FLORIDA FAIR NEWS …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
―A Whole Lotta Happy‖ at the 71st North Florida Fair By Mark Harvey, Manager
November is here and the North Florida Fair is preparing for its
biggest Fair ever. The Fair has grown for the last four consecutive years and last year realized over 101,000 customers. Just about every food vendor achieved a double digit increase in sales in 2011 over 2010 and the midway gross is approaching $1 million. Now the challenge is to keep those numbers and grow even lar- ger. And just how do you keep growing year after year when the national economy has been mired in a slump? Give the customers a great entertainment experience for a reasonable price. Entertainment: The North Florida Fair provides top quality en-
tertainment that is enjoyable and free for all its customers. Head- lining the entertainment is the Anastasini Family Circus. The Anastasini Circus is a European style circus that performs under a large round tent. The crowd response to the fast-paced perform- ances has been fantastic during previous years at our Fair. Fami- lies would normally pay 2-3 times the cost of Fair admission to see a circus of this quality in another venue. New to the North Florida Fair this year is the First Bite Fishing
Tanks. This is a catch and release experience for the youngsters and should be a hit with the kids and their parents and grandpar- ents. I predict an increase in Facebook updates when the parents upload pictures of their children catching their first fish. That’s advertising you can’t buy anywhere. Also new this year is the ap- pearance of Caboodlestoppers, a fast-paced interactive stage show that has performed at other Florida Dairs. We are looking forward to their appearance here. What is a Fair without a petting zoo and pig racing? The Show-
Me Safari Swine Racers always draw a crowd of fans when the bugle announces a show is about to start. The joy and excitement on the faces of the children who interact with the live animals of the Show-Me Safari Petting Zoo is heartwarming to watch. The Fair kicks off with Stoney Roberts Demolition Derby for
the second year in a row. By opening with a premier entertain- ment event, the buzz about the Fair starts early and momentum is easier to maintain. The demo derby is a great way to attract atten- tion to the Fair. Strates Shows provides the carnival rides that are the anchor
of entertainment at the Fair. A separate Kiddieland has proven popular with the younger customers and older riders are enter- tained with the many varied rides that Strates Shows provides at their traditional midway. Strates Shows partnership and attention to customer service has contributed to the growth of the North Florida Fair. Their new Funcard system has also introduced in- creased accountability for all parties, but especially for the cus-
tomer, who gets a barcode scanned at each ride. No more keep- ing up with sheet tickets. No more weighing tickets at the end of the night. Value: I was a customer of the Fair before I was a parent and a
parent before I was a Fair manager. It is from the perspective of a customer and parent that I view my responsibilities as a Fair man- ager. Yes, it is my responsibility to do the best I can to turn a profit for the Fair. How else can a Fair stay in business? I feel the best way for a business to succeed is to build a broader customer base and to make those customers loyal fans and ambassadors. Enter- tainment is one way to do that. Pricing is another way. As a customer, I look for value in whatever I purchase. I don’t
mind paying more for a product if I feel the return is greater. As a parent of children who attended the Fair, I wanted them to have the best experience possible. I also hated to say no to them when they were having fun but ran out of sheet tickets. Saying no to your children when they want to ride more is disappointing for both parents and children alike. Like most parents, I would rather have dug a little deeper and paid a little more for an unlimited ride wristband than to keep digging into my pockets in order to buy more sheet tickets. I asked Strates Shows management to offer wrist bands on Saturdays and they agreed to try it. As a result, the North Florida Fair has one of the best per capita spending ratios of any Fair. Everyone wins in that scenario. Advanced sale tickets are becoming more and more important
to Fairs as a way to ensure income on the chance of inclement weather. I see it as more than that. Advanced sale tickets are becoming a form of advertisement for the Fair. The North Florida Fair switched advanced sale ticketing to Walgreens Corner Box Office four years ago. The accessibility of Walgreens stores and the discounted pricing of advanced sales have allowed these ticket sales to grow from $15,000/year to $150,000/year. One of the reasons it has grown so exponentially is word of mouth adver- tising that generates pre-fair buzz - positive advertising that means folks are talking about us. I don’t think it is a coincidence that as the advanced sale program has grown, so has the Fair. Contact Greg Bean at Special Event Engineering for more infor- mation about this exciting program. Summation:
The competition for the entertainment dollar is
stiff in Tallahassee. Two college football teams and a number of festivals occur in the immediate area while the Fair is going on. It’s not entertainment, but the North Florida Fair will compete against a national election for attention this year. We have to set ourselves apart from the competition somehow. The North Florida Fair does it by providing quality and quantity for a price anyone can afford. It’s a recipe that is working for us.
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