The Santa Clara County Fair has hired a new marketing director
and has more than doubled its budget for advertising and
promotions.
Morgan Hill – The Santa Clara County Fair has hired a new marketing director and has more than doubled its budget for advertising and promotions.
County Fair manager Ray Lueckeman last week announced Steve Stagnaro, founder and partner of Boulder Creek-based Stagnaro Strategic Marketing, has been named marketing director for the 2007 fair, which runs Aug. 1-5 at the Tully Road fairgrounds in San Jose.
“Stagnaro brings a great deal of experience to the position,” Lueckeman said. “He is part of our serious effort to rebuild the fair.”
Lueckeman said this year’s marketing budget is more than twice as big as last year’s, increasing from $75,000 to $188,000. A $4.5 million county investment approved last November to make repairs at fairgrounds includes $285,000 for marketing and entertainment at this year’s event. The extra money is helping organizers expand the fair’s length from three to five days to attract vendors who left because the shorter run wasn’t profitable enough for them. The money will also allow for bigger bands to be booked and fireworks shows to be added.
“It’ll be a bigger fair with bigger entertainment,” Lueckeman said. “We’re taking it back to where it was during its glory days.”
Recently, Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage and others have advocated moving the fair south, closer to the region’s agricultural roots. But talk of moving the fair has died down following the supervisors’ decision last summer to ditch plans to build a concert hall at the Tully Road fairgrounds.
Lueckeman said busy Silicon Valley residents still have interest in the old fair, which only drew 31,000 people last year, 26 percent less than the previous year’s 42,000 patrons.
“There’s still a place for the fair and there’s still interest,” he said. “I mean, we won’t get 650,000 people, but we’ll get the numbers that are viable for us.”
By “viable,” Lueckeman meant no less than 31,000 people, which would allow organizers to break even on a roughly $900,000 budget. Lueckeman said the target this year is to attract between 65,000 and 100,000 people, who would pay admission fees of $5 to $8. Previous fairs have lacked admission fees. Rides will still cost extra.
While the county owns the fairgrounds, which are used as an expo site during the year, the fair is financed by the state, the county and a number of other sources.
Stagnaro, who also does marketing for the Santa Cruz County Fair and the San Jose Tapestry Arts festival, said he wants to sell a family-friendly image of the fair.
“At this point, I am probably listening more than talking,” Stagnaro said. “I am talking with various people who make up the fair, the livestock and carnival people, to learn their stories, what they do, what they provide, and I’m gathering images from previous fairs to put together a marketing plan.”
As for the reach of the campaign, Stagnaro said there would be more TV and radio exposure this year.
“We’ll continue doing some of the things the fair has done … advertising on backs of buses, street signs … and then we’ll be using radio, TV and print,” Stagnaro said. “This year we’ve actually expanded the use of radio and TV, as well.”
Stagnaro said the increased marketing would resonate with Bay Area families and help draw people to a struggling event.
“Just going out and inviting people to come … and doing it in an inviting way … it’s a big deal,” he said. “And, getting a bigger bullhorn to shout out the message. Those two things together is how I envision going about it.”
Tony Burchyns covers Morgan Hill for The Times. Reach him at (408) 779-4106 ext. 201 or tb*******@*************es.com.
