For the past eleven years, I’ve sat on the Allen County Fairgrounds Board of Directors. Just saying “eleven years” out loud elicits many wonderful memories at my beloved county fair. So much has changed and evolved over the past decade but one thing has remained—the essence and mission of our fair.
We are in the business of making memories. It doesn’t matter if it is 1989 or 2019. It doesn’t matter if you are nine months old, nine years old, 19 or 90. If we’ve done our job, you leave feeling like you just experienced the best county fair around. You may have soaked up the sun, took in a 4-H show or strolled through the projects, ate a funnel cake, watched a demolition derby or rode the ferris wheel. It’s whatever you make of it, and it’s always Timeless Fun!
And that right there, is where my two worlds collided. I got to be client and account manager at the same time when the board partnered with One Lucky Guitar to create a brand platform for the Allen County Fair. We had struggled for years to align our message with our advertising. Our question, “How can we bring to life the feelings we all have inside us when we attend a county fair?”
Timeless Fun! answered it all. It brought to life the joy the fair brings to us while identifying what makes us unique from other festivals in the county. To flesh out the advertising campaign, OLG produced TV, radio, social media assets and digital. The weather was perfect but the board also credits our record attendance year to the strong advertising campaign made possible by One Lucky Guitar and Liechty Media. For the first time, our messaging aligned with the experience.
Planning for the 30th annual Allen County Fair is well under way. There are ideas to add new events and change up the experience to make the fair even more enjoyable. One thing will stay consistent and that is our continued use of Timeless Fun! as our brand platform. Even our fellow fair organizers and boards agreed. Our advertising and communications won many awards at the Indiana Association of Fairs and Festivals Communication Awards in January. And as a past 4-H’er myself, it is always a joy to win huge ribbons for a job well done!
No excuses. Now comes my plug for the 2019 Allen County Fair. Mark your calendars for July 23rd through July 28th at the Allen County Fairgrounds. Timeless Fun! awaits.
Cheers,
Michelle
