The 2022 Delaware State Fair may have fallen, but it never wavered. A triple-digit heat wave hampered attendance at the 103rd Delaware State Fair, although it reached 299,511, reportedly the 4th best attendance in fair history. The final day of the fair drew 58,600, setting a closing day record.
Weather is always a winning proposition for any outdoor event, but even with a classic above-average mid-Atlantic July heatwave, the Delaware State Fair continued the upward trajectory the fair has been on since before the pandemic, leading further an effective mix. of national headliners, a spectacular show and a marketing campaign that has made the fair a summer destination for residents of neighboring states.
“We were contacted by more Philadelphia media this year,” said Danny Aguilar, Assistant GM and Director of Marketing, Delaware State Fair. “One station came out for three different segments; food, carnival and livestock. Three different news networks covered the opening. We’ve seen more interest from Philadelphia as well as Baltimore.”
Creating FOMO
Aguilar credits an effective multi-platform social media campaign in leading the summer destination for regional travel. “Families chose to stay local, maybe it was either inflation or the price of gas, but this year the family trip was spending the day at the fair. It’s a family summer tradition and the locals had a few extra dollars to spend.”
In addition to the popular attractions that the 2022 marketing campaign promoted, it also included an expanded reach into the Hispanic and Latino market to introduce the inaugural night of the Latin Music Fair. “It wasn’t as simple as translating our materials into Spanish,” he said. “The materials have to have their own look and feel, Hispanic publications have fonts, colors and an overall layout that’s a little different.”
In addition to reimagining the marketing campaign’s bilingual content, Aguilar also realized that the social media presence also needed significant changes. “On the digital side, we maintained a strong presence by developing good content. We hired professional photographers and videographers to go all over the field looking for content. We also partnered with social media influencers and shared content with them, engaging with grassroots people who have strong followings.”
He noted that 86 percent of trade show attendees access trade show information through their phone, driving the emphasis on quality, image-based content and social media. The tagline that pulled together this year’s marketing campaign also evoked the midway signature – Summer Nights, Carnival Lights – and was designed to create the ultimate marketing buzz – FOMO – “Fear of Missing Out!”
“Social media creates social media, so we had strategically placed backgrounds for people to take pictures and share. “We used Instagram stories and scheduled daily posts. The more information we put into different templates and places on social media, the more people find that digital content. We processed more than 29,000 images and had more than 111,000 downloads.”
Wade points to Midway
The midway Wade Shows featured 42 rides, featuring “a mix of super-spectacular class rides like The Big Wheel and coasters.”
“The Delaware State Fair was a very pleasant surprise,” said Frank Zaitshik, president of Wade Shows. “The weather was very hot and we had a storm. I also knew we had such an incredible year last year, and while I’m an optimistic person, I thought there was no way we’d come close to last year, but while we didn’t hit those numbers, we came very close. .”
It’s been a normal COVID trip for our sitting president’s home state. In 2020, it was one of a number of outdoor events to be held during the height of the coronavirus lockdown – many of Midway’s contactless transaction procedures were first developed at this fair and are still in effect at fairs around the country. In 2021, Delaware again found itself the proverbial only show in town — especially when that city has become a tri-state destination — and the fair broke attendance and revenue records, according to Aguilar, but those numbers were artificially high due to unique circumstances. of 2021.
“If 2021 was our best year, then this was our second best year,” Zaitshik said. “I can’t understand because I felt we would see more of an effect from high fuel prices. At events like Delaware, people travel great distances, but my concerns proved unfounded.”
Aguilar noted that food revenue rose 7 percent compared to 2021, but most of that was due to inflation — grocers have been forced to raise prices by an average of 10-30 percent. Zaitshik kept travel prices at 2021 levels – and even increased admissions, so the midway was one of the few places to escape the brunt of 2022’s inflation woes. “We raised prices last year,” he said. “We thought that this year we would keep those awards in place. The people have always been cooperative and understanding”.
The fair also debuted a state-of-the-art livestock facility, the Castle Agriculture Building, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring Lisa Blunt Rochester, Congresswoman; Ron Draper, President of the Delaware State Fair; and Michael Scuse, Delaware Secretary of Agriculture. The new multi-purpose building – home to many goats and other animals during fair time – will also support agricultural programming for families residing in underserved rural areas in Delaware, provided by Delaware 4-H and the FFA Association.
The Fair’s Delaware Lottery Summer Concert Series at the M&T Bank Grandstand featured a diverse array of talent and some of the top names touring the circuit this year. Near sellout shows included Sam Hunt with Roman; Nelly and Hank Williams Jr., a lineup was also rounded out with Halestorm, Trace Adkins, Toby, Mac, ZZ Top and of course, Latin Music Night. An estimated 42,000 attended the concert series, not counting the ever-popular Demolition Derby.
“The mix of great entertainment offered inside and outside the M&T Bank Grandstand has continued to show why the Delaware State Fair, after 103 years, is consistently regarded as one of the best,” said Aguilar. “We continue to offer unique, diverse entertainment options with great experiences for our customers such as VIP packages, Beer Gardens, live entertainment throughout the grounds, amazing food, shopping and entertainment for children of all ages.”
But behind the scenes, the fair faced challenges, specifically labor. Finding help has become a time-consuming and expensive process. “Finding employees was a challenge for us. Our pay scale is competitive with companies, but we still struggle. We held numerous job fairs. I am concerned about the viability of the fair if these shortages continue. We relied more on non-profit groups and church organizations like our cleanup teams, where people volunteer to work as fundraisers for their group.”
