D. Pierce County State Fair Promotion Plan: The Puyallup Fair became the Washington State Fair in the Fall of 2013. The primary goal of the name change was to put more emphasis on marketing to the Puget Sound region, as opposed to just the south end and Puyallup city area. That new strategy, it was felt would lead to attendance and revenue gains.
After two years of the name change, market research made it clear that we had achieved our objective of appealing to a significant number of new King and Snohomish County visitors. But, we were showing no growth from Pierce County (where the Fairgrounds are located). Research also indicated that some Pierce County residents felt it was not “their” Fair anymore And they had a perception this “new” Fair would be more expensive than before, when they perceived it as their hometown Fair.
A promotion focusing on Pierce County was developed: “Pierce County Thursdays”. It succeededl in attracting the daily Tacoma News Tribune as a co-sponsor. And Thursday’s were selected as Pierce County Days. It just so happens that Thursday’s were historically the days when the annual Fair had the lowest attendance.
So, promotional offers were geographically directed to Pierce County households and included: buy-one-get-one- free gate coupons, discounts on concerts and free spiffs for those attending on those Thursday’s.
Media consisted of zoned-cable television, ValPak and Tacoma News Tribune ads. The estimated target reach was 34% of the total Pierce County population of 861,000.
RESULTS
The outcome greatly exceeded our expectations. Although weather conditions were not as ideal as they were in 2016, we managed to attract an additional 8,047 guests on the three Thursdays of the promotion, which was an 8% increase. The estimated gross spending of $34 per person resulted in an incremental gain of $273,598 to support our vendors and stakeholders on those three Thursdays, which previously were the slowest days of Fair, as mentioned earlier. For every dollar the promotion cost us, we gained an additional $10 in this first year of this promotion. We are very encouraged by the potential for this promotion to help build attendance on Thursdays. Additionally, it’s an opportunity to connect with our loyal market in a fun way, while celebrating our past brand legacy—which is invaluable.
The promotion won first place in the Innovative Marketing Strategy or Concept Category from the International Association of Fairs and Expositions.
