186 TWENTY-THIRD ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART III. 



fair, and you can get some good stories on the early historical develop- 

 ment of your fair. 



The second chief features to be considered are billboards, hangers, win- 

 dow cards and like media. I believe that on a fair advertising program 

 there should be a certain number of billboards and a certain number of 

 window cards and posters, because they fix the name and dates of the 

 fair in people's minds and keep urging them so no one can forget. 



The third good stunt many fairs use is to get out a herald or hand 

 bill. This may be one page or it may be two or four pages. They 

 distribute them in stores and hang them around the postoffices and in 

 automobiles parked on the streets. They follow the plan the circus fol- 

 lows when it comes to town. The circus people do about as shrewd ad- 

 vertising as you will find any place, and they use heralds and handbills 

 in profusion. 



There are some fairs who still make the mistake of buying specialties, 

 trick advertising stunts, whistles and pencils and things of that kind. 

 You must interest people in your fair, you must sell the fair to them if 

 you are going to get them to attend. I never saw a whistle or pencil yet 

 that could convince anyone that they ought to attend a fair. 



Another plan which some fairs have employed successfully, is to go 

 to one of their local newspaper men and pay him a hundred dollars and 

 make him responsible for all of the advertising and publicity connected 

 with the entire fair. You gentlemen are very busy men just before the 

 fair, yet that is the time when you should have the most publicity. You 

 haven't the time to devote to promoting the many publicity features which 

 make your fair successful. Fifty or a hundred dollars paid to some 

 local man who is capable will give you many, many times that much in 

 actual cash returns. Make him responsible, make him feel he has to get 

 out the attendance, and if you put it to him in that way he will get the 

 publicity for you. 



Another thing that many fairs should do is to make good use of the 

 material which is furnished them by the various attractions. A number 

 of the better attractions now-a-days furnish stories, ads, pictures, bill- 

 board paper and material of that kind free of charge. That is a won- 

 derful help to you if you will make use of it. It is just that much free 

 material which you would have to pay for otherwise. 



Before I close may I suggest that the advertising department of the 

 state fair here is on the job the year 'round and we are ready at any 

 and all times to be of help to the county and district fairs of the state. 

 If a question concerning any of your advertising and publicity ever comes 

 up we would appreciate it if you would drop us a line and let us assist 

 you. 



The most important thing about your advertising, about your publicity 

 I think is the enthusiasm that you get into it. If you can arouse your 

 community, arouse your newspaper men and get your board, your farmers 

 and breeders enthusiastic over the fair, your fair will be a success. That, 

 after all, is the object of all advertising. 



Mr. Moore: May I ask a question? I would like to ask Mr. 

 Fairall what percentage of the gate receipts the State Fair spends 

 for advertising? 



