The Antelope Valley Fair is on a hot streak. For the second year in a row, it has won the International Association of Fairs and Exhibitions’ best advertising campaign award, known as the Hall of Honor Communications Award. The two-year winning streak is quite a feat considering that its competitors hail from as far away as Australia and include big names such as the Los Angeles County Fair. “This is an outstanding accomplishment for the Antelope Valley Fair when one considers that there were over 1,100 entries from around the world in these competitions,” IAFE President and CEO Jim Tucker said in a statement. In addition to Australia, this year the Antelope Valley Fair faced international competition from event promoters in Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and South Africa. Wendy Bozigian, Antelope Valley Fair marketing manager, believes the fair won because of “the cohesiveness of the campaign, as far as the advertising and the look.” Lots of color was used in advertising materials. There was a unique creative flair also, Bozigian feels. For example, the cows featured in promotional materials had wildflower-shaped spots in keeping with the 2007 theme, “Wildflowers & Wild Fun!” The public had a hand in the campaign strategy. Each year, the fair seeks submissions from the public to determine what theme the fair will adopt. After a contest winner is chosen, the fair’s art department chooses artwork befitting the theme to appear on T-shirts, billboards, in advertisements and more. “They were helpful,” Bozigian said of the art department. “We have in-house graphics, and together they got it all done, a pretty tall order.” In 2006, the first time the fair won the IAFE award, “Let the Good Times Grow” was the theme. This year, the theme will be “Peaches ‘n’ Screams” in light of the amount of peaches grown in the Antelope Valley. The screams component references the fair’s carnival rides. Though the Antelope Valley Fair was honored by IAFE for its 2006 advertising campaign, Bozigian said fair organizers did not expect to win for a second consecutive year. “It’s a surprise, and it’s always an honor,” Bozigian said of the two-time win. “It wasn’t like a slam dunk.” IAFE wasn’t the only organization to honor the Antelope Valley Fair in 2007. The fair won 15 awards from the Western Fairs Association, including a handful of first place awards for its outdoor and unique advertising, theme, new ideas and news photography. The WFA represents 150 fairs throughout the US and Canada, ranging from the Calgary Stampede in Alberta to the New Mexico State Fair in Albuquerque and all the fairs to the west of that line, according to Executive Director Stephen Chambers. Participants enter the best of what they’ve done locally in the areas of communication and creative management, which includes television commercials and posters, efforts to obtain sponsorship and to improve fairs overall. WFA officially recognized the Antelope Valley Fair during its Industry Awards Dinner on Jan. 9. In 2004, after the Antelope Valley Fair moved to its new fairgrounds, WFA granted the fair its most prestigious honor, the Merrill Award. While that honor went to another fair in 2007, Chambers said the fact that the Antelope Valley Fair managed to snag a slew of awards from his organization is also worthy of note. “With 150 fairs participating, winning 15 awards is impressive,” he said. The 70th annual Antelope Valley Fair & Alfalfa Festival will run Aug. 22 through Sept. 1.For more info, visit www.avfair.com.
