchased on Facebook and both sponsorship sales and commercial exhibitor space sold out at a record pace. It is estimated that about twenty percent of the leads were generated from Facebook efforts.
The Facebook fan page was also used to build excitement for the start of the fair and promotional contests were held to promote interactivity with the fans. One promotion included fans posting past fair pictures for a chance to win Rodeo tickets. The week of the fair Facebook updates were provide to promote each days activities, carnival ride specials and sponsors. Twitter was also used to provide updates about key information and links.
The social media effort integrated well with other forms of traditional media too. Local internet advertising on the newspaper, TV and radio station’s sites linked to the fairs home page were people could sign up for the fan page on Facebook and Twitter updates. Social media can’t get all the credit for the fairs record breaking year but it is safe to say it enhanced traditional media and helped build a foundation of loyal fans online that is sure to grow for next year.
0 Responses to “Social Media Plays Role In Record Number of Fairgoers”